"Even SKY Graduates Struggle"…Prestigious University Students Also Suffer from Employment Difficulties

'SKY' Job Fair: 339 Companies Down to 227
Large Corporations Favor Rolling Recruitment and Experienced New Hires

"These days, even graduating from Korea University doesn't make finding a job any easier."

Job fair held on the 4th at Korea University SK Future Hall, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Byeon Seon-jin

Recently, due to the economic downturn and increasing uncertainty, even students from prestigious universities are facing severe employment difficulties. The number of participating companies in major university job fairs is decreasing, making the hiring process even more competitive.

On the morning of the 4th at the Korea University job fair in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Yoon (26), a student from the College of Education, was looking around company booths with a worried expression. Despite having a GPA of 4.2 and being proficient in English, Yoon failed to secure a job last year. He sighed, saying, "I was surprised that not many companies came to this job fair," and added, "The job market is getting narrower, which worries me." In fact, the number of companies at Seoul National University’s job fair dropped from 130 last year to 60, Yonsei University from 100 to 78, and Korea University from 105 to 86.

Among large corporations, there is a noticeable trend toward rolling recruitment and a preference for mid-career or experienced new hires. SK’s major affiliates switched to rolling recruitment starting in 2022, and among LG affiliates, only LG Energy Solution held a consultation event. Lim (24), a student at Seoul National University, expressed disappointment, saying, "Only one pharmaceutical and bio company participated in the job fair."

A university official explained, "A few years ago, job fairs were held in large spaces like university plazas or gymnasiums, but nowadays, the scale has shrunk to about the lobby on the first floor of a building." According to a survey on new college graduate hiring plans conducted by the Korea Employers Federation targeting the top 500 companies by sales, 28.9% of last year’s new hires had prior work experience at the company.

Professor Kwon Soon-won of the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women’s University said, "In an era of low growth, it is not easy for large corporations to significantly increase hiring. The solution is to increase employment through startups," adding, "The government should foster additional models like the Pangyo Innovation Cluster to create unicorn companies and generate employment."