This blog post introduces methods to effectively highlight practical skills suitable for finance and accounting roles in your cover letter, based on the theoretical knowledge and field experience gained through a business major.
Growth Journey
“The Lesson of Starting the Day Early”
My parents always began their day at the crack of dawn. My father would head out early to the gas station he operated, greeting the first customers and starting his day. Watching him, I learned diligence and responsibility. He would check on his employees’ arrivals, review the station’s sales and fuel consumption, and meticulously begin his daily tasks. He always greeted the early morning customers with a bright smile, and that image left a deep impression on me. Watching my father live his daily life with such vigor, I resolved, ‘I want to be like that too.’ But actually living that way myself was never easy. Getting up early and maintaining a regular routine required far more willpower and effort than I had imagined.
My mother was also someone who welcomed the dawn. As she delivered yogurt, she had to visit households early in the morning, which meant she always woke me up at 6 a.m. Both my parents rose at 5 a.m. every day and made it a daily practice to wake their bodies with morning exercise to make the most of their day. Mother would prepare breakfast, while Father would jump rope in the yard or occasionally go jogging together. That morning scene was a very natural part of daily life in our home. I too would sometimes drag myself out of bed, rubbing my eyes, to exercise with Father, or after eating the breakfast Mother had lovingly prepared, we would leave the house together. Mother would leave for work a little later to deliver yogurt, and thanks to this, I naturally developed the habit of waking up early in the morning.
This family atmosphere and my parents’ lifestyle had a profound influence on my growth. After becoming a high school student, my habit as a morning person greatly benefited my studies. I always woke up at 6 a.m. to prepare for school and arrived just after 7 a.m. Compared to other friends arriving around 8:30, I was there over an hour early. During this time, I could focus on preparing for the college entrance exam in the quiet classroom and maintain a more stable study routine than anyone else.
Especially during my senior year of high school, when most friends were physically exhausted, I could instead use the morning hours to concentrate even more, which became a major competitive advantage for me. With the clear goal of “entering a business school,” I worked steadfastly without wavering, ultimately achieving the result of getting into the prestigious business school at the top university everyone aspired to attend.
Looking back, a life that starts early in the morning held meaning beyond just beginning the day earlier. Regular daily habits cultivated my concentration and perseverance, enabling me to take steady steps toward my goals. This habit, cultivated by emulating my parents’ diligence and approach to life, remains a crucial foundation supporting my life today.
I believe these habits and attitudes will continue to be a solid asset in my life. The growth process where I personally learned the truth that ‘a day is longer and more fruitful for those who open the dawn’ is one of the most valuable lessons in my life.
The Process of Personality Change
“The thought that fear is a delusion of grandeur”
I was a very fearful child from a young age. At night, I couldn’t fall asleep alone, afraid ghosts might appear. Even during the day, I preferred bright spaces, living with the lights on in my room. This stemmed from a vague fear of dark places and enclosed spaces. I also couldn’t touch sharp objects and was terrified of climbing high places. Even just seeing an insect would terrify me into hiding or running away; catching one with my hands was unimaginable. Looking back now, it seems I lived with anxiety lurking everywhere in my daily life.
This timid personality began to change during my high school years. I happened to learn about the counseling center set up within the school and mustered the courage to apply for counseling myself. Initially, I wanted to discuss my career concerns, but as the sessions continued, I naturally opened up about the fears that had taken root inside me.
The counselor listened calmly to my story and said, “Fear is like a phantom without substance. Whether we let it control us or overcome it ultimately depends on our own mindset.” Hearing this, I suddenly recalled the Harry Potter movies. In the films, terrifying creatures called Dementors appear, and children are overcome with fear when they see them. But those Dementors were ultimately manifestations of the fear residing within humans. Remembering that scene, I thought, ‘Perhaps the emotion of fear is also just an illusion I’ve created.’
The counselor’s warm and clear explanation became a major turning point for me. I began to reexamine my emotions through the lens that fear might be an unfounded delusion. After gathering my resolve, I decided to take action step by step. First, I tried catching bugs with my bare hands and cutting fruit with a sharp knife. I also practiced sitting quietly with my eyes open in a dark room. Though hesitant at first, the fear gradually diminished with repetition until I realized it was nothing at all.
