Kijang Emas Interview Experience

This month has been the most hectic one where there's scholarship applications to fill, interviews to attend and the fact that I still have to go for driving classes so I can get my driving licence immediately.

I'm actually super exhausted.

March begins with a call I received from JPN, a day before result announcement, saying that I got 9A+ for my SPM. I am indeed very grateful and overjoyed. Alhamdulillah. The days after that follow with scholarship hunting and one of the scholarship I applied for is Kijang Emas Bank Negara scholarship.

So for today's entry, I'll be sharing my experience during the whole assessment, starting from day 1.

DAY 1

I checked in to Lanai Kijang in KL wih my family accompanying me. The place was very nice and there's good food provided there so I suggest not to skip any meals (because I did and I regret it😭). I got a room facing the pool with my roommate, Aqilah who's from Kedah. There's ironing facilities and strong wifi connection in the room as well. Basically, the first day was kind of all leisure and friendly which we had a lot of time to mingle around and be comfortable. All other candidates were very nice and I met some of my AYTR friends too! 

After dinner, we were briefed on some policies regarding Kijang scholarship and Kijang Emas scholarship. Kijang scholarship offers a specified courses and there is a bondage to work under Bank Negara depending on the number of your study years. Let's say your study period is 4 years, then 4x2=8 years of working under BNM. For Kijang Emas sch which I applied for, there is no bondage and we are allowed to choose any desired course and place to study. I applied for medicine course at Newcastle University, UK. After the briefing, we were sort into groups and were told to work on group cheers. My group was Kijang Emas 2 consisting of 7 people including me, Asyiqin, Swaathi, Ng, Iman, Ali and Zafran. 

DAY 2

This whole day was an assessment based on groupwork. There were 4 sessions and teamworking between us in KE2 was the major key to seize the day. Oh and there were 3 assessors in the room watching us while we were doing our task. The first session was a study case. 

Basically, we have to plan on how to improvise Encik Ali's bookstore based on some of the problems listed. There were roles like Project Management, Finance and Accounting, Change Management and Inventory Management. Me and Asyiqin were the change management so we presented on different initiatives we could work on while cooperating with the finance department as the allocation given was only 20 000. 

Second session was a study case too and a bit tougher than the previous one because it was more practical. We have to plan a convocation carnival which we have to show the layout and carried out some calculations to find the profit margin. It was a good exposure to me, anyways.

After that, we had lunch with assessors from other group which we were advised not to be too quiet.

The reason to that is to give a good impression to other assessors as they are going to judge ourselves as well.

During the third session, all the Kijang Emas groups are gathered in the same assessment hall. We were told to sort ourselves based on our desired courses as we were going to make a presentation, promoting our courses to the assessors. Being in the medicine group, I got to work with candidates from other groups but I suited myself real quick that time (prolly bcoz we have the same interest haha).

For the last session, we had to get back to our initial group. The task was to build two towers of 50 cm and 20 cm height, connecting each other. We were only given poker cards to work on that. Any form of it would be acceptable as long as they meet the height requirements and connected to each other.

That marked the end of the first day assessment and by the time our bus arrived to Sasana Kijang to fetch us back to Lanai Kijang, I was soooo exhausted and sleepy that I skipped my dinner for a short nap 😭😭. 

After dinner, we were going to find out who was going to the next stage and who will not. I dont know why but I was acting pessimistic on that night, having thoughts that I would not make it to the next stage and I even had my stuffs packed up! I was planning on having a tour around the hotel tomorrow or maybe hitting the gym before checking out kahkah. 

So Mdm Aireen announced some names which I was not mentioned in and they were instructed to wait outside of the hall. I was calm as I expected it earlier, clapping my hands for the names mentioned BUT THEN after the last name was announced and the hall door was closed shut, Mdm Aireen announced,

"Congratulations, you guys made it to the next stage! And kenapa korang tepuk tangan tadi?" 

I WAS DAMN SHOCK MAN! I took some time to digest the whole situation. I was happy but I was also like, damn it! Gotta face individual assessment tomorrow ughhhh. 😫😫

DAY 3 

Just like day 2, shortlisted candidates were brought by bus from lanai kijang to Sasana Kijang early in the morning. First thing we had to work on is individual presentation. There were 4 topics and we were asked to choose one to present using a mahjong paper with preparation time of 20 minutes. The presentation itself would be 10 minutes and followed by Q&As. My topic was the most selected one among the candidates which is 'Aptitude vs Attitude. Which is more important in the university.'

