Jardine Scholarship Interview 2009 Con’t

I went for a second round of interview in Mandarin Oriental, KL today at 10.05am. Yesterday, I stayed over in Joshua’s because we had some discussion about IYLC and a whole range of other issues. Thank you Joshua for dropping me at Bukit Jalil LRT station. I shall fill your petrol tank full should I make it to the third round in Hong Kong.

Arriving in Mandarin Oriental at 9.30am, I was half an hour early. I thought I would be late because I left Joshua’s slightly late, at around 8.30am.

The public transportation is reliable for once – I got there using the Ampang Line (previously known as STAR Link) and the Kelana Jaya Line (previously known as PUTRA LRT). After a short walk from KLCC Main Entrance, tada I am in Mandarin Oriental.

Commercials: Mandarin Oriental has great service.

(To Mandarin Oriental, just a tip to improve your customer service: Please help a small gentleman like me with a height of 165cm, weight 52kg, to open the large entrance door in future.)

Back to the story, I met a few others who were waiting for their turns. I met Angeline again. During the first round of interview, I met her but I didn’t manage to get her contact.  Everyone was really friendly and I found myself comfortable the very first minute I conversed with them. Hi Shi Yu, Angeline, Jonathan, Jun Kit, Teoh, Ruben, and Vanessa.

Vanessa came all the way from KDU Penang; Jonathan and Teoh came all the way from Singapore – they are ASEAN scholars; and the rest are KL boys and girls.

Fun Facts
A majority of Jardine applicants are applying to Cambridge. In my batch of interviewees, only 3/4 out of 12 are applying to Oxford. (And yes, for the second round of interview, there were only 12 of us from all over Malaysia.)

The interview:

The interview was a one-on-three interview. There were three interviewers on the panel. One is the Chairman of Jardine Malaysia, one is the Secretary of Jardine Foundation, and one is from Hong Kong – a manager I presume.

The Challenge:

I was slightly caught off guard because I forgot to review my personal statement to Jardine the night before. Most of the questions were asked from my personal statement. In future, please read your personal statement or whatever documents you submitted before going into the interview!

I found of one of the questions slightly bizarre. One of the interviewers actually found my English oratory skills to be really good.

The question was: How did you improve your English up to such a level?

I was puzzled at first because personally, I think Jonathan Mah and friends have better English than mine. As a product of the Malaysian education system, I find it really painful to improve my English up to this level.

So I mentioned how I read articles and news, and converse with other English-speaking friends. Thanks for the compliment, Jardine. For that, I am giving you some free advertorial space here.

***Jardine – bringing you forward……… ***

Back to the interview, I got some questions about my family background, my plans after university, and my involvement with the NGOs and clubs I mentioned in my personal statement. (I am currently a member of Omega Leo Club of PJ Integrity.)

One of the interviewers asked me about my cross-country events. (Yes, I did complete a 10km and a 15km run.)  They seemed to enjoy my explanation about my running strategies.

The strategy: Young runners have high recovery rates. If you feel tired, do take a short walk to help your heart and body recover. After about 10 seconds or so, continue running and jogging. This is far more beneficial than jogging at constant pace throughout the entire journey. In short, walk and run rather than jog all the way.

One of the interviewers asked: “How long did you take to complete a 15km run?” I answered, “1 hour 52 minutes”. Then he asked again, “Did you walk all the way?” *you should be able by now to decipher the reason of me mentioning the walk-and-run strategy.*

The KLCC View:

It was exciting being interviewed with the Petronas Twin Towers as the backdrop. I was interviewed in one of the boardrooms on the 24TH FLOOR, facing the Twin Towers!

The Water:

Unlike my Oxford interview in PJ Hilton, where I bought a mineral bottle for RM11, water here in Mandarin Oriental is FREE! Free water after a long interview is good customer service. Another commercial ad for Mandarin Oriental.

The Rest:

I will know during the end of December to see whether I am shortlisted for the final and third round of interview in Hong Kong. By this time, according to a very reliable source Miss K, all shortlisted candidates will already have a conditional offer from their respective colleges.

The interview ended with a really trivial question from me. I was really out of questions when they asked, “Do you have any other questions?”

Dada always say, “Always ask a question when they say,’Do you have any other questions?’ to show that you can ask something sensible. “

So, I asked:

“Will Jardine pay for my airfare to Hong Kong?”

“Yes, Winson. We shall pay your airfare to Hong Kong.” (Dad, am I making you proud?)

And there it was. The interview ended on a funny note. I am not sure whether this will work out well, but all glory goes to God for helping me to make it thus far. Thank you, God.

This post is partially and indirectly brought to you by Jardine:

***Jardine – bringing you forward….. ***