This blog post introduces how to convincingly weave childhood curiosity and experiences with machinery into your resume, linking them to your authenticity and suitability for an engineering role.
Background
As a child, I always admired my father, who would fill the shed behind our house with all kinds of machines and parts, completely absorbed in repairing them. While my mother often expressed frustration that my father, who worked in machinery repair, would bring such items home even on holidays, I was just a child unable to follow him to his workplace. So, every weekend, I would secretly watch my father’s craftsmanship and marvel at it in my heart. His hands, piecing together old parts and tinkering until broken machinery worked again, seemed almost magical. Word of his repair skills spread far and wide, and neighbors brought broken items to him almost daily. Even if the job was labor-intensive, Father would cheerfully take it on, saying, “It’s good experience.” His payment wasn’t money, but rather freshly slaughtered chickens from the coop, vegetables and fruits picked straight from the fields, which would then find their way into our home.
Mother would nag him, saying he should be doing work that paid money instead, but ironically, she herself became his most frequent customer, entrusting him with every big and small item in the house. Sometimes she’d laugh, saying, “I don’t know how I ended up marrying someone who eats such greasy food,” but then she’d add, “Still, he’s so handy—he fixes these things in no time,” watching with satisfaction as broken appliances worked perfectly again. The sight of my father’s back, silently focused on repairs and sweating in the barn where the old fan rattled away, left a deep impression on my young self and became the starting point that naturally led me to dream of becoming an engineer.
Though Mother later joked with a hint of resignation, “So the rich get to eat oil-soaked rice for two generations,” to me, Father’s example was like a lighthouse guiding the direction of my life. Even now, the image of him understanding a machine’s principles and fixing it with his own hands often comes to mind, filling me with pride in my life and profession.
School Life
My father gifted me small, precise tools that fit my hands quite early on. Thanks to this, from a young age, I was always bustling about, determined to try anything I could manage on my own. Of course, back then, what I could do was limited to unscrewing bolts to peek at internal parts or carefully cleaning dusty areas. I tried my best not to touch the core parts and worked hard to keep everything in its original state. Yet, holding the tools and mimicking my father as I disassembled machines and attempted repairs in my own way, I’d often feel a surge of pride, as if I’d already become a brilliant engineer. And naturally, I began to harbor the ambition that someday, I wouldn’t just be caught up in the feeling, but would actually grow into a skilled technician whose abilities were recognized and make my mark. Just like my father, who always worked silently, showing his skill not through words but through results.
That side of me carried over to school too. I often carried tools in my bag, volunteering to fix my friends’ broken belongings. At first, they dismissed my attempts, saying, “What could you possibly do?” But as time passed and more items started working again under my hands, my friends gradually began to acknowledge my enthusiasm and ability. Of course, not every repair was successful. Sometimes, the item I tried to fix ended up worse or became irreparable. Yet even those failures didn’t deter me. Instead, I saw them as opportunities to learn and grow, pushing me to strive harder each time. Having witnessed even my father, an already skilled technician, experience failure at times, I could realistically accept at a young age that no one is perfect. It was then that I began to learn that the attitude of moving forward step by step without fearing failure is the true foundation for growth.
Personality Introduction
I believe consistent experience is a crucial factor in shaping a person’s life and capabilities. We often perceive experiences gained through direct physical involvement and hands-on learning far more deeply and clearly than knowledge acquired solely through intellectual understanding. Since human existence requires harmony between body and mind to be complete, I consider ‘practical experience’—which helps these two elements cooperate—to be extremely important. Through diverse hands-on field experiences, I too have acquired knowledge and intuition difficult to gain solely through desk-bound study.
For instance, even simple memorization showed noticeable improvements in retention and comprehension when combined with repeated handwritten note-taking. Thus, experiences learned not just with the mind but with the body become powerful tools that ultimately deepen learning. Furthermore, I have often observed that social norms or abstract concepts are far more enduring and lead to practical insights when they become ingrained memories through real-life situations, mistakes, and trial and error, rather than merely being acquired theoretically.
I have always strived not to easily give up or choose only the easy path in any endeavor. Even if a task was physically demanding or troublesome, I willingly embraced the challenge if it offered an opportunity to accumulate new experiences and grow myself. This attitude ultimately allowed me to perceive many of the things I faced not as mere labor, but as ‘meaningful experiences’. In the process, my character was also forged to be both resilient and adaptable.
Thus, I cherish this life stance of learning and growing through experience. Moving forward, I intend to continue challenging myself without hesitation in the face of both big and small tasks before me, faithfully walking my own path.
Life Philosophy
In my childhood, I had a father who was always a steadfast and awe-inspiring presence. Watching his broad back as he returned home on dark evenings, I felt in my young heart that behind that back lay the figure of a true adult bearing the weight of the world. From that time, I nurtured the dream of one day becoming an adult like my father—someone who gives their utmost to their responsibilities while naturally leaving a deep impression. I believe that only those who go beyond mechanically performing their duties, who possess extraordinary passion and interest in their work and can immerse themselves wholeheartedly, can possess that kind of presence that captivates the hearts of those who see them. Just like the profound feeling I had gazing at my father’s back back then.
This mindset continues to be a great source of strength in my life today. At times when I feel exhausted or shaken, I sometimes succumb to the temptation to wonder, ‘Should I take a different path?’ But whenever that happens, I recall my father’s back once more. The sight of my father walking his path day after day, silently and steadfastly, awakens in me an unwavering conviction and a sense of responsibility. Thanks to this, I gather my resolve each time and renew my commitment to do my very best right here, right now. Though fierce trials and hardships sometimes block my path, the reason I find the courage to rise again rather than easily succumbing is ultimately due to the attitude toward life I inherited from my father. By becoming more like him, I aspire to grow into an adult who can become another ‘back’ for someone else.
Motivation and Aspirations
In my childhood, every weekend without fail, my father would immerse himself in examining and repairing broken machinery—not just ours, but those of our neighbors too. While he handled and fixed machines at work during the week, the sight of him wrestling with them after work or on weekends seemed deeply serious yet genuinely joyful. Watching my father like that, I naturally came to think, ‘When aptitude and interest align, a person can become that deeply immersed.’ While most people live compromising between dreams and reality, my father held deep affection and interest in his work, genuinely enjoying the time spent with the machines.
His example greatly influenced me. Seeing my father face broken machinery with eyes sparkling like a child, I too wished that someday my favorite things and my responsibilities would overlap. As the saying goes, ‘Those born with it cannot surpass those who enjoy it.’ I realized that ultimately, the key factors determining work ability and productivity stem from ‘fun’ and ‘passion’. A desire to find work I could genuinely immerse myself in, and to maximize my own capabilities within it, naturally took root.
I felt this value deeply resonated with your company’s culture. Your direction—establishing various internal rules and systems so employees can work not merely out of responsibility or duty, but with enjoyment and voluntary immersion—resonated strongly with me. Within this environment, I am confident I can fully unleash my passion and interests. Simultaneously, I aspire to become a member who contributes positive energy to the organization. Based on my capabilities, attitude, and genuine affection for my work, I aim to achieve meaningful growth together with your company.
