Job Postings Emphasize "Competencies," but Application Forms Still Focus on "Credentials"

Application Forms Fueling Over-Specification
"Only Qualifications Relevant to Job Requirements Should Be Requested"

Although companies state in their job postings that they will select candidates based on competencies, it has been found that their actual job application forms require applicants to fill out an average of more than 10 qualification fields, such as educational background, foreign language skills, and certifications. As a result, there are concerns that young job seekers are inevitably being pushed into a competition over credentials.

According to the “Analysis of 142 Job Application Forms from the Top 1,000 Companies by Sales for the Second Half of 2025,” released on January 2 by the Education Spring Foundation, companies listed an average of 2.3 qualification requirements in their job postings during the second half of last year (June to October), but the actual number of qualification fields required on the application forms averaged 12.7.

The most frequently requested field on the application forms was “educational background,” with 95.1% of the companies surveyed requiring applicants to state their “highest level of education.” This contrasts with the 72.5% of companies that indicated in their job postings that they would consider educational background. Other common fields included “major” (95.1%), “name of the school attended” (93.0%), and even a section to specify “type of admission or transfer” (73.9%). For graduate school applicants, 9.9% of companies required them to provide the “name of the laboratory or professor.”

Furthermore, many companies required applicants to state their gender (78.2%) and date of birth (89.4%). Six companies (4.2%) even included a “family relationship” section, asking about the applicant’s relationship with immediate family members and whether they live together.

Regarding “foreign language and certifications,” some companies were found to allow applicants to add an unlimited number of entries, which was criticized for fueling the “over-specification” phenomenon.

While only 24 companies listed specific languages such as English or Chinese as requirements or preferred qualifications in their job postings, 134 companies (94.4%) required language test scores in their actual application forms.

The same trend was observed for certifications. Only 11 companies required job-related certifications in their job postings, but regardless of relevance, 137 companies (96.5%) required applicants to list their certifications. Only three companies-SGI Seoul Guarantee, Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, and Cuckoo-explicitly stated the required languages and certifications for the position in the job posting and allowed applicants to select those fields on the application form.

The Education Spring Foundation commented, “Job seekers read job postings and work to develop the required competencies and credentials, but are taken aback when faced with application forms that require them to list every possible qualification. Companies should improve their hiring processes so that only the qualifications necessary for the position, as stated in the job posting, are required on the application forms.”