25-year-old Yeo Hui Qing is a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has been a Library Support Assistant at the Lee Kong Chian National Library since January 2019. Her love for learning has continued long after she graduated from Pathlight School, and she never stops seeking out things to learn whether at work or in her free time. She loves mobile games and doing research on the internet about all sorts of general knowledge, especially physical health. May she inspire us all to always stay curious about the world! Here, Hui Qing shares about her work experience at the National Library.
What is your typical day like at work?
I work from 8:30am to 12:30pm from Mondays to Fridays. I usually do the collecting, arranging and shelving of library books. When all that is done, then I do shelf reading.
Shelf reading is a task where I check all the books from each shelf from top to bottom, left to right. I check the number sequencing one book at a time to ensure that all the books are arranged in order.
What is the favourite part of your work?
I love straightening the library books and shelf reading, because the tasks are quite easy to do and fun as well. I am good at these tasks. I like reading after work as well, both fiction and non-fiction books. I like to find out facts about nature and human life.
What are some challenges that you have faced at work?
The number of books that require shelving is sometimes challenging. On some days there are fewer books, and on some days there is a huge number of books. I have shelved up to 150 books in one day! At the beginning, I also had some difficulties pushing the trolleys of books because they were very heavy.
How do you cope with these challenges?
I managed to keep practising pushing the trolley until I could control it well and not bump into anything in the library. I am also able to ask my co-workers and friends for help if I cannot manage anything by myself. They are helpful and friendly, and they will help me with the tasks I have difficulty in. I really appreciate their help, and I will thank them for it.
What are some memorable experiences at work?
My most memorable experience was the National Library Board (NLB) Appreciation Dinner followed by a learning journey on-board Singapore River Cruise. That day was one day before my actual birthday on 15 June. After having dinner at the Possibility Room in the NLB Building, I headed off with the group to Fort Canning Jetty for our boat ride. I took a lot of nice photos and videos during the cruise and I also took a group photo with my colleagues. Apart from that, I also remember some daily interactions with other NLB staff who are understanding of people with special needs. My favourite experience was when my colleague took the initiative to start a conversation with me, and asked me how I spent my one week of leave. I told her I went overseas for a holiday. She said she was glad I enjoyed my leave, and we continued chatting.
What are some skills you have learned from work?
I improved my communication and time management skills. I also managed to come up with new and improved strategies for sorting and shelving of books. The strategy I came up with is to sort by languages first, followed by categories, then numbers from smallest to biggest, and then letters from A to Z.
How has your experience at the Employability and Employment Centre (E2C) helped to prepare you for work?
I went through some assessments for different job types. Before I was employed at the National Library, I went for job training for at least three months.
What have you learned in E2C that you find useful at work?
Punctuality and time management are very important to meet the work expectations of my supervisors. For example, I must finish shelving the first collection of books before 12:30pm. So I must make sure that I begin shelving at 9:10am. After collecting and scanning the books, I make sure I arrange the books in order. This makes it easier and more convenient for me to see the order of the books and shelve them quickly. This saves a lot of time.
How did you come to know about this job?
I learned about this job through E2C, which assessed me at various worksites to determine the job scope that was suitable for me. The other worksites I tried included an office for data entry and scanning of documents, a cafe and a warehouse.
How did you prepare for the job interview?
I prepared what to say and knew what to expect during the job interview. E2C also helped me to prepare by providing visuals for each task, and helping me practise them. After I finished each task, I informed the job coach. They gave me feedback, and helped me to improve if I made a mistake. They also showed me how to apply these skills once I started my real job.
What are some tips that you can share with other youths looking for work?
Stay positive, contribute and do your best in your job. Do not slack off at work even if it is a contract or part-time job.
What activities do you enjoy when you are not at work?
I love researching on the internet about general knowledge from around the world. My favourite topic to research is physical health. I am curious to know about all these things in life, such as why we live and so on. I also like playing puzzle games. I love watching cartoons and nature documentaries too—I watched one recently about lions and hyenas!
What are your aspirations for the future?
I want to continue working at the library. I hope to be able to work full-time as a librarian one day.
Check out the rest of the stories in this series: “I want and I will be the best that I can be” and “Marching to his own beat”
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