Through these experiences, I learned one crucial truth: most fears we feel lack substance and can either grow or vanish depending on how we perceive them. What remained was the confidence that ‘I can do this’ and a positive belief in myself.
Ultimately, I grew not as a fearful person, but as someone who faces and overcomes fear. Thinking back to my former self still amazes me, but I am certain that acknowledging my fears and finding the courage to confront them became a crucial turning point in my life.
Achievement Experience
“Passion for Work Transformed My Grades”
During my college years studying business administration, I felt a deep dissatisfaction with learning management theory alone. The thought, “How wonderful it would be to apply what I’m learning in a real work environment,” constantly lingered in my mind. While business studies cover diverse fields like financial management, business strategy, and organizational management, opportunities to experience them firsthand were scarce. That’s why I decided to go out into the field and gain experience myself.
In my third year of university, I started a part-time job at a pub near campus. I began with serving duties, but gradually took on counter work, and later even became a manager. It wasn’t just a simple part-time job; it was a precious opportunity to actually apply the business knowledge I was learning, which allowed me to become even more immersed.
Managing the pub provided the perfect stage to put the theories I learned in academia into practice in real-world situations. Managing multiple part-time staff naturally taught me the fundamentals of organizational management, and within that role, I gained experience exercising leadership and fostering teamwork. I also attended meetings discussing sales strategies, proposing ideas to increase customer traffic and implementing them. Through this process, I gained practical insight into the flow of strategic planning and execution.
While the store manager and assistant manager primarily oversaw operations from a management perspective, they actively sought my opinion when attempting new changes. When planning events or promotions, I made specific suggestions on what elements needed improvement and which approaches would elicit customer response. These efforts soon led to noticeable results, and as a reward, I received higher pay. It was incredibly meaningful because it wasn’t just a part-time job to earn pocket money; it became an opportunity to test my abilities and have my value recognized.
Most impressively, this experience directly translated into academic achievement. Applying real-world experience to my studies heightened my understanding and interest, naturally improving my grades. Particularly in finance and accounting courses, when writing essays, I could draw on practical examples from the field to craft vivid answers. Thanks to this, I received praise from my professor for “excellent answers that effectively incorporated real-world cases” and achieved good grades.
My overall grades for that semester improved significantly compared to before, and as a result, I even received an academic excellence scholarship the following semester. It was a valuable experience that allowed me to successfully juggle both work and studies, and it also proved to myself how deeply I can immerse myself in my work.
This experience instilled confidence that my knowledge could connect to practical work and made my attitude toward learning even more serious. It became a turning point where I stopped viewing any task as merely ‘work’ and instead embraced it as an opportunity for learning and growth. The achievements gained by balancing work and study remain one of the most valuable outcomes of my university life.
Reasons for Applying and Desired Position
“I am applying for the Management Support division at Hyundai Motor Company.”
As a business administration major in college, I systematically studied corporate operational principles and management strategies. Building on this academic foundation, I participated in various activities to gain real-world experience. Among these, my experience working as a manager at a pub holds particular significance for me.
I started as a regular part-time employee handling basic serving duties, but quickly adapted to the role and gradually took on responsibilities including budget and financial management. I believe this promotion was not merely a result of time passing, but a reflection of my work capabilities and attitude.
I contributed to fostering a positive collaborative atmosphere within the organization based on my ability to communicate effectively with superiors. I was able to freely exchange opinions and propose practical ideas even with senior figures like the branch manager and assistant manager, who were older and more experienced. I aimed for horizontal communication regardless of age or rank, and within that environment, I never hesitated to offer various suggestions for the organization’s development.
In particular, I maintained an attitude of actively stepping forward whenever I saw an opportunity to help the organization grow, rather than expecting personal recognition or reward. Indeed, the promotions and events I planned garnered significant customer enthusiasm, ultimately leading to a noticeable increase in sales. Furthermore, a positive image was established, resulting in a surge of part-time applicants from outside. Throughout this process, the branch manager highly valued my work capabilities and attitude, leading to my assignment of the core responsibility of financial management.
Through these experiences, I grew into a member recognized by the organization for my work capabilities, trustworthiness, and interpersonal skills.
Should I join Hyundai Motor Company, I will leverage this experience to become a trusted talent in the management support division, making tangible contributions to the organization’s performance. I will work with an attitude that embraces change and challenges, always thinking and acting from the organization’s perspective. Thank you.
