Career Blog for IS Professional course at RMIT

Questions

-          What are your lifestyle goals?

-          Does a career in IT fit with your lifestyle goals?

-          What is your future career goal?

-          How ready are you for an IT job?

-          What do you need to do to get ready?

-          What actions will you need to take to reach your career goals?

-          What steps do you need you need take to manage your career?

When I was a kid, I dreamed of being a superman to save this world and help poor people those who do not have power, rights and are maltreated. Growing up, I realized that superman with super power does not exist but only people with brilliant minds, talents, sharpen skills and warm hearts that can do meaningful things. During my past two years, I have learnt from my experience and observation of BenSmile, RMIT CAN, LIN and KOTO that traditional charity is not effective any more. Fortunately, social entrepreneurship is the answer; however, it needs to apply IT and IS in order to generate more positive result for the community. Therefore, one of my future career goals is to become a founder and CEO of an international social entrepreneurship which helps poor people through training and job opportunities.

In my personality, I care about health, nutrition and environment. Thus, my first lifestyle goal is to keeping myself, family, people in my organization and my community healthy with a scientific, practical exercise and nutrition regime. This also leads to my second career goal which is becoming a CEO or SEO of a restaurant that successfully applies IS and IT in management and operation. Secondly, I want to be able to help at least one new individual everyday through my organization and my charity. Thirdly, through any actions of mine and my organization, I want it to contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment. To illustrate, my organization will use IT applications to reduce paper work and automatic power off when necessary. Lastly, I want to have time with my family and my friends whom are very important to me. 

This image illustrates briefly how my personality effect my career goals and my lifestyle goals

Of course, a career in IT also meets my lifestyle goals as I understand which path in IT I should go so that I also can fulfill my goals with the application of IT. I use IT as a tool in order to speed up the process and performance of my organization and community in everyday life.

Currently, I equip myself with basic IT knowledge and skills from courses at RMIT. This means that I will have to learn additional knowledge on database management, web development and ERP from outside courses and self-study. Also I will have to gain more experience from actual implementing what I have learnt into projects and works. This means that I will join more social work and projects in department of my major.  Additionally, I will ask students who are taking or finished intern for their experience and advice on what I should prepare in advance. However, with an “ongoing and willing to learn” mind, I strongly believe that I am ready for an IT job.

In order to reach my career goals, there are four main actions. Firstly, I need to enrich my knowledge not only in business (law, IS, finance, marketing, HR and management) but also knowledge in nutrition, health and hygiene. Secondly, I will gain an extensive experience in working for international enterprises and social entrepreneurship. In detail, I will begin with starting position then I will get promotion to CEO or SEO. Thirdly, I will travel to many countries in the world to take risks of holding different responsibilities in different nations, to learn new technologies, their application and especially their taste and experience in making dishes. Lastly and importantly, networking, interacting and strengthen bonds with people from many regions will help me to expand my knowledge, learn perspectives from different nations and explore new things that I have never known. 

The following image shows my briefly neccessary steps in order to to achieve my career goals. These steps wil be changed and improved frequently.

It is important to manage my career. There are main three steps that I have learnt and experienced as following:

-          Understand myself. This is a complicated process and it requires an ongoing and long-term activities and actions. For myself, first, I choose to do what I like which is studying and joining many clubs such as Business Club, Environment club, CAN, Design Club and SIFE. After a period of a quarter or a year, I look back and reflect on myself whether this is what I want to do for my career.  The answer was no. I did not want to just make my life busy but I only want to have time to understand and reflect on myself more. Then, I started to leave clubs to find quiet places to think of myself and other people and to mediate. Also, I spend more time on social work to find out my value, my passion for life and how my major can help me to pursue it. At last, I explore who I am – an easy question with a struggling answer.

-          Plan my career. According to my experience, this needs a large investment in time in order to fully develop a career planning. For me, I learnt from career workshop by Phoenix Ho and Nguyen Huu Tri (Awake Your Power) some essential steps and tips. Especially from the two books: “I am gifted, so are you!” (Adam Khoo) and “7 habits of highly effective people” (Stephen Covey), I have learnt tools, techniques and models to assist my career planning.  It is essential that I explore all of my alternative ways and study their feasibilities. I apply feasibility study model which I learnt from Business Analysis course and “Problem Solving 101” (Ken Watanabe). The important point is to have a closest friend and career consultant to feedback your plan. However, it all depends on each person decisions for the planning as it reflects their personalities.

