Application Letter Critique

This application letter is in response to this internship.

New Jin Rou
Blk --- Jurong West
St --- #------
Singapore ------
Contact: --------
Email: -----@gmail.com

13 February 2011

Human Resource
Nomura

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Application for the 2011 Global Markets Summer Analyst Internship

I am interested in applying for the Global Markets Summer Analyst Internship with the Research department. I am a third year student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) pursuing a degree in Statistics (Finance and Business Statistics). As I aspire to both learn from and contribute to the best in the finance industry, Nomura, renowned both within Japan and internationally as a global finance house, is the obvious choice for me. I believe that interning in Nomura will be an invaluable opportunity for me to gain a global outlook of and deep insights into the industry, to experience a challenging and dynamic working environment and to meet and work with diverse individuals.

My interest in Research in Global Markets stems from my analytical nature and desire to learn the fundamentals of finance. A rigorous training in statistics has equipped me with strong quantitative, analytical and problem-solving skills necessary for a role in Research. Moreover, working on research projects in school has honed my ability to synthesise information into a coherent report as well to communicate effectively even with others outside the statistical field.

Outside of academics, I participate actively in extracurricular activities. I am an active member and was the secretary of the NUS Nihon Buyo (Japanese dance) Club. In this capacity, I participated in various performances within and outside of NUS. In particular, I organised and performed in Japanese Cultural Night 2009. This involved working not only with other Japanese clubs within and outside my school but also external organisations and companies. I also served as Vice Programmes Head on the committee of Social Entrepreneurship Forum for Youths, directing a team to organise a two day carnival which showcased social entrepreneurship and brought 13 social enterprises to the school campus. As these two events were inaugural events, I had both the privilege and the challenge of pioneering the direction that both projects took. This has tested my ability to think of creative solutions and to think on my feet to deal with situations on the ground. In the fast-changing financial environment, I believe such skills would be essential.

My experiences have helped me to develop mental resilience, through learning how to juggle academic, extracurricular and voluntary commitments. In addition, my interpersonal and communication skills have been greatly enhanced through my opportunities to meet and work with people from diverse backgrounds. All in all, these experiences have given me a comprehensive set of skills which I believe will be necessary for a highly demanding internship at Nomura.

I thank you in advance for taking the time to consider my application. I hope you will give me the opportunity to demonstrate how I can contribute to your organisation.


Yours sincerely,
New Jin Rou


A question: If you're applying for an internship through the company's online portal that handles applications from all over Asia-Pacific for instance, what would you put as the company address? Or is simply putting the company name adequate (as I did) in this case?

Constructive criticism will be highly appreciated!

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Here's an anecdote my friend, M, shared with me.

M was, like me, on exchange last semester. After term ended in December, she travelled to Belgium and the Netherlands with four friends, including a girl K. For a few days in Belgium, the five of them stayed at L’s (a Belgian) house. All of them met on exchange.

K developed a cough when they reached Belgium, so she decided to stay in at L’s house while the rest went to tour the city. When they got back and asked K what she did, she replied: “I was surfing the net and watching videos the whole day!” This was despite L asking the rest to not use too much water and electricity as her mother was already quite concerned about bills with five extra people staying over. The next day, K felt slightly better and went out with the rest. L offered to bring them around but had to rush to school to settle some stuff before that so they had to leave the house by ten in the morning. K not only woke up late, but also took a long time to get ready, so L was nearly late for school. When they were touring, K walked very slowly, so they could not go very fast. At mealtimes, K insisted on having spaghetti while the rest wanted to try local specialties. In the end, they would split up for their meals before meeting up again. Finally, when they reached back to L’s house, L’s parents opened the door and asked how the day went. K walked past them without a word and went up to the room they were sleeping in.

Needless to say, M was highly annoyed with K, not only because K was not making full use of this travel opportunity to experience the life and culture in another country, but also because of her self-centred behaviour. M felt that a mere cough was no excuse for K’s behaviour.

On the other hand, K might not be used to life in a different country and also to travelling with people she didn’t know very well. This might have been worsened by her cough.

If you were in M’s shoes, what would you have done to make this a more enjoyable travel experience for everyone?