This blog post introduces examples of work experience that can be used in self-introduction letters for restaurant, travel, and service jobs.

 

Two years of experience and dreams of broader horizons

I joined Air Korea, a subsidiary of Korean Air. The airline focused heavily on Asian routes, so I believe that my Japanese and Chinese language skills, which I had been studying, helped me get the job. The airline valued a bright and healthy image, so my cheerful and smiling personality was a good fit for the company. The company has a system where interns are offered full-time positions after two years, and I am currently in my second year as an intern.
I was assigned to the Japan route, where I mainly served Japanese customers as well as passengers from Korea traveling to Japan for business or pleasure. It was always a pleasant experience to meet people with different personalities, and the strong camaraderie with my colleagues was also a source of enjoyment in my work. However, as I worked, I felt that I was limited to a very small area, and I still had a desire to see more of the world. That is why I decided to take the plunge and apply for a position at your company.

 

 

Various variables encountered while working part-time at a concert hall

I encountered many variables while working part-time at a concert hall. Although I followed the basic training I received at the concert hall, customers did not always follow the rules. Therefore, there were always variables in the workplace. In such cases, I decided on one rule. My job is to ensure that customers enjoy the performance, so I will do whatever I can to make them comfortable, even if it means inconveniencing myself. Some people may think this is obvious, but when I see customers who are grateful for my attitude and say thank you on their way out, I know that my decision was right.
Another one of my tasks was to call customers to check their satisfaction. Telephone work is a job where everything depends on the tone of your voice, and since it is a service provided on site, I often received complaints for things that were not my fault. However, by utilizing my service-oriented mindset, I was able to differentiate myself from other part-time workers by patiently listening to customers and doing my best to resolve issues that had been left unresolved.

 

 

I worked at a wedding convention center

I worked at a wedding convention center. As a manager, I was in charge of developing products that customers would like, promoting them, and marketing them. I arranged wedding-related video filming teams and makeup teams so that prospective couples could prepare for their wedding in one place without any worries. In addition to weddings, I also planned corporate meetings and forums. I selected meeting topics that suited the nature of each company and arranged for experts to ensure that the meetings went smoothly.
I worked in the in-house public relations team. Once a month, I produced and distributed a public relations brochure, which I designed to differentiate it from existing brochures and increase employee participation. Although external publicity is important, I designed the brochure with the aim of increasing the loyalty of the employees who actually work at the company, and it was well received. The brochure was produced in both Korean and English. I studied English after work to improve my English skills. It was not easy to balance my busy work schedule with studying, but it was a rewarding experience. I believe that I am who I am today because of this difficult process.

 

 

Learning the basics of service at a hotel restaurant

I had many part-time jobs in the service industry. Once I set a goal, I am the type of person who sees it through to the end, so I worked at the same place for a long time and had two or three jobs at once. All of those jobs were in the service industry, so I was able to experience working life early on and get a little experience in the industry I wanted to work in. The most recent and memorable part-time job I had was at a hotel restaurant. Hotels provide more specialized services, so the service training was demanding, and there was a specific order to follow when serving, so I had to memorize a lot. The most difficult part was memorizing the names of numerous VIPs and entertaining them. It was difficult at first, but as I continued working, I found it rewarding, and rather than being afraid of the responsibility, I enjoyed it. That is why I decided to join the customer service department. I decided that serving individual customers and managing them on an ongoing basis was more suited to my personality than serving an unspecified number of people. I am confident that I can work diligently, building on the foundation of service skills I have acquired over the years. If given the opportunity, I will demonstrate my skills and enthusiasm.

 

 

Gaining experience as a university newspaper reporter and travel agency tour guide

When I was in college, I worked as a reporter for a newspaper for college students. As I am very interested in traveling, I wrote many articles related to travel and was in charge of a section that introduced unique travel destinations that were not well known. I felt that my knowledge was insufficient, so I also included travel information provided by readers. This was very helpful for me. I learned about many places I didn’t know about, and I enjoyed traveling there myself.
I worked as a travel guide at a travel agency. Although I was not a full-time employee, I was responsible for interpreting for tourists and making sure they had a comfortable trip. I mainly worked with Japanese tourists, and I made sure they had a positive impression of Korea. While showing them around Korea, I learned a lot about Korean history and cultural heritage. I believed that I could better convey information to others if I had a deep understanding of the subject, so I prepared thoroughly before giving tours. Through these efforts, I became an employee who was trusted by customers.

