In this blog post, we will introduce ways to convincingly convey the honest advice and critical thinking skills required of a consultant in your self-introduction letter.
Growth
I remember when I was a child, after taking medicine that my mother made me take, I would always wander around the kitchen looking for sweet candy. In Japan, the kanji character used to describe something delicious means “sweet,” and sweetness is one of the most deeply ingrained pleasures in human nature. As a child, I was more emotionally drawn to that instinct than adults, so I naturally preferred people who gave me harsh and bitter advice rather than those who always said nice things and tried to win my favor. Even though there is a saying that “patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet,” I was a child who hated bitter tastes so much that I would try to find ways to eat only the sweet fruit. Even when I did something wrong, I wanted people to just cover for me rather than scold me, so I was a very spoiled child.
As an only child, I was spoiled and had no one to control me during my childhood. The first time I was confronted was by a boy who moved in next door. He resembled a male singer I liked, and I had a crush on him from the moment I met him. He had a very mature personality, and he told me, “You’re so childish,” which was a sharp rebuke to me, who only knew how to act spoiled and throw tantrums. At that moment, I felt as if I had been doused with cold water, and I avoided him, but we ended up in the same class at the same school, and I couldn’t escape his gaze. Whenever I got into a fight with my friends at school or did something wrong, I would see him in front of my house, and I would have to listen to him point out what I did wrong and how I should talk to my friends.
School days
When I was a child, I only knew how to be treated like a princess, but after I met a friend who gave me straightforward advice for the first time, my life gradually changed. The decisive moment came when I realized that my friends, who had only flattered me, avoided me in times of crisis and gossiped about me behind my back. I was addicted to the sweet taste that immediately filled my mouth, unaware of how much it was damaging my teeth. That friend, who had never experienced such a shock in her life, bought me a sweet snack instead of giving me harsh advice. As I ate it while crying, she told me to learn from this experience and never let those kids bully me again.
From that moment on, I realized that people who point out my mistakes and give me harsh advice can also be a source of comfort when I am struggling. True friendship is not about numbing the tongue with unconditional sweetness and then ignoring the other person, but about taking care of their teeth with bitter toothpaste and filling their hearts with just the right amount of sweetness. No matter how much I got annoyed and tried to avoid him, once I recognized his efforts to give me constant advice whenever we met, I decided that I didn’t want to just rely on others, but wanted to become someone who could be a source of strength for others. It was also a time when my mental age, which had been a little behind due to my habit of acting childish around adults, began to mature. I realized that in order for a person to grow up properly, they need not only the sweetness of comfort and joy, but also the bitterness of appropriate advice and correction, and I began to walk the path toward true growth.
Strengths and weaknesses
When interacting with people, I try to strike a balance between praise and constructive criticism. I also don’t trust people who only say nice things and try to show only their good side. I believe that since no one is perfect, we must accept each other’s strengths and weaknesses in order to build true relationships. I think it is selfish to focus only on the good points of others, ignore their shortcomings, comfort them when they are struggling, and try not to see their imperfections. I believe that the ideal way to grow together is to accept even the most human flaws and offer advice on how to overcome them. This is because I have been traumatized by experiences where people only saw and talked about my good points, but left me when I was struggling.
Some people say that hiding your flaws and only sharing your strengths with each other is a good way to avoid headaches and maintain good relationships, but I think that even if it seems like an ideal relationship on the surface, it cannot be a friendship that has a positive influence on each other and allows you to grow together in the long run. It may be fine if you are just acquaintances, but it is difficult to call it a friendship.
Life philosophy
Appropriate advice is necessary for mutual growth, but it must be given in the right way. When I was young, a friend who tried to teach me lessons would repeat his advice with the utmost consideration for my feelings, so as not to provoke me emotionally or make his harsh words sound like criticism. Even though he had plenty of opportunities to correct me in front of my schoolmates, he would wait until we were alone in front of my house and remain calm even when I repeatedly rejected his advice.
Bitter medicine is good for the body, but in order for it to be more effective, it must be refined into capsule form or taken with sweet candy so that the excessive bitterness does not linger in the mouth. Similarly, when influencing people, careful management is necessary. Considerable effort must be made to ensure that harsh words are not simply venting or coercion, but are taken in correctly without causing resentment. If you care about someone and want to help them improve, you need to go beyond simply saying what you want to say and take the time to give them advice.
Motivation for applying and aspirations after joining the company
I have always been aware that if you truly want to help someone, rather than just treating them with sympathy and kindness, it is sometimes necessary to give them straightforward advice and solutions and to disinfect the wound. This is because I realize that immediate pain and suffering are difficult for people to bear, but if they are not properly accepted and assimilated, normal healing and growth cannot take place. Your company has provided advice and consulting services that are like disinfectant for various companies that were unable to identify their own problems, and I applied for this position because I found that it was very much in line with my philosophy.
If I can work with your company to disinfect bacteria, treat wounds appropriately, and help correct plans for a better future, I will strive to become an employee who can always look at things with a broad perspective and come up with the right solutions. Just as pain is always followed by sweet fruit, I am keenly aware of the reality that if we provide painful treatment to patients and make mistakes that do not result in any benefits or improvements, we will not only cause them unnecessary suffering, but also destroy their hope.
