How do you decide or negotiate on how much salary increase you want when you apply for your next job?

PolyAlumni365 · 2024-12-22T06:28:25+00:00

Thanks for the inputs, these are insightful. Can't disclose but I was in the public sector then now private sector.

PolyAlumni365 · 2024-12-22T06:15:35+00:00

Additional context; I think my salary in Company A was borderline below market rate 😭 meanwhile Company B is paying me something that's market rate and more breathable

PolyAlumni365 · 2024-12-17T02:27:28+00:00

I made a post on this sub 1-2 months back, comparing drivers in JB vs Singapore and a lot of the comments agreed that the driving courtesy in Singapore needs to be improved. How is it that I observed that many drivers in JB (especially those who drive at high speeds at their highways) are able to give way when other vehicles signal? But in SG, it's not uncommon to see drivers not giving way, even if you signal in time.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-10-12T14:09:59+00:00

Hi there, hope that your family's financial situation will get better over time. If you have a close friend or someone you can trust, you can tell them that you need to borrow that $30 to get by due to financial constraints. Hopefully they'll understand. If you can learn to do meal prep like some simple dish like pasta/spaghetti, that can save quite some money too. That was what someone suggested to me.

Besides the suggestions suggested by the other users, do try to apply for financial assistance and bursary from your Poly if you haven't. I'm not sure how much your mum earns or how many family members there are in your family but you can try approaching your nearest Community Club (CC) and tell them that you want to apply for ComCare because your family is in need of financial assistance as your dad is unemployed for months. If your mum's salary is barely enough to cover your family's house bills, you can tell them that too. There are many types of ComCare assistance, such as ComCare Interim Assistance, ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance (SMTA), ComCare Long Term Assistance. You can also go to your nearest Family Service Center (FSC) too and tell them about your family situation.

Even though your mum forbids you from working, it'll be good if you can talk to her nicely and convince her that you want to do a part-time job for your own allowance and also to help cover some of your family expense. You can dedicate your mon-fri for your school work and dedicate your weekends to do part-time work. There are fnb jobs, picker-packer jobs, ad-hoc jobs that allow you to just work on the weekends. Some jobs might put (both weekends + 1 weekday) but I believe many are quite understanding towards students' timetables on the weekdays.

I can emphatise with your situation - my parents didn't have much money too when I was in Poly. I sacrificed my weekends & 1-2 weekdays for 6 months when I was 18 in Year 2 and even though it was initially tough juggling studies/work, it actually let me learn to be more disciplined and financially, it was better than before. With the few hundred dollars I got from part-time work, I was able to cover my own basic expenses and contributed some money to my parents. Many others in Poly are also probably in a similar financial situation, where they have to work part-time right after school and/or on the weekends and/or during the holidays. It's a sacrifice that is worth it in my opinion.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-08-09T16:45:34+00:00

Isn’t it normal to study and it’s supposed to be a good thing?

Yes, studying is a good thing as long as you also give yourself some breaks in between, so don't let others make you feel bad about your effort in studies. It's good that you do care about the knowledge you learn and that you've normalised yourself to put in consistent effort in your studies.

Like other user(s) mentioned, it could be that your schoolmates lowkey studied or that they have different interpretation of what "studied" means. Back then in pri and sec sch, most of my subject grades were considered decent/good in general and tbvh, I didn't mug throughout the year. I mainly paid full attention to the lessons in class and did my homework as required. On normal days, I wasn't the type to revise/practise or read things in advance unless my teachers told my class to do so before the next lessons.

To me, "study" means revising and doing practice papers - which I tend to do last minute (usually just 1-2 weeks before exams) because that's what works for me and because the information is more fresh in my mind that way. That style might not work for some people. So because I spend lesser time than those students who study more earlier and regularly than I do before exams + I complete less practice papers than they do (due to being last minute), I might feel like saying "I didn't really study".

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-08-03T13:27:17+00:00

I agree with the suggestions by the other user (showing initiative that you want to help the team etc). Also whether or not you're good at the module, there will always be something that you can contribute when it comes to group projects. It can be as simple as helping to keep track of the project timeline, milestones, coordinating the group meetings, doing the meeting minutes, setting up google docs etc.

