Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Launch Second Half Recruitment... Striving to Secure Talent (Comprehensive)

Samsung Electronics and Group Affiliates Announce Recruitment on the 4th
Lee: "Creating Quality Jobs Is a Corporate Duty"
SK Hynix Recruits Talent After Two Months
Seeking Immediate Contributors Through 'Junior Talent' Track and More

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, competing in the global semiconductor market, are both stepping up efforts to secure talent.

On April 20th, Samsung Electronics supervisors conducted a preliminary assembly for GSAT candidates at the Samsung Electronics Talent Development Center located in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Samsung

According to industry sources on the 3rd, Samsung Group will announce recruitment notices for each affiliate and begin the hiring process on the 4th. With 19 affiliates participating in this recruitment, Samsung Electronics is also expected to hire a large number of talents. Although the exact scale has not been disclosed, since Samsung previously set a goal to hire 80,000 people over the next five years starting in 2022, the scale is expected to be around 10,000. Among them, Samsung Electronics is likely to hire in the triple digits.

Applicants wishing to join can submit their applications through Samsung's recruitment website, 'Samsung Careers,' by the 11th. Following this, the online Samsung Aptitude Test will be held in October, interviews in November, and recruitment health checkups will be conducted. For software (SW) development positions, a practical SW competency test requiring candidates to solve given problems by coding will be conducted, and for design positions, candidates will be selected through a design portfolio review.

Samsung, which introduced the open recruitment system for the first time among Korean companies in 1957, has pursued HR system innovations over the past 70 years to implement ability-centered personnel management based on the 'Talent First' management philosophy. These innovations include establishing the first open recruitment for female college graduates in Korea (1993) and removing educational background requirements for employment (1995). Furthermore, following Chairman Lee Jae-yong's belief that 'creating quality jobs is the duty of businesspeople,' Samsung has expanded its hiring scale despite difficult conditions. This contrasts with recent trends where global companies like Intel and Cisco have been cutting staff, and 57.5% of Korea's top 500 companies have announced no plans for new hires in the second half of the year.

In 2021, Chairman Lee said, "As a businessperson, I feel a heavy responsibility for not creating more jobs," and promised, "We will invest more in technologies that do not exist in the world and fields where only we can excel, and create better jobs." Samsung stated, "Through open recruitment, we aim to fulfill our promise to create quality jobs for youth while securing and nurturing outstanding talent, thereby contributing to enhancing the future competitiveness of both the company and the nation."

The number of Samsung Electronics' domestic employees increased by about 25%, from 103,011 in 2018 to 128,169 as of June this year. To strengthen research and development (R&D) competitiveness, Samsung is conducting not only open recruitment for new graduates but also hiring experienced domestic professionals and outstanding foreign students. Since 2022, Samsung has been implementing HR systems focused on horizontal organizational culture expansion through rank consolidation, abolishing rank-based tenure limits, and improving evaluation systems.

SK Hynix Headquarters, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do [Image source=Yonhap News]

SK Hynix is launching another talent recruitment just two months after starting its hiring efforts. With increasing semiconductor demand and the goal of securing technological competitive advantage, the company plans to acquire as many outstanding talents as possible, focusing on those who can be immediately deployed on-site.

On the 10th, SK Hynix will simultaneously announce the 'Second Half New Employee Recruitment' targeting those graduating in February next year and graduates, as well as the 'Junior Talent' recruitment for semiconductor-related professionals with 2 to 4 years of experience. The hiring scale is expected to be in the triple digits. Applications will be accepted until the 23rd.

This recruitment has attracted significant industry attention as it comes just two months after the new graduate and experienced employee recruitment conducted in July. SK Hynix is known to be securing outstanding talent to meet the rapidly increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and to enhance technological competitiveness while maintaining its current leadership in high-bandwidth memory (HBM). SK Hynix requires engineers for AI memory semiconductor fields including HBM design and advanced packaging, as well as for the newly announced investments such as the Cheongju M15X and the U.S. advanced packaging production base.

In particular, the 'Junior Talent' track has the advantage of accepting prepared personnel with practical experience in the semiconductor industry who can be immediately deployed to the front lines. SK Hynix introduced this track in 2021 when it shifted from biannual new graduate recruitment to continuous recruitment.

New employee candidates applying for this recruitment will, upon passing the document screening, undergo the SKCT (SK Competency Test) and interviews, and will join the company in January next year. Junior Talent successful candidates will start working in February next year. Starting this week, SK Hynix will also hold recruitment briefing sessions at major regional universities such as Kyungpook National University, Pusan National University, Chungbuk National University, Chungnam National University, and Chonnam National University. Briefing sessions were first held last week at Pohang University of Science and Technology and KAIST.