-          Track my career path. This means that I will look back what I have done yearly or semi-yearly to make sure I am on the right track or if I need to modify it. I also usually have my closest friend and career consultant to feedback on me if I am on the right track. Tracking my career path is not easy as when we are working, we rarely have time to stop to reflect on our paths. That is why I usually spend my whole Sunday or even Saturday with my girlfriend, my family or myself to reflect on my career path and choice.

To me, career development is a recurrence process which will hardly ends and it occurs as the following cycle:

Reference:

Dev, S n.a., image, Living with Cerebral Palsy, n.a., viewed 14 July 2011, <http://www.livingwithcerebralpalsy.com/diabetes-food.php>

Geopaul, 2008, image, iStockphoto, 6 December 2008, viewed 14 July 2011, <http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-7962690-green-earth.php?st=f09751f>

Illustrious, 2008, image, iStockphoto, 19 April 2008, viewed 14 July 2011, < http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-5915619-family-and-friends-holding-hands.php?st=1917934>

Mahesh, 2006, image, StrangeHorizon, 31 August 2006, viewed 14 July 2011, < http://www.strangehorizons.com/reviews/2006/08/superman_.shtml>

Sorbetto, 2008, image, 21 August 2008, viewed 14 July 2011, <http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-6996557-health-heart-icon.php> 

ONE LIFE - An International Photography Competition

What does the world look like through your eyes?

You are invited to participate in the One Life Photography Competition. This worldwide search for photography seeks to illuminate your perspective: what you love, your travels, or anything that reflects your world and experience. Select your best work, submit your photos easily online and have a chance at life-changing awards.

Your photos tell stories. Now is your chance to share them with the world.

Your Deadline is:

Midnight, July 29th (EST)

Click here for a brief video introduction.

The Grand Prize Selected Photographer Will Receive:

World-Wide Acclaim

A Feature in PDN Magazine : A Feature on Artists Wanted

A New York City Exhibition & Reception

Hosted During Photo Plus Expo : Exposing Your Work to 30,000 Guests

The Adventure of a Lifetime

Your Choice of: A Worldwide Travel Adventure or $10,000 Cash

Plus Special Cash Prizes for:

Each Category, the People's Choice Award and the Early Entry Award

Every entrant will receive a "Thank You Package" with discounts and freebies valued at over $95.

Including: A free website from See.Me and $40 in photo software from FX Photo Studio.

REFERENCE: http://www.onelifephotos.com/

Entrance for Inspire Project

Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World'.
Our team includes Mai Hong Khoa, Le Nguyen Van Anh and Nguyen Do Thuy Tu.

Project Inspire is a joint initiative by UN Women Singapore and MasterCard to help you create a better world of opportunities for women and children in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. This video pitch is part of a US$25,000 grant competition for the winning pitch to go out and implement the idea advocated.

Help empower women and girls in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa with Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World at www.5MinutestoChangetheWorld.org.

Join the conversation on Facebook Causeshttp://www.causes.com/causes/597940.

For more details, please visit these websites:
www.5minutestochangetheworld.org
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

This is my team video for joining the Inspire Project. Although the effect is not as we planned and expected, we are confident in about project and hoping to win this competition to bring a whole new future for Vietnamese Woman.

On July 25, 2011, the Top 10 Finalists Will Be Unveiled & Public Voting Starts


Let Vote for us.  

Video Essay Competition 2011: The European Union in Southeast Asia

Video Essay Competition 2011

The European Union Centre is calling for entries for our Video Essay Competition, themed “The European Union in Southeast Asia”.

The competition is organised in conjunction with Europe Day (9 May) to highlight the increasing exchanges the European Union and Southeast Asia or one of its countries have on each other.


Citizens or permanent residents of Southeast Asian countries aged 30 and under are invited to submit a video clip of a maximum of 5 minutes that captures the theme in a creative and appealing way. In-depth or specialised knowledge of the European Union is not required – rather, the film should reflect how you view the European Union in Southeast Asia, or in one of the Southeast Asian countries.

The judging panel will be chaired by the Ambassador of the EU to Singapore, H.E. Marc Ungeheuer, and will include film industry professionals and practitioners from the region.

Four cash prizes will be awarded. The first placed winner will receive SGD$3000, while second and third placed winners will receive SGD$1500 and SGD$1000 respectively. A return ticket to Singapore and accommodation vouchers will also be given to the winner, if he/she is resident elsewhere in Southeast Asia. A “Viewer’s Choice Award” of SGD$1000 will be decided by public voting.

