This blog post explores how to effectively convey a clear career goal of joining a foreign company in your International Finance academic plan. We outline strategies for connecting your global competencies with your academic direction.
Writing about academic experiences and insights
“Improved writing skills through English writing club activities”
Studying English as a major at a foreign language high school allowed me to engage in deep, focused study of the language. My goal of working at a foreign company, fueled by a desire to master English and understand Anglo-American culture, made my academic studies even more engaging. Every subject—English grammar, reading comprehension, conversation, writing, and listening—brought me genuine enjoyment in learning. English, as a language essential for communication, had the characteristic that each subject wasn’t separate but functioned when combined. So, studying grammar well led to better writing, and becoming familiar with listening improved speaking. However, I was relatively weaker in the former subjects compared to the latter.
Compared to speaking and listening, I hadn’t systematically studied grammar, so I often hit roadblocks when writing. To avoid struggling with writing, I joined an English writing club. This club activity primarily involved studying using English-language newspapers. While some members could write at the level of those newspapers right away, creating a skill gap, the instructor conducted step-by-step lessons that greatly helped me.
We studied using TIME magazine, one of the most representative English-language newspapers. The first step was to carefully read TIME magazine. This required individual effort; the assignment was to read it thoroughly from start to finish, underlining unfamiliar words. This activity took me a very long time, and even after looking up words, I often struggled to understand the sentences. In those cases, I would mark the sentence itself and study by asking the teacher or classmates during class. The second step was to copy down the sentence you found most difficult to interpret and practice writing it repeatedly to become familiar with it. Then, I practiced creating new sentences by substituting words within that sentence. Creating sentences was a tedious process, but this exercise helped me become more comfortable with writing.
Writing about major school activities and reflections
“Creating Our Own Stories in the English Drama Club”
I was active in the English writing club during my first year of high school, but in my second year, I joined the English drama club. The writing practice in my first year reduced instances where I couldn’t think of what to say in daily life and, crucially, enabled me to construct grammatically correct sentences. This foundation meant I could write and revise scripts without difficulty even while active in the English drama club.
In the English drama club, we didn’t just perform plays; we conceived scripts, wrote scenarios, and memorized the stories. Thus, the process of creating scripts required creativity, while writing scenarios demanded strong writing skills. Additionally, reading the story improved our comprehension, and rehearsing the play developed our speaking ability. That’s why our drama club teacher always emphasized that our learning goal was ‘integrated learning of reading and speaking’.
It took us a long time to become familiar with structuring and rehearsing play scripts. Initially, we struggled greatly with deciding what content to create, and our pronunciation was often inaccurate. So, rather than starting immediately with creating our own script, we decided to practice using existing scripts. The scripts we used were familiar works like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Merchant of Venice. We continued practicing by dividing the roles among ourselves and delivering our lines correctly in our designated order. During practice, the teacher corrected our pronunciation when it was inaccurate, and if we were short on actors, one person would take on multiple roles. We also analyzed the structure of the scripts and the characteristics of the lines, using this to conceptualize scripts we would create in the future.
Once we had practiced sufficiently, we began the process of creating our own scripts in earnest. Our drama club was thinking more about submitting a work to an external drama competition than just practicing plays among ourselves. Therefore, we approached everything from scriptwriting to casting with seriousness. Since we decided to participate in a youth English theater festival, we chose to make the script’s theme about the everyday stories of teenagers. We thought it would be more appropriate to focus on content that the teenage audience could relate to and laugh along with, rather than tackling overly difficult or complex material. Through discussions, we decided to create ‘An Unordinary Day,’ depicting a high schooler’s extraordinary day.
The story follows a student who skips both school and cram school one day, leaving home to pursue their own experiences, and the strange events that unfold. For this play, we spent the first week assigning roles: student, mother, teacher, and people encountered on the street. From the second week, we focused on pronunciation checks and reading the story. Starting the third week, we moved on to memorizing lines and continuous rehearsals. Since we were competing, we intensively prepared expressive acting, clear delivery, and flawless memorization of lines. As a result, we delivered a polished performance at the English drama competition, resonating deeply with both the audience and the judges.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and Reflections
“Volunteering to Record English Storybooks”
After our English drama club achieved great results at an external drama festival, we received an award. We decided to donate this prize money to a local association for the visually impaired and volunteer there simultaneously. Our donation to the association aimed to help visually impaired children study English effectively. We donated all the necessary funds to purchase English storybooks, headsets, audio equipment, and more. The association requested manpower to convert the purchased storybooks into audio files.
So, we scheduled a day to visit the association and record the English storybooks. While professional voice actors typically handle storybook recordings, they said we possessed the necessary skills. All the pronunciation practice and training in expressive tone we gained from performing English plays proved immensely helpful. So, to accomplish this good work, we divided the parts among ourselves, practiced, and began recording. I started with the sections requiring individual recording and participated in the group recording, striving to create the highest quality audio files possible.
My individual part was a storybook with many monologues. It was a lengthy section where the raccoon reveals its inner thoughts, so I recorded it using a raccoon voice. Entering a small studio to record was a new experience. And whenever I made a mistake, I passionately re-recorded from the beginning, fully committed to the volunteer work. The book we recorded together was an English storybook containing the Cinderella tale. Since it was for young children, it was crucial to pronounce the simple lines as accurately and loudly as possible. When recording with my fellow volunteers, I took on the role of Cinderella’s mother and delivered the lines with the most vicious and intense acting I could muster. Through this activity, I found it rewarding to see how the skills I’d practiced could help others.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation and Career Plans
“Google, a company with the mindset I love”
Konyang University’s Department of Finance and International Studies is a program with the international focus of an English and American Culture department, offering a dual degree system in finance. Its strengths lie in a curriculum that builds solid English proficiency and provides pathways to corporate employment. Therefore, I applied to the Department of Finance and International Studies to fulfill my aspiration of working for a foreign company in the future. I have a clear goal of joining Google Korea and strongly resonate with the company’s operational mindset and founding principles.
Google’s founder, Eric Schmidt, states that what he values most is ‘human relationships’. This sets Google apart from other companies that emphasize maximizing efficiency and staying at the cutting edge of technology. This corporate image has propelled Google to the top spot as the most desired employer among American millennials. Eric Schmidt also highlights an operational mindset that values innovative and inspiring individuals. He believes that when members pursuing innovation form a network, and new ideas emerge from their communication, it benefits the company.
I believe this mindset is the driving force behind Google’s current success. Therefore, even though I don’t currently have the foundation to pursue innovation immediately, I will strive to become an innovative talent by studying hard and gaining experience during my university years. Through the curriculum of the International Finance Department, I will excel in English studies to grow into a talent proficient in conversation and interpretation. Since most foreign companies employ foreigners and English is the primary means of communication, I plan to focus specifically on conversational English studies. Furthermore, I will diligently study writing to excel in document and report preparation. Consequently, I will continuously prepare for and participate in professional English certification exams and study groups with foreigners. Ultimately, I aspire to become a talent capable of seizing opportunities and realizing unique ideas the moment the circumstances and conditions for attempting innovation are established.
