Some Fireworks for Celebration!

Time flies by, and we have reached the end of this term. Looking back, I have learnt so much from this course. In terms of writing, I learnt about how to write email correspondence with appropriate tone, how to structure a research report, etc. I also gained practical career skills such as using LinkedIn effectively, writing proper resume and cover letters. Overall, this has been a fruitful term! 

I believe my strength mainly lies in person skills, thanks to my previous Co-op experience and on-going job-searching. Throughout the term, my amazing teammates and I had great time working with and learning from each other. Also, when learning about the LinkedIn best practices and creating the application package, I was able to build upon my previous knowledge and gain deeper understanding of what the employers want to see from our applications. In addition, I was able to quickly learn from the feedback and apply them in my writing. Although I got a late start in revising my writings, I was able to get them done quickly and appreciate the use of better writing techniques, such as writing with “You” attitude and having clear structure for peer reviews. 

As for weakness, my time management skill could definitely be improved. When writing the formal report, collecting survey data took too much time, and I was also caught in other courses. As a result, the quality of the final report was not as expected. Also, I should have paid more attention to details. There were times when we were asked to include the file being reviewed in our reflection or peer review, but I was careless and did not notice, causing inconvenience to the readers. These should have been avoided. 

In general, a lot of the skills I learnt are directly applicable to my career as a software developer. In job searching, having professional LinkedIn profile and application package would highlight my experience and make my profile stand out among other candidates. Actually, I was able to land a full-time job this term, and I would say my resume played its part well. At work, being able to write clear and concise technical documents would be a great asset, even my readers (fellow software developers) would have similar technical background. What is more, as more and more tech jobs are shifting to remote work, knowing the etiquette of writing professional emails would be a must-have skill.  

In the end, I would like to thank my teammates and Dr. Paterson for such an amazing term. Wish you all the best!