To Join Large Corporations, Prove Job Skills Instead of Volunteer Work or Language Ability... Regardless of Entry-Level or Experienced Applicants

Ministry of Employment and Employment Information Service Survey Top 500 Companies by Sales

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government’s survey of the top 500 companies in South Korea revealed that, regardless of whether applicants are new graduates or experienced professionals, job competency is prioritized above all else in open recruitment. Activities such as volunteer work, contests, and language study trips were found to have a lower priority.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Information Service announced on the 11th the results of their survey on hiring decision factors among the top 500 companies by sales. They inquired about key evaluation elements in application forms and interviews, factors with low priority in hiring decisions, and the impact of past rejections on future hiring.

Regarding the most important elements checked in application forms for new hires, 47.3% responded that "major relevance to the job" was the top factor. In interviews, "job-related experience" accounted for 37.9%. Specifically, in application forms, the order of importance was major relevance to the job (47.3%), job-related work experience (16.2%), and highest educational attainment (12.3%). In interviews, the order was job-related experience (37.9%), basic attitudes such as personality and manners (23.7%), and understanding of the job (20.3%). Here, "job-related experience" refers to all experiences related to the job to be performed in the future, including projects, internships, study groups, and training. Factors with low priority in hiring decisions included volunteer work (30.3%), part-time jobs (14.1%), contests (12.9%), and language study trips (11.3%).

When hiring experienced professionals, job-related competency was also the most emphasized. In the evaluation of application forms during the experienced hire selection process, the presence of job-related projects or work experience (48.9%) was the most important. This was followed by the duration of job-related experience (25.3%) and major relevance to the job (14.1%). In interviews, job-related expertise had an overwhelmingly high response rate of 76.5%. This was followed by understanding of the job (9%) and basic attitudes such as personality and manners (8.5%). Volunteer work (38.4%) was also cited as a low-priority factor in the experienced hire recruitment process. Contests (18.2%), language study trips (10.4%), and job-unrelated certified qualifications (8.4%) followed.

Lee Yohaeng, a research fellow at the Korea Employment Information Service, said, "The top hiring criterion for companies is the applicant’s job suitability," and advised, "Job seekers need to decide on their desired job early and consistently work to gain relevant experience and qualifications related to that job."

Companies responded that it is important to demonstrate a changed appearance when reapplying after rejection. Among 250 surveyed companies, 159 (63.6%) said they assess applicants’ self-feedback, efforts to change, and improvements made after rejection. Of these 159 companies, 119 said that the mere fact of reapplying does not affect hiring outcomes. However, for job seekers who worry about this, the points to prepare include "self-feedback on reasons for rejection and efforts to change" (52.2%), "efforts to improve after rejection" (51.6%), and "sincere reasons for reapplying" (46.5%).

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Employment and Labor confirmed through the survey that companies tend to prioritize job competency over language scores and contests, and plans to expand job experience opportunities for job seekers accordingly. First, the target number for the National Employment Support System’s work experience program will increase from 29,000 people this year (budget 54.2 billion KRW) to 30,000 people next year (planned budget 139.4 billion KRW). New programs will be introduced, including support for "Youth-Friendly ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) Companies" (planned budget 17 billion KRW) and a job experience program for small and medium enterprises (5 billion KRW).

To strengthen qualitative factors such as personality and manners, a job coaching solution program (including expert mock interviews) will be newly established next year. The small and medium enterprise youth job experience program will enhance mock interviews and customized feedback. Additionally, the survey results will be actively utilized during employment and career counseling at employment centers and university job centers. Kwon Changjun, Director of Youth Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "We hope this survey serves as a navigation tool to help job seekers set their employment preparation direction," and added, "We will continue to support job seekers until the end by operating various employment support programs."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to conduct a survey on "promising small and medium-sized enterprises" next month and announce the results in February next year. It also plans to conduct a "youth-preferred and major employment industry survey" next year.