In this blog post, we will introduce how to convincingly include customer-oriented thinking and the ability to understand customer needs, which are essential for product planning, in your self-introduction letter with specific examples.
Growth
“How to see things through to the end”
My father is a cheerful businessman. My father, who runs a small but well-established factory in the countryside and the metropolitan area, always told me to “see things through to the end.” He said that if you start something with the end in mind, there will be no problems. For example, if I am nervous and cannot sleep the night before an exam, I think about how I will fail miserably. Instead of thinking about whether I will do well or poorly, I think about how I will feel after failing the exam, and then I ask myself if it is really worth getting so nervous. In fact, I realized that failing one exam would not ruin my life and that I would have plenty of opportunities to make up for it. Once I realized that, I stopped feeling nervous before exams and actually started doing better. In this way, I was able to make bolder decisions because I always thought about the end result when doing something. That’s why I went to Europe when I was in my second year of high school. I had the opportunity to visit Europe as a church scholarship student, but since it was the winter of my second year of high school, which was practically my senior year, I struggled a lot with whether I should go. However, when I thought about the end, I asked myself how many opportunities like this would come in my life, and in the end, I decided to go to Europe for a month of missionary work and travel. That experience made me think about what I wanted to do and what kind of life I wanted to live. As a result, I studied with a stronger sense of purpose than my friends, and I realized how to invest and use my time differently. That is why I chose XX Company early on and began working slowly toward becoming a member of the company.
Strengths and weaknesses of my personality
“I am someone who gains energy and learns from others.”
The greatest strength of my personality is that I gain energy from others and learn from them. I have heard that there are extroverts and introverts in this world, and I am definitely an extrovert. This is because I tend to think more and come up with more ideas when I am with others rather than when I am alone thinking or studying. That is why I really enjoy collaborating with others. While studying planning in business administration, I noticed that there are two types of people when it comes to homework. Some people go to the library to work alone, while others enjoy sharing ideas with others and discussing them to come up with better ideas. I am the latter type of person. That is why I was able to create more synergy when working in a team, and I believe that is why I was able to win three awards in planning contests. Every planner has different tendencies, but I think people like me who enjoy teamwork can be more effective in meetings at companies. I also enjoy learning from my experiences with others. I especially like having seniors, and I liked my seniors at school. When I worked part-time, I always looked up to my seniors at work and followed their example. I think this trait is also helpful in organizational life.
On the downside, I like people and tend to become very attached to them. Because I am very friendly and easygoing, I have a tendency to be weak when it comes to saying no to people. When I start a new job, I recognize that the work I am doing at that moment is the most important thing, and I show that I am focused on the task at hand and cut out anything that is not necessary.
Activities inside and outside of school
“Realizing the importance of planning as a club president.”
I realized the importance of planning while serving as a club president at my university. I was the president of a club affiliated with a junior high school affiliated with my university for two years. The name of the club I led was ‘Ikkulim,’ and it was a club that ran a program where university students mentored junior high school students. Unlike other clubs, we met our friends in person and mentored them for a year or six months, so we had to prepare a lot. In addition to studying education and welfare, I had to find books that I could talk about with the junior high school students as their mentor, and I had to meet with the children and teach them, so it was quite busy and there was a lot to do. So when I first became the club president, I struggled a lot and missed many things during the first semester. However, if I missed something, it wasn’t just my work that would be affected, but the work of the entire club, and the children I was responsible for would suffer, so I knew I couldn’t make any more mistakes. So what I did was make a detailed schedule. I divided the tasks into quarters and periods, and then divided the work to be done, and started working. At first, it took a lot of time to make the plan, but I became skilled at it, and I realized that I could reduce the time by about three times by making a plan. From then on, I was able to lead the club successfully as the club president by diligently making plans and following them.
Self-development
“The spirit of constantly studying trends and language”
○○ is a company that is revolutionizing rice cookers. Rice cookers are no longer just for cooking rice, but are equipped with various functions that make it easier and more convenient to cook a variety of dishes, sparking a new revolution in the kitchen. In addition, the company’s designs are so sophisticated that they rival any piece of furniture, making their products the envy of many. Therefore, I thought that in order to join ○○, I needed to study trends and languages consistently. First, in order to learn about kitchen trends, furniture, and cooking trends, I made friends with 150 power bloggers and share trends and communicate with them. They are all experienced housewives, and some of them have even developed and are using functions that ○○ did not intend to include. I wanted to study various trends and consumer needs by communicating with them. I also thought that I needed to study languages steadily. I thought that language skills were essential to become a planner at ○○, a company expanding globally. So, I learned English, Japanese, and Chinese. I can speak all of them in everyday conversation, and I can even speak Japanese in a business setting.
Reason for applying and aspirations after joining the company
“I will be one of a kind.”
○○ and ○○ have merged, and ○○ is moving toward a bigger and wider world. That is why I think you need good product planners. If I join your company, I will become a truly unique person. I am good at communicating with people, and I will always attend meetings and participate in discussions with a positive attitude and a smile. I will show my passion by waking up early and staying up late to create and plan more unique products. I will show genuine enthusiasm by always understanding consumer needs, paying close attention to details, and working hard to understand trends. Therefore, I will work diligently so that in exactly three years, there will be no one who can replace me. Thank you very much.
