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Cover Letter
Elena Hebden
0434 201 440
7th January, 2022
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing this letter to apply for a graduate engineer position as advertised on UTS CareerHub. My passion for problem-solving and the medical field has inspired me to find a career that will increase patients' quality of life. I am committed to continuously improving my skills through work and extracurricular activities, and as such believe I am a well-suited candidate for this position.
A commitment to ethical conduct and the highest standards of professional accountability
During my time as a receptionist at a psychiatrist practice, I learnt the importance of ethical conduct and professional accountability. I was put in many situations where patients would be pushing me to get what they wanted, whether that be a new script or an earlier appointment. This always put me in a difficult situation, as I could sympathise with the clients' needs. However, it was of the utmost importance that I protect the doctor's boundaries and respect the industry rules around patient information. Furthermore, it was also important for me to respect the other patients when dealing with a difficult client. It was not ethical for one patient to receive special treatment when others respected the doctor's limitations. Through this experience, I have learnt to be compassionate whilst remaining firm in my ethical beliefs.
Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with other engineers and stakeholders from different fields.
I enjoy working in a challenging and fast-paced environment where I can switch between collaborating with others and working independently. Working at Saluda Medical as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern exposed me to work with various co-workers, from product development engineers to quality control inspectors. This has enhanced my communication skills to be efficient and professional. I have further developed my skills as a receptionist at Gladstone Practice. I came across various people with different levels of medical knowledge, and patients would ask a wide range of questions. I clearly explained the process and treatment details, directing patients to the correct professionals while staying within the legal boundaries of the role. This experience has refined my communication to adapt to the stakeholders' various backgrounds and the discussion's purpose.
The ability to engage with a creative, innovative and proactive environment.
During my time at Saluda Medical, I developed new changes to reduce the documentation time, aligning with the predefined process. In the medical field, regulations are critical. I had to be creative with problem-solving to fix issues quickly while ensuring rules were met. There was one particular situation where I was improving work instructions, and I was unsure what steps were explained well and which needed to be updated. I was proactive and approached the operators to get their opinions. Engaging with the operators was important as they had first-hand experience in building the product. I developed an innovative solution to keep the operators and quality teams happy. I enjoyed the challenge of innovating processes to the defined boundaries while meeting the standards and not compromising on quality.
Demonstrated ability to use and manage information.
I have established strong problem-solving abilities from my internships. I worked on Engineering Change Orders, updating various manufacturing processes whilst conforming to strict ISO 13485 regulations. I was required to use the wide range of information at my disposal.
I designed solutions to simplify the work of the manufacturers, which involved designing various specialised tools to increase manufacturing efficiency. Moreover, I conducted verification and validation on these designs to ensure they could be safely released into production areas. To complete this task, I had to research how the company conducted V&V activities and its expectations for the report. Furthermore, I had to manage the information received from testing and determine the best way to present my findings. The feedback from the review process was positive, and my manager was happy with the results.
The ability to manage your own performance in a professional environment.
During my internship at Saluda Medical, there was a period of time when I did not have a manager. This meant that our team had a higher workload and had to manage our tasks independently. This situation meant I had to step up as an intern and work independently with less guidance. I learnt the best ways of organising and prioritising tasks in order to achieve deliverables to a high standard. Furthermore, I was forced to reach out to a broader range of colleagues to complete my assigned tasks. The situation pushed my professional communication skills, but it was highly rewarding. Now that I am on the other side of this period, I can see how far my self-management skills have developed and that my work quality has improved drastically.
A demonstrated ability to work as part of a team and to show leadership when required.
Extracurricular activities such as the First Robotics Competition (FRC) have given me excellent opportunities to develop my teamwork and leadership skills. As Captain of the Sydney University FRC team in 2016/17, I gained strong leadership experience. I lead the team through designing and manufacturing a robot in 6 weeks to compete in the international competition. On my part, this involved thorough project management and strategising to ensure the robot met the established requirements and stayed within budget. Teamwork was of the utmost importance, both with the leadership group and the wider team. Working with others allows for better results, and different thinking styles lead to innovative problem-solving. We finished the season with great outcomes, such as winning the Innovation in Controls Award at the Sydney regional and the Creativity award at the Canadian regional and ranking 4th at the Canadian Regional.
I would highly appreciate demonstrating my suitability for this role during an interview. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the details above anytime.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
Elena Hebden