This blog post introduces the experiences and practical skills that are beneficial to include in your self-introduction letter when applying for an engineering position, along with methods to effectively convey them.
My Growth Journey
“Choice and Focus”
As a child, I was a kid with so many things I wanted to do and learn. My curiosity drove me to embrace challenges, and I wanted to experience everything—learning diverse fields like art, English, math, physical education, and kendo. However, I suppose a child’s mind and stamina had their limits. Around third grade, after excessive activity and exhaustion, I contracted hepatitis A. I couldn’t attend school for nearly a month and had to rest completely at home.
Spending that long time unable to do anything, I realized two important truths. One was the importance of physical strength—that ‘when your body is sick, you can’t do anything.’ The other was the simple yet clear truth that ‘humans can ultimately only do one thing at a time.’ That was when I first gained the awareness that “choice and focus are necessary.”
After recovering my health, I decided to choose one thing from among many and focus on it. That choice was ‘experimentation.’ At the time, I started simply because I thought scientists tinkering with things in a lab looked cool, but as time passed, I became increasingly captivated by the allure of experimentation. The fun of handling lab equipment, the process of analyzing results and discovering new facts, the thrill when expected values were confirmed through actual experiments – all of this fascinated me.
Among these, the most enjoyable was freely assembling experimental tools to create new ones. The sense of accomplishment from making something was a great joy to my young self, and each time, I felt like I had become a ‘big person’ moving the vast world. These experiences nurtured my interest and immersion in science, and eventually, I naturally spent more time in the science lab with my teacher.
Thanks to this disposition and experience, I was able to win awards early on in various science-related events like invention contests, chemistry competitions, and physics contests, which gave me great confidence. Those choices and focus laid the foundation for who I am today, and I intend to never forget this attitude of focusing on the essence and digging deep, no matter which path I take in the future.
Personality Introduction
“I love adventure, I love alcohol, and I love people.”
To describe my personality in one phrase, I am an ‘energetic person driven by a spirit of adventure and sociability’. Three keywords that particularly capture my personality are ‘adventure’, ‘alcohol’, and ‘people’. These three elements are independent yet organically connected, forming crucial aspects that define me.
First, I love adventure. This inclination seems rooted in my exceptional curiosity from childhood. I derive great pleasure from exploring and experiencing new things, finding greater motivation in unfamiliar challenges than in routine tasks. That’s why I travel whenever I get the chance. I’ve actually traveled to many countries in Europe and Southeast Asia, experiencing their cultures and meeting their people. Sometimes, I even embrace the fear of going to new places as excitement, enjoying change and challenges. This tendency translates into proactivity and drive at work, becoming the driving force that makes me step forward without hesitation in new projects or situations.
My fondness for alcohol and people naturally connects here. I enjoy gatherings where I can have open and honest conversations with others. Such gatherings are not just simple meetings to me; they are precious opportunities to get to know each other and deepen relationships. Perhaps because of this, I am always surrounded by people. I enjoy giving and am generous when it comes to treating others to meals. I also cherish sincere conversations, which is why I maintain good relationships with everyone, regardless of whether they are juniors, peers, or seniors. Thanks to my lively and sociable personality, I currently serve as the president of my alumni association, leading our gatherings.
Of course, I have my shortcomings. My biggest flaw is being easily swayed. My tendency to like people can sometimes work against me; when I listen intently to what many people say, I often get swayed by their words. I aspire to become someone steadfast and unwavering, but I still have a long way to go. However, I believe this tendency can be transformed into a strength. Moving forward, I aim to learn how to listen attentively while making choices and judgments more carefully. I will strive to maintain a good balance so that it doesn’t harm myself or hinder the tasks I undertake.
I am someone who always gains energy from people and grows by challenging myself in new environments. Moving forward, I want to continue communicating with more people and experiencing a broader world based on this personality. I look forward to your support.
Experience Related to the Position Applied For
“Practical Skills and Engineering Perspective Gained Through Study Abroad”
My study abroad experience allowed me to develop practical engineering skills. I had the opportunity to learn engineering work while receiving language training at a Japanese company. The competition for this Japanese training program was extremely fierce. I was selected as the top candidate in the presentation contest held to choose participants, based on the criterion of selecting the ‘most proactive applicant’. This Japanese training program, which began that way, was a valuable time for me, allowing me to experience the industrial field firsthand, going beyond simple language learning.
At the local company, I could closely observe the entire process of designing and manufacturing machinery. I also had the chance to compare these machines with those I had seen during practical training back home. This experience led me to seriously contemplate what technologies were necessary to operate our country’s manufacturing processes more effectively and to enhance export competitiveness. During the training period, I received positive evaluations and even secured an opportunity for actual hands-on practice. Throughout this process, I was deeply impressed by the precision and meticulous design of Japan’s machinery industry. Handling small, intricate components rarely seen domestically allowed me to peer into every corner of the industry, naturally deepening my understanding and interest in practical work.
This experience, in particular, instilled confidence that it could translate into practical ideas contributing to trade development when I eventually work as an engineer at STX. Furthermore, communicating with Japanese colleagues exposed me to their rational way of thinking. This provided an opportunity to identify its strengths and weaknesses and consider how applicable aspects could be integrated into our own work. Throughout the training, I meticulously noted down anything useful for future reference, and these records remain my personal idea notebook to this day.