Submissions close on 10 Aug 2011. 10 finalists will be announced on 17 Aug and the videos will be hosted online for the public to view and to vote until 31 Aug. Winners will be announced on 2 Sep 2011. 

Please follow these links for the guidelines for submission as well as the official entry form.

The Media Release, announcing the competition can be found here.

For enquiries, please contact videoessay@nus.edu.sg or 6513 2003

The European Union Centre in Singapore

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION 


The European Union Centre in Singapore is calling for entries for the 2011 Video Essay Competition, themed “The European Union in South East Asia”. The competition is organized in conjunction with Europe Day 2011 (9 May) to highlight the increasing exchange and influence the European Union and South East Asia have on each other.

Citizens or permanent residents of Southeast Asian countries are invited to submit a video clip that captures the subject in a creative, imaginative, and thought-provoking way. In depth or specialised knowledge of the European Union is not required – rather, the film should reflect how you view the EU in Southeast Asia, or your home country in Southeast Asia. Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony at the EU Centre in September 2011.

Concept
What is the European Union (EU)?
How is the EU imagined by Southeast Asians?
What lessons can be learned from the EU and what can the EU learn from us in Singapore and the other nations in Southeast Asia?

These are just some of the topics that we hope filmmakers will explore. We are interested in innovative and original video work on the topic which reflects the diversity of opinions of individuals in the region.

There are no restrictions to the art form of the final product as long as it is presented in the form of a video clip - it can be produced in a variety of techniques, and can comprise live action, animation, still photography or any combination of the above. The final work can come from any genre including personal accounts, fiction, documentary, experimental, and music video. Some themes we hope will be explored include, but are not limited to development, innovation, integration, culture and heritage, art, and identity.

Eligibility
The competition is open to citizens or permanent residents of Southeast Asian countries under the age of 30. Individual or group submissions will be accepted. Please nominate a representative to handle all correspondence if part of a group submission. If a group submission is declared the winner, the group representative will receive the award and prize, and will be responsible for distributing it amongst the group members. Only the representative of the group will receive the plane ticket and accommodation vouchers for the awards ceremony in Singapore.


Guidelines for Submission

Content can be in any language, but where it is not in English, English subtitles should be provided.

Your video must relate to the competition’s theme.

Final productions should be a maximum of 5 minutes (inclusive of credits and title screens).

They cannot contain violence, profanity, sex or direct attacks on individuals or organizations. It should not contain any other conduct or expression likely to be deemed unlawful (please see Terms and Conditions for further points).

The submission must be the entrant’s own original creation – no copyrighted music, video, or images may be used unless releases are obtained (documentary proof of this will then be required).

The video author’s name(s) and the line “EU Centre Singapore Video Essay Competition 2011” is to be included in the opening credits.

The videos should be in one of the following file formats: Windows Media Video (.avi), mobile phones (.3gp), Windows (.wmv), Mac (.mov), iPod/PSP (.mp4), .mpeg, Adobe Flash (.flv), h264 (.mkv).

Entrants are to submit a link to a soft copy of the video (via dropbox, yousendit, sendspace) along with a completed entry form via email. Entrants are to ensure that the download links provided are working and that the correct file is uploaded. The EU Centre will not be responsible for late entries resulting from the failure to ensure this.

Selection

Entries will be accepted up till 12pm, 10 Aug 2011. The deadline will be strictly enforced, and no changes will be allowed after 12pm, 10 Aug 2011. A complete entry includes a complete entry form as well as a soft copy of the video submission.

After the competition closes, 10 finalists will be shortlisted, chosen by a EUC jury. These finalists will be announced by 17 Aug 2011 and will be notified by e-mail. The shortlisted videos will then be showcased on the competition website and/or on the EU Centre’s Youtube page.

Authors, whose entries are shortlisted, will be required to submit a selection of film stills as well as a 30 second trailer of their film for promotional purposes.

Subsequently, three prize-winning videos will be selected by public voting as well as by the judging panel.

Public voting will end at 12pm on 31 Aug 2011. The winners will be announced on 2 Sep 2011 by e-mail, as well as published on the competition website.

Public voting requires voters to have a Facebook account.

The sole criterion for the “Viewer’s Choice Award” is total number of “likes” on the video hosted on the EU Centre’s Facebook page by 12pm, 31 Aug 2011.

Public voting (number of Facebook ‘likes’) will also account for 20% of the final result, and will decide any ties.

