To Get Hired by a Large Corporation, You Need at Least a 3.7 GPA and a TOEIC Score of 846 or Higher...

7 out of 10 People Have English Speaking Scores

Job seekers waiting for on-site interviews at the job fair / Photo by Jang Jin-hyeong aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] In the first half of this year, new employees at large corporations were found to have an average graduation GPA of 3.7 and an average TOEIC score of 846.

On the 29th, job site JobKorea analyzed and announced the specs of 601 successful applicants to large corporations registered on its platform during the first half of this year (January to June). For the analysis, the applicants' specs were categorized into nine items: ▲graduation GPA ▲TOEIC test scores ▲English speaking scores ▲second foreign language scores ▲internship experience ▲overseas stay experience ▲contest award experience ▲volunteer experience ▲certification possession.

According to the data, the average GPA of new employees who succeeded in getting jobs at large corporations in the first half of this year was 3.7 (on a 4.5 scale). Among them, 53.2% had TOEIC test scores, and the average TOEIC score they reported was 846.

Seven out of ten (74.2%) successful applicants to large corporations had English speaking scores. Among them, 39.0% had TOEIC Speaking scores, and 54.9% had OPIc scores. Those who reported both test scores accounted for 6.1%. For TOEIC Speaking, those with Level 6 (based on the grading system before the June revision) made up 79.1%, the largest group, and for OPIc, those with IH level were the largest group at 46.3%.

Additionally, 72.4% of new employees at large corporations reported possessing one or more certifications. On the other hand, those with internship experience accounted for 38.3% of all successful applicants, which was relatively low. The proportion of those with contest award experience was 42.8%.

JobKorea stated, "As the hiring process has established a method that blinds applicants' origin, academic background, and gender information and focuses on job suitability, possession of certifications related to the applied field appears to have become an important criterion for employment success."