Job seekers consult with company recruiters during the “PKNU Dream Job Fair” held at Pukyong National University in Nam-gu, Busan. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest companies are showing a stronger preference for so-called “experienced freshmen,” or new hires with prior work experience, according to a survey released Sunday by the Korea Economic Research Institute (FKI).
The survey, conducted among 121 of the country’s top 500 firms by revenue, found that 28.1 percent of new college graduates hired last year had already accumulated work experience. The share is up from 25.8 percent in the previous year’s survey, underscoring a shift in hiring priorities.
Most of these recruits had between one and two years of experience (46.5 percent), followed by those with six months to one year (38.6 percent). Smaller companies within the top 500 were more likely to seek candidates with two to three years of experience, while the largest firms leaned toward less.
On average, 26.9 percent of this year’s new graduate hiring plans involve experienced candidates, with some firms intending to fill more than half of their slots with such recruits. Nearly half of companies surveyed also said they will conduct rolling recruitment rather than traditional large-scale public intakes, a trend seen as favoring experienced job seekers.
The share of employees in their 20s at the country’s top conglomerates has plummeted over the past two years. IImage courtesy of Yonhap)
“This reflects companies’ increasingly cautious approach in a challenging business climate,” an FKI official said. “Rather than train untested recruits, firms are looking for candidates who can contribute from day one.”
Despite this shift, Samsung remains the only major South Korean conglomerate maintaining an open recruitment system. By contrast, companies with rolling recruitment reported that nearly 80 percent of their hires would be made outside formal intake periods.
Average annual starting pay for new graduate hires at large corporations stood at 46.7 million won ($33,500), rising above 50 million won at the largest firms.
Industry observers say the preference for experienced newcomers, together with the spread of rolling recruitment, marks a clear break from South Korea’s traditional “public hiring season,” bringing practices closer in line with global norms.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
