2_NgoL

Dear Professor Kim,

 I am going into my fourth academic year here at Cal Poly Pomona. Throughout my college years thus far, I have worked very hard to build up my strengths and yet still working on some of my weaknesses. By strengths and weaknesses, I am speaking in regards to how I conduct my actions as a student as well as an employee. I would like to share this with you to hopefully hear some of your recommendations and advisement.

 The strength that I possess is more on the lines of presenting myself verbally. I am always very confident speaking amongst an audience. When it is my turn to present, I make sure that I convince the audience that I know exactly what I’m speaking about, making sure my speech is has an impact on the audience, and that I can maintain a warm welcoming environment. This applies to my job as well because I am constantly dealing with patients. I am an optician at a private practice. It’s my expertise to know how to fix any damaged frames, conclude which type of lens the patient needs for their prescription, and know the difference and quality of each different type of contact lens brands. Therefore, when any patient calls or walks in with any questions regarding my job description, I know exactly how to answer with confidence and showing the patient that they are ensured of someone who is medically knowledgable in this field no matter what the situation may be. Effective communication is key between the patient and I. This confidence that I have is what I consider public communication and networking. I mark it under these categories because I am always around others and meeting new people. This is exactly how I began to build this strength of strong verbal speaking.

 My weaknesses would most definitely be written communication and business etiquette. When it comes to writing a formal letter to an employer, the dean of a college department, or even a professor, my mind goes completely blank. I would continue to make myself go through the same process I did as a grade school student, which is: outline, roughdraft, and final draft. When I am writing, my choice of words are always difficult to find and it is necessary for me to keep a dictionary and thesaurus in hand as well. As for business etiquette, I of course know my basic manners and conduct but it is far from being in a business environment. When is it appropriate to take a cell phone call during a business lunch? When is the proper time to shake hands when greeting someone? What should you do when someone gives you their business card? The list of questions could go on.

 As my college career progresses, I am put into the business environment more often than usual. It would be a great characteristic if I knew how to respond to certain situations in that type of environment. Not only does it help me with where I am now, such as attendin business meetings, Leadership Schools, and professional events, but also in the long run when I am set in my career. And again, I would also like to be able to apply critical thinking towards my writing. I understand that it still takes some effort for a fantastic paper but I know for a fact that it takes me longer than an average writer to complete a well written one.

 Thank you again for your time and effort in assisting me with improving my weaknesses. I also thank you in advance if you have any advise on how to improve my strengths as well. I look forward to further discussing this with you and listening to your words on how to overcome this great challenge.

Best regards, Linh Ngo