Although I lack formal work experience, I am a talent who has cultivated practical skills through industrial training and study abroad experiences, gaining the insight to view industries from diverse perspectives. Building on these experiences, I aim to become an engineer who adapts quickly to future tasks and delivers meaningful results. I look forward to your guidance.
Success and Failure Experiences
“Living the remaining two years as a business student.”
I once had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Mr. Ahn Cheol-soo. The most memorable statement from that event still resonates with me: “Engineers must also learn business.” He explained that to truly understand and work towards a company’s vision, to connect technology with the company’s development direction rather than merely using it, and to communicate effectively with management to jointly design the future, engineers must absolutely learn business. This resonated deeply with me. From that day on, the conviction that I “must study business” took root in my mind. Ultimately, at the not-so-young age of 24, I boldly applied for a double major in Business Administration.
That choice wasn’t easy. Some professors cautiously discouraged me, saying it was too much to take on a double major when my academic load was already heavy. But my resolve was firm, and I never gave up. In the end, the professors recognized my determination and granted permission. The two years that followed in the Business Administration Department became more than just completing another major; they were a crucial turning point in my life.
Having already completed most of my studies related to my existing major in technology and having attended training programs, learning business from scratch was both refreshing and challenging. Especially in classes demanding unfamiliar ways of thinking, adapting wasn’t easy at first. At some point, it felt like I was exercising entirely new mental muscles. Practically speaking, my grades dipped significantly during the first semester or two, causing enough difficulty to impact my overall GPA.
However, I am someone who believes in seeing things through to the end once I start them. I remained steadfast and diligently focused on my studies. As time passed, results gradually began to show. My grades steadily improved, and I overcame the unfamiliarity and awkwardness I initially felt in team projects, especially in the many business classes that required them. Initially, I had to ask to be included in teams, but as my abilities gained recognition, I was increasingly chosen as a team member first. This process naturally brought me closer to others.
Those two years were more than just completing my major; they were invaluable time showing me that belief in myself and effort are never wasted. By graduation, despite being from another department, I achieved results strong enough to aim for second place in the Business Administration major.
Looking back, during this time I not only learned about the new world of ‘business administration,’ but also learned perseverance, the spirit of challenge, and how to grow through collaboration with others. It was a time when I personally experienced that if you keep moving forward unwaveringly toward any goal, a meaningful result will always await you at the end. This experience will undoubtedly be a great asset in my future life.
Future Plans
“I will become an engineer who expands STX’s horizons.”
If I am given the opportunity to join STX, I would like to make one bold commitment: to become an engineer who expands STX’s horizons. I am a person with a strong spirit of challenge. While I couldn’t include everything in my resume, I have always enjoyed adventure and taken on new challenges. These numerous experiences have made me resilient and instilled in me an attitude of constantly moving and exploring, no matter the situation. If I become an engineer at STX, I am confident that I can continuously grow based on this spirit of challenge and add vitality to the company with the passion and energy of a newcomer.
I am also a talent with language capabilities. As STX steadily expands into the global market, I have studied not only English, Japanese, and Chinese, but also Vietnamese and Spanish to keep pace with this trend. I continue to hone my language skills diligently. I believe engineers who only handle technology are a thing of the past. In this global era, engineers must possess not only problem-solving abilities and technical understanding, but also the linguistic acumen and exploration skills to communicate with the world market. I recognized this necessity early on and have diligently prepared. Though I may still be small and insignificant, I have carved out time daily with the goal of joining STX, striving to build my own competitive edge across diverse fields including technology, management, and languages. To ensure these efforts are not in vain, I will advance vigorously alongside STX’s progress after joining.
The first thing I wish to implement upon joining is, as a technology development engineer, to accurately identify problems, analyze them from diverse perspectives, and solve them in innovative ways. I will maintain the habit of constantly asking “Why?” and seeking better solutions myself, refusing to settle for existing methods. I will thoroughly understand the large and small problems that arise in enhancing the quality of STX products and will not neglect study and research until they are resolved. My first goal is to grow into a recognized technology development engineer by continuously developing myself in this way.
My second goal is to become an engineer capable of thinking from multiple angles and solving problems creatively. While majoring in Materials Engineering at university, I studied the technologies and theories of various fields, including metals, semiconductors, ceramics, LEDs, and solar cells. I believe this broad background knowledge is invaluable for analyzing problems from multiple angles and proposing creative solutions. I will continue to broaden my knowledge base to view complex and multifaceted problems from a comprehensive perspective, not a fragmented one.
Third, I aim to consistently read industry publications and academic papers to understand broader industrial trends. Through this, I aspire to develop new technologies that lead the era. In this era of rapid change, the ability to read the trends is as important as technological development itself. Furthermore, I will continuously cultivate my English and Chinese conversational skills to help STX leap into larger markets as a global enterprise. Building on these language abilities, I aim to become an engineer who can not only communicate smoothly with local teams but also reflect the needs of global customers in our technology, thereby contributing to further solidifying STX’s standing.
Thus, my future plan is to grow alongside STX, grounded in technology and language, knowledge and attitude, and relentless self-development. I will do my utmost, not merely as an employee, but as a member and partner who shares the responsibility of shaping STX’s future. Thank you.
