Companies prefer new employees who actively show willingness to learn after joining the company, and employees who have good interpersonal and communication skills. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The most desirable trait in new recruits among South Korean companies is a willingness to learn, a recent survey showed.
According to a survey conducted by online job portal Incruit, of a total of 831 corporate human resource (HR) managers, one in four respondents, or 24.8 percent, said that “willingness to learn” was the most desirable capability or attitude among new recruits.
This was followed by “personal relations and communication skills,” which accounted for 23.5 percent.
In other words, it seems that companies prefer new employees who actively show willingness to learn after joining the company, and employees who have good interpersonal and communication skills.
In addition, abilities such as “managing time and absenteeism and tardiness records,” which accounted for 10.2 percent, “interest in the company,” accounting for 8.7 percent and “courteousness,” accounting for 5.1 percent.
To sum up, more than 7 out of 10 personnel managers value the “attitude” of new employees.
Practical skills such as “career-related knowledge,” accounting for 11.7 percent, “second language ability,” accounting for 4.6 percent and “certificates,” accounting for 3.4 percent were also cited, but such skills account for only one-fifth of the total.
In addition, companies’ preference for “immediate commitment,” which refers to the ability to jump into a new job immediately, surged as the trend of blind recruitment and job competency enhancement spread.
Meanwhile, according to an analysis by company size, HR managers at mid-sized and small-sized companies cited “willingness to learn” as the most important virtue.
On the other hand, personnel managers at large companies placed more emphasis on “communication skills,” which ranked the first with 18.7 percent, “interest in the company,” taking second place with 18 percent, and “career-related knowledge,” ranking fourth in importance with 13.1 percent.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
