Saturday, September 4, 2010

MOE, Please Say YES!


















Pang Sheau Shiuh
36, Jalan Belibis 17
Taman Perling, 81200
Johor Bahru, Johor
Malaysia

1 September 2010

Mr. Lu Cheng Yang
Director of Personnel Division
Ministry of Education, Singapore
1 North Buona Vista Drive
Singapore 138675

Dear Mr. Lu:

I am writing to express my interest in a possible elementary teaching position as found advertised in Jobs@Singapore on 31st August 2010. I will have fulfilled all requirements for the appointment of General Education Officer upon my graduation in May 2011. With the passion in education and the desire to mould all students into all-round individuals, I am confident in my ability to be a valuable asset in the teaching force.

I believe that my education at National University of Singapore, my past experience teaching students of all ability levels and my extensive participation in a variety of activities make me an excellent candidate in the teaching track. Through my teaching experience in the tuition centers, I have had the opportunity to teach diverse groups of students and observe a variety of teaching styles. Aware that students, especially elementary school children are more engaged in their learning in a creative setting and given my arts and music background, I design stimulating lesson plans by integrating arts and music into the traditional curriculum where appropriate. Throughout the course of my past teaching experience, I firmly believe in developing a good student-teacher rapport being the foremost criteria in achieving effective teaching and learning.   

I understand that the Ministry of Education is keen on recruiting teachers not only passionate in education, but also able to play an inspirational role to make students believe in how truly limitless their potential is. With my active participation in community service dating back to my middle and high school years, I am confident that I can motivate the students to recognize their abilities and tap into their talents. I have continued my interest in volunteer work by serving as an active participant in Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation. From the volunteerism work, I have gained invaluable interpersonal skills and become sensitive to social and learning needs of elementary-age students. With these as my strengths, I am confident in my abilities to become the role model of students. 

I am highly motivated, responsible and dedicated in accomplishing tasks that I set out to do. Therefore, I strongly believe that I am an excellent candidate for the teaching position. My resume is enclosed to provide you with additional details concerning my background and qualifications for this position. I would appreciate an interview with you at your convenience. Please do not hesitate to contact me at 9698 2252 or pss@nus.edu.sg from 6th September onwards should you have any question. I will be contacting you on Monday, 13th May to talk about the possibility of arranging an interview.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,



Pang Sheau Shiuh

9 comments:

  1. Hi guys,

    I am sorry if you need to squint your eyes to read my job advertisement. I have problem making it readable because when I make the image the largest, it will exceed the blog post column. Perhaps someone can tell me what I can do with it?

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  2. Hello!

    If you guys need to read the advertisement, just click on the picture and that will do. =)

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  3. Hi SuSHi! =P

    I actually like the way you write because it is very organised and you can display your ideas very clearly.

    Perhaps, it will be better if the letter could have been a little bit more concise so that the reader will be more willing to read on. Perhaps, you could direct some of the qualities you wish to convey to your resume and at the same time direct them to your resume(correct me if I'm wrong about this).

    In any case I really like your letter because it really encapsulates all the qualities that makes you a good teacher. =)

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  4. Dayang,

    I am a bit confused about what you mean by "direct some of the qualities...direct to your resume". Do you mean that I just refer the reader to my resume for further details so that I can be more concise in my application letter?

    Anyway, I really appreciate your comment.Thank you very much.=)

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  5. Hello Sheau Shiuh,

    I'm impressed by how well you can relate your past experience to your future job requirement. I can definitely feel your potentials to be a teacher.

    However, like what Dayang had mentioned, the letter can be more concise. Perhaps you can try to rephrase the sentence into shorter version. Short and concise sentences ensure the employer is able to get your main points at a first glance.

    It's a really good application letter, I would say. :)

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  6. Hi sushi!

    Wow your application letter really impresses me.I like the way you have played up your qualities in your application and if I am your boss I would certainly hire you!
    However,one thing you can change to make your application letter even better would be the phrasing of sentences.For example this sentence,"Aware that students, especially elementary school children are more engaged in their learning in a creative setting and given my arts and music background, I design stimulating lesson plans by integrating arts and music into the traditional curriculum where appropriate." could be seperated into 2 sentences!In that way,it is easier to read!

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  7. Hi guys,

    Thank you very much for the comments. =)

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  8. Hi Sushi,

    If I am the MOE officer, I will say YES! haha...
    you did a great job to highlight all the past experience and present all the information in the employer's shoes.
    Remember what Berwyn said in the peer teaching, we only have around 20 sec to impress the employer through our application letter. Thus, your letter can be more succinct. :)
    Maybe you want to rephrase some of the sentences that starts with "I" : )
    Just my 2 penny worth of thoughts. Great work!

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  9. Hi Sushi,
    I like your letter alot but maybe it is slightly over lengthy? I don't think the interviewer has so much time to read every paragraph.

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