 

 

From someone who brings joy with aromas to someone who brings joy to everyday life

I worked as a barista for a year. I was fascinated by the aroma of coffee and obtained a barista certification. Taking advantage of my major, I obtained certifications in Western cooking and cocktail making, in addition to barista. Among them, I decided to pursue a career as a barista, which I was particularly interested in, and was fortunate to get an opportunity to work at the largest café in the industry. Roasting good beans and brewing coffee every morning was a happy job that brought me small pleasures in my daily life, but as the years passed, my passion for finance, which I had wanted to pursue since I was a student, began to stir, and I wondered what I should do. Finally, I decided to start before it was too late, and after six months of preparation, I joined the loan review department of ○.
As a barista, it is important to make good coffee, but it is also a type of service job where you interact with customers. Customer service is also one of the main tasks in my department, so it was easy for me to adapt. When customers who were satisfied with my service thanked me, I felt just as happy as they did, and when customers were disappointed because they didn’t get what they wanted, I felt even more sorry for them. Thanks to my consistent attitude toward customers and my sincere responses to even small questions, I was able to easily adapt to the department and was even selected as the Smile Employee of the Month by customers after only three months. I believe that my words, consideration, and politeness represent the image of the company, as I interact with customers at the counter and on the phone, and they encounter the company through me. Therefore, I always study and learn how to make customers feel comfortable, paying close attention to every word I say and every gesture I make.

 

 

Developing conversation skills through part-time service work

I have mainly worked part-time jobs in the service industry, where it is natural to meet and talk with strangers. It was also a way to overcome my timid personality and practice talking to other people without hesitation. I also enrolled in a speech school to learn how to actively talk to others, but I realized that practical experience was the most important thing. At the time, I was looking for a part-time job to gain social experience, so rather than working quietly in an office or on a construction site, I chose a job where I could guide and serve people and take the initiative in talking to them.
At first, it was a little different from my previous experiences of making friends with people who were friendly and willing to listen to me, so I reverted back to my old self and found it difficult to talk to people. However, I realized that this was just a different form of communication, and that even after I started working at a company, there would be many situations where I would have to put myself in the position of a customer or client, so I decided to take the plunge and try again, thinking of it as practice for my future career. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I met guests who encouraged me and watched over me warmly despite my clumsiness at the time. The social skills and conversation skills I acquired through those eventful experiences provided me with a solid foundation for becoming a successful member of society.

 

 

Studying restaurant marketing in the hotel service industry

After completing my graduate studies, I found employment at a related company. I started working at a hotel in Korea through my father’s introduction. Although my father introduced me to the job opening, I was hired based on my own abilities without any other influence. My main duties at the hotel included service training, establishing service strategies, and developing marketing strategies through service quality improvement. I was able to quickly adapt to my work because I had studied this field in graduate school and had experience writing research papers.
On the other hand, I had studied food processing and restaurant marketing in depth while I was in graduate school, so my knowledge in these areas was noticed at work. As a result, the company assigned me to the restaurant and food service department to work on a project to establish new marketing strategies. I tried to do whatever work was assigned to me and be satisfied with it, while striving to demonstrate my abilities in areas where I was needed. I enjoyed working in the hotel industry, and I was enthusiastic about applying what I had researched and studied to my work.

 

 

Working in customer service

While majoring in trade at a four-year university, I realized that although the content was not very different from what I had learned at a technical college, the direction was different. While my previous studies had been mainly technical and practical, at university I was able to learn a comprehensive perspective from the standpoint of a manager. At that time, I learned that a comprehensive perspective meant looking at work not simply from the standpoint of someone who carries out the entire process of trade, but from the standpoint of someone who can plan and design that process. However, when learning this content, I found it difficult to understand just from textbooks and theory, so I thought it would be more effective to study in combination with actual practice.
So, I decided to get a part-time job at a horse racing track and theme park. Actually, my family was well off, so I didn’t need to work, but I thought it would be good to try part-time work for the sake of learning about life. So, I applied to a theme park and started out selling snacks. After three months, my performance was good, so I was transferred to the racecourse inside the theme park. At the racecourse, I was busy selling tickets and managing tickets. There were so many people that the work wasn’t difficult, but it was complicated. Later, I was promoted to a managerial position at the racecourse, where I was in charge of the entire system and managed other part-time students. Through this experience, I realized the rewards of working in the service industry, and although trade is different from service, I felt that they share the same mindset in a broader sense.

 

 

Applying for and being accepted as an airline intern

When I was in college, I studied aviation and completed flight attendant training. My department offered professional flight attendant training, so I was able to learn everything I needed to know to become a flight attendant. There was a practical training period, so I was able to apply for an internship, and I applied for an internship at an overseas branch, which had been my dream since my first year of college. I wasn’t sure if I would be accepted, but I had been steadily preparing for English conversation and local exams, so I didn’t think I was lacking anything to apply right away. I applied for an internship in the US and was accepted as an airline ground staff intern. When I was accepted, I felt like I had achieved everything.
My job was in reservations and customer service. It is a job that requires a strong customer service mindset, and I needed to be friendly and understand the work involved in making reservations, so I carefully read the job manual until just before I left the country to make sure I had no gaps in my knowledge. I also attended a language school to improve my English skills, and reviewed everything I had learned in my major, such as check-in, gate operations, lost and found, and ticketing, in order to prepare myself. As a result, I was able to receive the highest evaluation score during my internship. During my internship on a cultural exchange visa, I was able to become a professional while enjoying the happiness and fulfillment of doing what I wanted to do and spending precious time with people who shared my dreams.