Blog post #3: Application Letter Critique

Sean Tan Jui Siang

Alpha Beta Gamma Street

#123-456

Singapore 987654
(+65) 98765432
abcdefg@gmail.com

17 Feburary 2013

Ms Nadia Lee
Human Resource Manager
REC Group (Singapore)
REC Tuas, Singapore
20 Tuas South Avenue 14
Singapore 637312

Dear Ms Lee,           

Application for Engineering internship.

I am writing in to express my interest in joining REC Group as an intern during the summer vacation period from 8^th May to 7^th August.

I am a 2^nd year Engineering student at National University of Singapore (NUS), pursuing my Bachelor’s degree. I find an internship at REC Group very enticing and am excited, at the prospects of interning at a major renewable energy company. This is because I am very interested in the fields of clean energy sources and the implementation of these energy systems in countries like Singapore, where I believe there is a huge potential for clean energy to be exploited.

I learnt about the company after attending a career fair held at NUS earlier this month. I was impressed with the company booth speaker who shared with me the insights into REC Group and how working as an intern at the company would benefit me greatly. This only served to solidify my decision to apply for an internship at REC Group.  As a high tech firm that focuses on cutting edge sciences and technology, I firmly believe that I possess the right hard and soft skills required to work in this company. Despite the fact that I have no experience working in the field of engineering, I have, over the course of my study, read many different engineering modules which I believe have equipped me with knowledge and skills required for an internship at REC Group. Currently, I am also involved in the early stages of the “Solar Decathlon 2013” competition, where a group of NUS students come together to design and build a small house that is powered solely by solar panels.  It is a competition against other international universities around the world and NUS is represented in this competition by the team that I am working with. This competition has given me relevant background knowledge on the workings of solar photovoltaic cells, which forms the basis for most of the products at REC Group such as solar panels.  As such, this competition has given me substantial exposure to the technology involved at REC Group and also imparted to me a sense of teamwork, which will serve me well if I am interning at the company.

In contrast to the hard skills that I possessed, I am a reliable individual who have no problems working with people. I am able to establish effective communication with my fellow staff and have been acknowledged as an approachable person by my former employers. Before beginning my undergraduate study at NUS, I have had taken up several ad-hoc jobs and part time jobs during the school vacation periods. The most recent of which is working as an administrative assistant staff at National University Health System (NUHS).  During my time at NUHS, I helped my supervisor carry out various tasks such as replying to emails, assisting her in arranging meetings for other staff members, delivering important documents to various departments within NUHS, handling logistics for NUS Medicine students’ examinations and other miscellaneous administrative tasks. As my supervisor is not available at all times, I have been at the front line as an administrative staff, representing her on her behalf at meetings and important events. As such, I am required to be able to communicate with other staff members from other departments as well as not get intimidated by major tasks assigned to me. Being an administrative staff meant that daily interactions with staffs from other departments were inevitable, effective communication skills were crucial for me to carry out my role effectively.  In summary, I personally feel that I possessed the required soft skills to work in any job environment.

Aside from my working life, I have served two years of national service as a Combat Engineer in the Singapore Armed Forces which has expanded my horizon on engineering military hardware. Being a heavy plant operator, I have had first hand experiences in operating three major construction vehicles, namely the excavator, dozer and shovel. The two years in the Army has taught me to be discipline, resilient and professional in my duties as a serviceman to the country. It has also taught me the importance of interpersonal communication skills as I am required to interact and work with people from all walks of life, especially when working as a team. 

If this internship opportunity is given to me, I would hope to gain as much hands on experience as I can and of course acquire the necessary skills required to become a practicing engineer in the future. You may refer to my enclosed resume for more information. I welcome the opportunity to discuss any internship opportunities with your company. Do contact me at abcdefg@gmail.com, alternatively you may call me at 98765432 to schedule an interview.

Yours Sincerely,

Sean