7-Hour 'Mountain Climbing Interview' Controversy: "Hiring Power Abuse vs. Corporate Freedom"

The Company Describes It as an "Alternative Form of Personality Interview"
Some Major Corporations Also Use Hiking Interviews in Hiring

A mid-sized company conducting a 7-hour hiking interview has become a hot topic on online communities.

On the 11th, Mr. A posted on an online community, saying, "I passed the document screening for a mid-sized company but did not go to the interview," and added, "I was going to try the interview experience, but since it was a hiking interview, I canceled immediately." He further revealed the detailed schedule of the company's interview, stating, "The interview alone takes 7 hours."

Gather at Gwanggyosan Mountain in Suwon, 2 hours 40 minutes for ascent and descent... Starting salary is 35 million KRW

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yoon Dongju]

According to the schedule disclosed by Mr. A, the interview starts with a recruitment briefing at 10:10 AM, followed by group ice-breaking and topic selection for discussion, then lunch. After that, the hiking interview begins at 12:40 PM. The location is Gwanggyosan Mountain in Suwon. According to the schedule Mr. A claimed, the hiking takes 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Afterwards, group discussion interviews and subsequent procedures take place. The first-round interview on that day was scheduled to last about 7 hours, from the recruitment briefing at 10:10 AM until 5:40 PM. This company is an automobile parts manufacturer with about 370 employees. The average annual salary is known to be around 55 million KRW, and the starting salary for new employees is about 35 million KRW.

Reviews of the hiking interview conducted by this company also attracted attention. Mr. B, who applied for the recruitment announcement in the second half of 2014, 10 years ago, and took the hiking interview, explained, "After lunch, we had an ice-breaking session and then started hiking Gwanggyosan Mountain. The hiking time took about 2 hours round trip."

He added, "A mid-level employee was assigned as an instructor for each group, and one instructor accompanied the group. While hiking, we had to acquire five keywords such as words, numbers, and four-character idioms. After finishing the hike, we gathered in the auditorium, combined the keywords as a group, prepared a presentation, and then had Q&A and individual questions."

Another applicant, Mr. C, from the same year wrote, "The interview starts with hiking, acquiring keywords on the mountain, and then presenting as a group. The interview atmosphere was generally good, and rather than emphasizing job strengths, it focused on personality, giving the impression that the company values talent."

According to a News1 report, the company started this type of interview from the first half of 2013's open recruitment, paused briefly in the second half of 2019 due to COVID-19, and resumed from the first half of this year.

"An alternative form of personality interview"... Some large companies also implement it

A company official explained, "It is a personality interview conducted in the form of a hiking interview. Usually, face-to-face interviews last 15 to 20 minutes, but it is difficult to evaluate personality within that time alone. Therefore, we give applicants various situations and missions and evaluate their personality through the process of solving them."

Meanwhile, besides this company, Haitai Confectionery and Black Yak also recruit talent through hiking interviews. In particular, Haitai Confectionery has been conducting mountain hikes during the second interview since 2005 to comprehensively evaluate personality in specific situations. While climbing the mountain, the guide is known to evaluate personality through conversation as well as basic physical strength, basic posture, and other factors.