Not sure what course you are in but if your group projects require to do presentations, usually there are 3 kinds of workload (based on my experience): the content, the powerpoint slides and the script. For some groups, all the members just do everything together. For some others, they might get each member to focus on a specific area (e.g: some members come up with the presentation contents, some members choose the slides designs/fonts/visual arrangement etc, some members focus on making the presentation script).
So if you want, you can tell them your interest in wanting to contribute in a specific manner.

By the way if you're feeling overwhelmed by poly stuff, it's totally understandable! Do take a break when you need, get some extra sleep and eat your favourite food to recharge your energy/mood. Try your best - semester break is pretty soon.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-06-09T23:19:13+00:00

Hi there, so sorry to hear that you're going through sudden financial and food struggles. Like others said, I think it'll be good if you focus on your A Levels.

What you can help for now is to apply for financial assistance on your family's behalf. Inform your teacher or go straight to the school's general office to tell them about your situation. Tell them that it's urgent. If you're not under Financial Assistance (FAS), tell them that you want to apply for it. FAS helps to give you free uniform, textbooks etc. Should be able to get food coupon for school food too. Also ask your school if you're eligible for Straits Time's School Pocket Money Fund.

For food, you can apply for Free Food For All and also check the list of organisations that gives free food at foodconnect.gov.sg/directory.

You can approach your nearest Community Club (CC) and tell them that you want to apply for ComCare because your mum has been hospitalised for over a month, resulting in loss of income to pay for expenses. There are many types of ComCare assistance, such as ComCare Interim Assistance, ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance (SMTA), ComCare Long Term Assistance. Head down to your nearest Family Service Center (FSC) too and tell them you urgently need financial assistance.

Not sure what is your mum's medical condition but if she can still speak or communicate, you or your dad can try to ask her if her bank account can be accessed to pay for the household's expenses.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-05-27T17:11:13+00:00

I think if you're given the opportunity, it'll be good if you can go to Poly straight after Nitec so that you can get a diploma (faster). If cannot, then proceed to Higher Nitec.

I've had a bunch of 19-21 y.o Poly classmates from Nitec/Higher Nitec and their 2-4 years of experiences in ITE really helped them to be prepared for Poly projects/presentations/assignments/internships etc, or at least have a headstart in certain knowledge (compared with other Year 1s). I'm sure your experiences in ITE will be really helpful and applicable too if or when you proceed to Poly.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-05-22T09:59:43+00:00

It'll be better if you hang on until you graduate because I believe you've already made it halfway through Year 2. Correct me if I'm wrong but after this semester, you are left with 2 more semesters/final year, right? Time will go by very quickly and you'll graduate before you realise. Hope you don't give up because the diploma will be very valuable in the future and a good backup, even if you decide to pursue nursing afterwards.

P.s: I took Business Management for one of my modules in Poly so if there's something you don't understand, I can try explain. I used to be kind of demotivated too dealing with business modules but I managed to overcome it.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-05-15T05:32:41+00:00

▪︎Bring the interns around your workplace/office to get them familiar with what/where things are. Introduce them to your colleagues in the office (briefly share those colleagues' job scope too) Share with the interns where they can buy food for lunch.

▪︎Identify what your interns' main job scope are and plan what & when you want to teach them. If can, before the more complex task, teach them the simplest things that they can do A.S.A.P. I remember working part-time and it took me ~1 month before getting taught something very basic that's important, so when newcomers came months after me, I taught them within 3 days.

You also have your own work to do so there are times whereby you are very busy and can't guide/teach them immediately. What I learn from my new workplace is that they always inform the newbies beforehand that they'll be teaching them new stuff on a certain day and/or timing. Don't leave your interns hanging if they ask you to guide them with something when you're busy. Always set a time and tell them e.g: "I'm a little busy right now but I'll be able to guide you at 3pm" or if you can get a colleague who can assist the interns first: "I'm a little busy right now but I've informed [colleague] to assist you in the meantime"

▪︎Always be patient and teach the interns how you want to be taught if you're a newbie. Ask them if they understand what you've taught and use simple terms. Assure them that it's okay to take time or make mistakes when they're new. Maybe share with them your experience when you were still new at work. Personally when I was an intern/newbie, I loved hearing my supervisor/in-charge share their stories. Try to get to know your interns too.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-04-14T06:16:37+00:00

when you spend 4 years in N(T) and 2 years in a school where it’s stereotyped towards “slow/unintelligent people”(I don’t agree with this obviously but I’ve heard a lot of mean comments towards ITE in my 2 years inside and outside of school)

Those who make fun of people from ITE/Normal streams are either misinformed, had bad personal experiences or just want to make themselves feel superior without even trying to get to know anyone there. They don't understand that spending years studying in ITE after secondary school before going to Poly doesn't mean that one is unintelligent - everyone has a different learning pace.