Key Dates Launch of competition	9 May 2011
Last day for submission of entries	10 Aug 2011
Announcement of finalists, public voting opens	17 Aug 2011
End of public voting	31 Aug 2011
Announcement of winners	2 Sep 2011

Reference:

http://www.eucentre.sg/details.php?j=285

DETERMINANT GOALS FOR SEMESTER B 2011 !

1.      Get following mark at RMIT:

a.     Macroeconomics:               High Distinction

b.     The IS Professionals:         High Distinction

2.     Prepare for 1-Year Internship in Singapore/ Australia

a.     Technical Skill:

                                                             i.      Self-Study HTML

                                                           ii.      Self- Study CSS

                                                        iii.      Self- Study php

                                                         iv.      Web Design

b.     Non- technical Skill:

                                                             i.      Mind Mapping

                                                           ii.      Communication

                                                        iii.      Leadership

                                                         iv.      Presentation

                                                            v.      Interpersonal

c.      Language

Chinese

d.     Research Jobs – Apply

3.     Win Inspire Project and CSIP competition -> Launch my first project
      Submitted on 30/06
      
      Reflection:
      -  Not satisfy with my work 
      -  Submission did not work out as planned
      -  Submit 1 late


     Reason:
     -> Had some problems with team members
     -> Did not fully develop a plan to accomplish them


     Action:
     +  Commit to deadline
     + Plan in advance and enhance team work from beginning
     + Improve communication between members 

4.     Read 5 books with topics as
     a.  Time management
           Time Management - Briefcase Book / Marc Mancini.
          
     b.  Leadership
     c.   Communication
     d.   Human & Behavior

My Resume

REFLECTION ON SEMESTER A - 2011

1.                   Get the following score in RMIT

·                     Price & Market:               High Distinction -> Distinction

            Reason:

-          Did not use effective learning techniques

-          Did not finish Mind Mapping on time and utilize it

-          Did not utilize recorded lecture to review

-          Did not do weekly homework

·                     BIS Development 2:         High Distinction -> Distinction

                Reason:

-         Did not use effective learning techniques to review theory for Final Exam

-         Did not manage time effectively to complete 100% requirement of Assignment

·                     BIS Analysis & Design 2:  Distinction  -> Distinction

Reason:

-         Did not manage my team well.

ACTION

-          Apply learning techniques absorbed from “I am gifted, so are you!” (Adam Khoo)

-          Finish Mind Mapping weekly – NO PROCRASTINATION!!!

-          Use recorded lecture/ ask lecturer for not-understood aspects.

2.                  Prepare for Internship in Singapore  - 6 months left

-                      Network with my friends, lecturers, businessmen… who are in Singapore:

FAIL !

o    Action:

§  Access Job Portal weekly

§  Find alternative ways: Australia and Vietnam

-                      Prepare CV: Up-to-date

-                      Essential Skills

o    Time Management - Did not manage effectively

Late for 1 assignment

§  Reason:

·         Personal problems

·         Waste some times in Games

·         Not utilize technology and scheduler

§  Improvement:

·         Make SMART goals weekly

·         Make detail schedule for each day and stick to it – Depend on situation, it can be flexible.

·         Use both software and handy scheduler

o    Mind mapping – A bit improving

Still could not finish weekly

§  Reason:

·         Ineffective time management

§  Improvement:

·         Use more pictures

·         Only key words

·         After each lecture, Mind Map it right THAT NIGHT

·         Review Mind map on weekend

o    Leadership – Not Improved

Could not manage assignments: Work breakdown structure, manage work

§  Reason:

·         Ineffective time management

§  Improvement:

·         Make WBS when approaching assignment/ project

·         Keep track of process and make suitable change to WBS

·         Influence members and urge them to work more effective

3.                  Join and Win competition – FAIL !

-                      Reason:

o    Could not find suitable team members

o    Could not manage supply chain

o    Lack of experience and networking

o    Did not utilize resources from my family

4.                  Read 5 books – 2 BOOKS READ!

-                       Reason:

o    Not efficiency technique

-                      Improvement

o    Set out how many pages read/ day and commit to it

o    Mind map the book after reading

OVERALL:

This semester I have more control over time and assessments to do more extra work.

KEY ACHIEVEMENT

-         Awarded at Asia Pacific Youth Forum

-         Selected as Member Advisory Committee of TakingITGlobal

-         Selected as Student Council of RMIT International University Vietnam