[K-Women Talk] "Recruitment Is the Face of the Organization"

Still Common Privacy-Invasive Interview Questions
High Risk of Violating the Fair Hiring Procedure Act
Questions Should Focus on Job Relevance

Even after working in recruitment and headhunting for nearly 20 years, I often find myself questioning whether I am truly performing my duties correctly. For this reason, two years ago, I completed a professional interviewer certification course offered by the Barun Recruitment Certification Institute. During the very first session, the most emphasized topic was the "Fair Hiring Procedure Act."

Enacted in 2014, the Fair Hiring Procedure Act serves as a minimum safeguard to ensure fairness in the hiring process and to protect the rights of job seekers. The core content is that employers should not request unnecessary or privacy-invading information from job applicants during the recruitment process, and should transparently disclose information about the hiring process and results. However, in practice, many still inadvertently violate the law, often without fully understanding its requirements.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's inspection results for the first half of 2024, the main violations included requesting information on marital status and family members' educational backgrounds or occupations in resumes, failing to announce regulations on the return of recruitment documents, retaining or failing to destroy documents of unsuccessful applicants, and not notifying unsuccessful candidates of their results. These findings were based on focused inspections of online job postings, particularly considering that young people primarily seek jobs via the internet.

Questions such as "What do your siblings do for a living?", "It seems you have an accent; where is your hometown?", "Are you married? Do you have any plans to get married?", or comments like "You look much better in person than in your photo," are frequently asked during interviews. These are clear violations under the Fair Hiring Procedure Act.

So how should these questions be reframed in practice? For example, instead of asking, "How have your parents influenced you?", it is better to ask, "Can you share any turning points or reasons that led you to become interested in this position?" Alternatively, questions such as, "Are there any career paths or examples from people around you that have influenced your own career decisions?" are more appropriate, as they focus on the applicant's thoughts and experiences.

Questions about a candidate's marital status are also common. However, these can be replaced with job-related questions such as, "What kind of work-life balance do you envision for yourself in the next two to three years?" or "To what extent are you flexible regarding changes in work location or schedule?" These alternatives are both legal and can provide valuable insights.

In addition to the Fair Hiring Procedure Act, other relevant laws include the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the National Human Rights Commission Act. Notably, while violations of the Fair Hiring Procedure Act may result in administrative fines, violations of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act can lead to criminal fines. Article 7 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act clearly states, "Employers shall not discriminate based on gender when recruiting or hiring employees," and violations are subject to fines of up to 5 million won.

Recruitment is not simply about selecting people. It is a process of finding partners who will help shape the future of the organization. At the same time, job seekers evaluate the values and culture of an organization through their recruitment experience. The Fair Hiring Procedure Act is the minimum safety net and baseline to protect the "quality of experience" for job seekers.

Compliance with recruitment-related laws is a basic requirement for companies. However, what is even more important is an attitude of respect toward job seekers. A fair and transparent hiring process is not just a legal obligation; it is a crucial measure of a company's values and the starting point of its competitiveness. When this is recognized, recruitment becomes the face of the organization and the driving force behind its growth.

Moon Sunkyung, Executive Director at Unico Search