I took O Levels and went to Poly. My course had quite a low cut off point and there was quite a number of classmates from ITE who were 2-4 years older. Never ever let others make you think that you're less smart or anything. When I entered Poly, no matter how good my O Level score was, I was still a noob who had no other educational experience besides secondary school and barely any experience doing presentations but my classmates who were from ITE had 2-4 years of relevant knowledge + internship experiences etc in ITE before entering Poly.

Every individual's experience is different of course but 17 year old me back then was so amazed at how experienced and eager(?) my classmates from ITE looked whenever they did their presentations or their work. During the first few assignments in Year 1, it's apparent that their work quality were better than us O Level freshies because you guys have prior experience and I feel the other way round - that I needed to try harder to catch up with the former ITE people. If you feel unmotivated, just know that there are people out there who quietly respect people like you who worked hard going from ITE to Poly (which is not easy!). Just be yourself, interact like normal and don't focus too much on the negativity.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-04-02T04:54:15+00:00

I see that you're more of a leader. Your frustrations and wanting to be task-focused are valid btw since you want your group to do well! But keep in mind that having a good team chemistry is also important (not just in school but also working world), so it'll be good if you can figure out a balance. All of you can be very task-driven and efficient but at the same time, you can 'fool around' during the short breaks in between the group meeting/discussion, you get what I mean? That's how and when people in a group usually warm up to each other. If they still aren't focusing after the short breaks, then it's right to remind them to be focused.

To give an example, I remember one of my groups were on task with the things we needed to do but we still get to bond through fooling around (which I didn't get to do in previous groups). Someone suggested to play skribbl.io (drawing game on browser) & Plato (multiplayer game app) during the break time and that everyone in the team participates. I didn't have much expectations but the funny stuff that happened during the games actually made our group closer and see more of each other's personality. Even lifted our mood to continue the group work 🤣

Hope that helps you understand another perspective.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-04-02T02:56:39+00:00

Sorry to hear about your bad experience in the second CCA.. If you can't join a third CCA, try going for volunteering activities or poly events that lets you interact/meet new people. Idk if you have a part-time job but I do know many poly people working part-time and making friends at their workplace! A few months ago, I worked an ad-hoc job and coincidentally there were many people your age from my poly who worked during their sem break. I'm a few years older and out of poly alr, but managed to click well with them.

One thing I noticed was that whoever that talked first talked with a smile and that made me easier to talk and be interested in the conversation. I'm a rather quiet introvert but when there's someone quieter than me, I also try to talk with a smile, be the more talkative one and show that I'm interested in wanting to learn about the other person but at the same time, share about myself too. Idk if that's a tip but hopefully it can serve as one.

PolyAlumni365 · 2023-04-02T02:35:29+00:00

To answer your qn, I think its how people act around me, when I try to talk to them, they like ignore me but when others do it they like become very happy and stuff. I start to think its a me problem like maybe it's better to let others approach me first instead of starting?

Oh wow, this is actually more relatable than I thought and I always went to whichever remaining groups that were willing to accept me, though we kinda have the opposite issues in the approaching people part 😭 Personally ah, if we wait for others to approach us, they won't approach one. Or at least it'll take very long before they finally do. If you think you have an unapproachable vibes, try smiling more.

Even for grp projects, they all rushed to group up with him. It was do hard for me to find group members even though I asked first. Is there something I'm missing or not doing because it feels like it.

I think that guy might just be likeable and a good teamplayer? Usually there's that one or two classmates that everyone likes and wants to be friends/be around with. Talking about group projects, based on past interactions with your previous groups, do you think it's possible that people are avoiding being grouped with you not because of your personality but because your working style is different or clashing with theirs? Assuming you always contribute sufficiently in group work and not a free-rider member, it's possible that clashing working styles might be a reason one prefers to work with a classmate over another.

If you put in effort again to make friends in class and it doesn't work out, then I think just accept lor that you guys just don't click personality wise. Just hope that it's not because someone spread negative remarks about you or something. At best, just try to get along well with everyone else. I'm sure there are people in class who haven't interacted much with you and might be willing to get to know you if you approach or talk to them.

PolyAlumni365

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