The file photo, shows a job seeker looking at recruitment notices at an employment center in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — 4 out of 10 job seekers passed job interviews and were provisionally hired, according to a recent survey.
However, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, they have been unable to start work.
According to a survey of 2,052 job seekers conducted by online job portal Saramin, 40.7 percent said they had experienced being notified of the cancellation or postponement of their employment since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Among them, 58.7 percent of job seekers were notified that their potential employer had decided to delay recruitment.
This was followed by 22 percent experiencing both postponement and cancellation of their hire, and 18.9 percent who said that the job offer had been rescinded.
Although companies unilaterally notify candidates after passing an exam or interview, this is primarily done via text message.
Text messages were the most common method of notification, accounting for 51.7 percent, followed by phone calls, accounting for 28.3 percent.
This was followed by emails at 19.6 percent, face-to-face notification at 6.9 percent, and messaging apps such as KakaoTalk at 6.3 percent.
Some 10 percent of the respondents even had to inquire themselves because they received no contact from the company.
Meanwhile, 78.3 percent of job seekers who experienced job cancellations or delays said they were informed of the reasons.
Worsening business conditions due to the coronavirus outbreak was the most cited reason for cancellations or delays.
This was followed by “hiring schedule postponed indefinitely,” accounting for 46.3 percent, ” company decided to reduce its existing staff,” accounting for 11.4 percent, and “the project or work in question was canceled,” accounting for 6.4 percent.
While 48.7 percent of respondents understood and acknowledged what the company had to say about recruitment, 47.9 percent could not help feeling sorry and upset even though they accepted the reason.
In addition, 88.7 percent of the respondents said they did not respond to the unilateral notice informing them that their employment had been delayed or cancelled.
On the other hand, a small percentage of respondents noted that they were planning on consulting with labor attorneys or reporting their potential employer to the Ministry of Labor.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
