"Job Hunting Retry" 2030s Who Failed to Secure Employment

6 out of 10 Job Seekers Who Failed to Get Hired Are 'Reapplying for Employment'
Experts Say "Many Young People Are Seeking Jobs to Pass Civil Service Exams or Join Large Corporations"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] "Is it only universities that retake exams? Job seekers retake exams too."

A job seeker (job hunter) A (27), who is preparing to enter a public enterprise, recently said this after failing an entrance exam. A said, "I passed the document screening several times, but I failed many places. I think I failed because my English scores and certifications were insufficient," adding, "Although I keep failing, I plan to continue challenging myself."

As the employment crisis continues, it has been found that more than half of new job seekers who have not succeeded in getting a job choose to "retake" job applications.

Job retaking is a newly coined term meaning preparing for one year to get a job at the desired company.

Experts analyzed that a significant number of young people remain in a job-seeking state to pass civil service exams or get employed by large corporations.

According to Statistics Korea's "May 2019 Supplementary Survey on Youth," as of May last year, the number of young people preparing for employment exams was 714,000, an increase of 88,000 from 626,000 in 2018. This is the highest since related statistics began in 2006.

Also, the proportion of young people unemployed for more than one year was 44.1%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 2018.

According to a survey on "job retaking plans" conducted by JobKorea and Albamon in November last year targeting 1,037 new job seekers, 56.9% of respondents answered that they plan to retake job applications to enter their target companies. This means that 6 out of 10 job seekers who failed to get a new job choose to retake job applications to get into their desired companies.

In particular, the intention to retake job applications varied depending on the desired company. Among job seekers aiming for large corporations, 68.9% said they would retake job applications to enter their target companies, and 68.8% of those aiming for public enterprises also expressed their intention to retake.

On the other hand, small and medium-sized enterprises (48.2%) and foreign companies (45.9%) were surveyed to be less than half compared to large corporations.

Photo by Yonhap News

B, a job seeker in their 20s, said, "If possible, I want to enter a so-called 'iron rice bowl' civil service or a company with a high salary," adding, "The process of preparing for employment is tough, but I think it will all be rewarded once I get a job."

C (26), another job seeker, said, "I often hear 'face reality,' but I would rather enter a stable public enterprise or large corporation than a small company where I might be laid off anytime depending on the company's situation," pointing out, "Choosing a better company for the future is the reality."

As such, job seekers who have not succeeded in getting a job are found to continue challenging employment despite the stress.

D (28), who identified as a third-year job seeker, said, "The competition rate is increasing as time goes by. The pressure to get a job is huge," adding, "Because of this, I am preparing to obtain at least one more certification. I am also studying foreign languages in my spare time."

Experts advised that structural improvements are needed to change the situation where people are obsessed with large corporations and civil service exams.

Professor Park Jisoon of Korea University Law School appeared on YTN Radio's "Kim Woosung's Vivid Economy" and said, "From the job seekers' perspective, they cannot help but prefer jobs with stable employment and high salaries," analyzing, "However, the reality is that jobs are decreasing in large corporations due to automation, artificial intelligence, and the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution."

Professor Park advised, "The key is how to strengthen the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises," adding, "Creating quality jobs and improving working conditions through industrial structural reform is essential."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.