After the presentation, those 3 assessors (one is my group assessor while other 2 are assessors from other groups) gave some question from my presentation and proceed to interviewing me about my career option. The questions came out like this

🔅why are you interested in doing surgery and not research? Doing research will also contribute to the nation (Well, I told them that I want to be a cardiothoracic surgeon and I press on my desire to contribute to my nation, but they basically will throw questions and provocations based on what you tell them)

🔅Dengue disease has been around Malaysia for years but Malaysia Ministry of Health has not yet able to find the antidote to put the spread of this disease to an end. Why do you think so?

🔅Between a person who took care of their health but got infected with dengue fever, and a person who dont take care of their diet consumption,lifestyle which leads to cardiovascular diseases, which do u think requires extra attention from doctors for treatments.

🔅Do you think depression as a disease?

🔅If u were to be given Kijang scholarship for accounting, but not medicine, would you take it? (Because I put my second option as accounting).

🔅Do you have any questions for us? ( I asked if there is something that I can improve from myself)

Then I left the interview room with huge relief, knowing that I tried my best despite the iv being so intense.

Here's a pic of me at Sasana Kijang, a building made of glasses and looked very exclusive😙

Before heading back to Melaka, I went to Midvalley with other AYTRians by KTM and met some other AYTRians waiting for us there. Midvalley was damn crowded so we had to cancel our movie plan. We had a very good time catching up with each other at Carl's Jr instead. Ahh, it was really a stress relieving moment with inside jokes pulled by these guys 😂😂😂

10 Tips to Fit In

If you're a naturally awkward person and interacting with new people in a new environment becomes a struggle, don't feel bad coz we're definitely in the same boat, probably with other thousands of people out there. This time I'm going to come up with 10 tips to fit in a group of new people which I learnt from several experience and observations.

1. Smile and laugh.

By smiling, it automatically makes people think that you're friendly and approachable. You just have to smile to anyone that you bump into and don't forget to maintain eye contact. This way, especially if you're an introvert will make it easier when the other party decides to take the first step and say hello.

2. Expect various colour of humans.

When you finally able to join in the group, you'll be meeting different kind of person with different story and different way of telling. Sometimes, you'll be comfortable with funny, decent and humble person but don't get offended when a person suddenly speaks sarcasm with harsh words or probably shriek at you. They don't mean harm but they naturally speak that way.

3. Share common interest.

I've seen many of people become best friends because of common interest they have. Share your common interest, be it about songs, guilty pleasure or things you hate. Also, don't forget to be a good listener and voices out your opinion about what they love or hate so they can sense your attention and concern. At early stage, you have no choice but to fit in so even when their interest don't arouse you, pretend it does!

4. Don't feel intimidated.

You should try to make friend with every single person in the community. It's really important that you don't feel inferior to those who stand out more and have more knowledge or those who become famous instantly in the group. You should speak out too and try to talk about their stuff. Always remember that the inferiority that you feel is what they feel as well but they decided to ignore it. 

5. Play important niche.

Volunteer to any task that have to be done in the group so they will find you helpful and useful. There'll be more interactions and a stronger bond will be created when facing challenges together.

6. Come up with significant remarks on yourself.

You have to do something that will make them remember you. It could be a punchline or a pickupline you pulled or a talent you posses like beatboxing, rapping. This way, they'll remark you with what you did in the last 10 years to the day you're having  a reunion with them.

7. Avoid boring conversation.

I don't know why and since when but in our generation, serious conversations are considered boring conversations. We would much prefer a funny conversation compared to a serious one. However, don't get me wrong. Serious conversation is crucial but at certain appropriate timing. Also, don't hesitate to reply with sarcasm or punchlines to loose the tension between both parties as it will also make the conversation more interesting.

8. You don't have to impress.

To me, those who tried too hard to impress others to the measure that they tell about all their achievements really pisses me off. It's vital to just be yourself and stay as humble as you can. People loves humble person and they'll find you more attractive when they figure out your speciality themselves and then only, you can start telling them about it. It's also okay to share your flaws as no one is perfect and no one deserves to be judged. You should accept yourself and others as it is.

9. Know them better.

You have to know more than just their full name, perhaps about their family, friends and personal stories. This is the only way you can discover what is unrevealed behind those smiling faces and you can play your role as a friend. You have to do it right because they'll put their trust on you and treasure your presence.

 

10. Give compliment.

It's never wrong to tell someone that they're beautiful in their own way. Try complimenting someone about their smile or their attire and you'll see them smile for the rest of the day. That's the power of compliment in changing someone's feeling. Just remember that the more happiness you give, the more happiness you'll get. Give compliments!

That's all for this entry. I hope all the tips are interesting enough for you to apply so you can fit in well and be happy. Don't forget to smile! Coz you look beautiful with it😍