In this blog post, we will explore how you can effectively connect your customer service experience at an airline to a marketing position and incorporate it into your cover letter in a compelling way.
Growth
“I have been in charge of presentations since I was in school.”
I attended an international high school, where I had a lot of experience with presentation and debate classes. Many of the classes at my high school were conducted in foreign languages, and the curriculum included many English and essay writing classes. In essay writing classes, we would decide on a topic as a team and hold debates, and we would also divide up roles for presentation classes. In particular, presentation classes required cooperation, as we had to work together to gather materials and produce the final product.
For example, there was a class where we had to present our opinions on refugee issues with the theme of international conflicts and civil wars. For this class, we divided into teams and each took on a topic. I happened to be assigned to give the presentation for my team. I was responsible for creating the presentation materials, researching, and collecting data, but my teammates thought I was good at speaking, so they asked me to give the presentation. While participating in the creation of presentation materials, I wrote the presentation script and practiced a lot so that I could give an effective presentation in class. Through this experience, I realized that I have a talent for public speaking.
I thought I was nervous, but the audience said that my presentation was easy to understand and that I didn’t seem nervous at all. This gave me more confidence in my presentation skills, and I decided to pursue a career that would involve this type of work. Since presentations are an essential part of the work of a planner or marketer, I decided to major in this field and pursue a career in this area. So, I went to study abroad in North America during college, majoring in international marketing, and steadily progressed as a marketer.
Career
“I worked in the check-in team at Korean Air.”
Before applying to your company, I worked in another department at Korean Air. After graduating from college, I started my first job at Korean Air’s boarding check-in team, where I began as a simple office assistant. As an office assistant, I collected customer information, managed immigration procedures, checked schedules, and created timetables. Although the work was very simple, it allowed me to learn about the airline’s boarding procedures in detail.
Later, I moved from office assistance to another department and was assigned to customer service. Although it was a fixed-term contract position, I worked hard to demonstrate my professional skills while handling customer inquiries. I mainly explained the details of our service programs to resolve inquiries, and when we received inquiries from overseas customers, I searched for and provided detailed information so that they could easily and quickly find their desired routes, schedules, restaurants, and other information. If I lacked information, I would gather it myself and create restaurant maps or edit schedules to make them easier to understand. Through these efforts, I wanted to show that there are no limits to customer satisfaction.
International Sensitivity and Core Competencies
“Sharing cultures while majoring in international marketing.”
While studying abroad, I majored in international marketing at XX University in North America. I was able to quickly adapt to the classes because they were similar to what I had studied in Korea, and I had already prepared my language skills to a certain extent before going abroad, so it was easy to communicate with local students. However, I did experience some difficulties in the process of sharing cultures. Students who had grown up in different environments had already formed communities, so it was not easy to blend in.
I tried to get along with them and make my study abroad experience a success. I often participated in cultural events and attended various parties that were unique to their culture, and I made many friends. Not only that, but as time went by, I also started a cultural exchange project. Through this project, I tried not only to accept the foreign culture, but also to teach foreign students about our culture. By hosting these events, other students opened up to me, and many of them wanted to learn Korean and Korean culture. This experience of actively trying to accept different cultures helped me develop a positive and proactive personality.
Achievements
“Participating in event marketing as a college student marketer.”
I came back to Korea during my study abroad program for a vacation. Even though I was studying abroad, I was still a college student, so I was eligible to apply for the Hi Seoul Festival’s college student marketer recruitment. I applied for the stage planning and program marketing divisions of the festival, and my proposal was accepted, so I was able to participate in the event as a college student marketer. In the process of participating in the event, the team members who applied together three months before the event gathered and held regular meetings. During the meetings, we gathered as many opinions as possible and created our own database, which we used to produce the most effective results.
Our team was assigned to focus on stage planning among the various sections of the festival. We proceeded with the project boldly, reflecting the plans we had previously submitted while supplementing any deficiencies and presenting revisions without hesitation. During the process, I was mainly responsible for presenting new ideas and examining their effectiveness from a marketing perspective. As it was a very large event, I was assigned to a specific part of the event rather than being responsible for the entire event, but it was a rewarding experience that allowed me to fully realize the ideas and creativity I had been thinking about.
Motivation and aspirations
“I am applying for a position in the marketing department of Korean Air.”
Immediately after studying abroad in North America, I began preparing to apply for a position at an airline. With a degree in international marketing and strong language skills, I believed I was qualified to apply for a position in the marketing team of an airline. However, the reality was challenging. I ended up starting my career at Korean Air, the company I had always wanted to work for, not in the marketing department, but in the check-in team. In the check-in team, I mainly dealt with customers and answered basic inquiries. I learned a lot and gained a lot of experience through this work, which was very beneficial.
However, my original goal was to work as a marketer, and among the various departments at your company, I wanted to apply for the cargo transportation and passenger transportation divisions of the Passenger Business Headquarters. So, after working in the check-in division for more than five years, I decided to change my current job and apply as a career employee. Although it is the same company, it is a large corporation, so I decided to reapply. Since the job is different from my previous position as a consultant, I plan to start with a fresh mindset. I am particularly familiar with routes to the Americas, North America, and Northern Europe, and I would like to work in passenger services and marketing strategy for these routes. I would like to build my career in the international aviation industry and have the opportunity to contribute to the growth of your company once again.
