[K-Women Talk] Job Hunting Is a Numbers Game: Strategies for Fresh Graduates

Sook Eun Lee, Publisher of Employment Backbone

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Last year, a friend who had joined a major corporation reapplied during this spring's open recruitment season. While she was satisfied with her current company, her department assignment was not what she had hoped for, and, above all, she had a different company in mind as her goal.

The CEO of a mid-sized company that recently hired new employees remarked, "Friends who had previously worked elsewhere seemed to be more prepared," adding, "Fresh graduates appeared less ready in terms of job preparation and corporate analysis compared to those with prior experience." As a result, only about 20% of the new hires were fresh graduates, with the remainder being 'experienced rookies' who had previously held jobs.

These two cases clearly reflect the current characteristics of the job market. This generation, who would even retake college entrance exams to enter top universities or medical schools after already being admitted elsewhere, are now choosing to retake or transfer jobs in their professional lives as well. From a company's perspective, there is little reason to hire a 'completely inexperienced newcomer' when 'someone with brief but valuable work experience, and who may be more qualified,' is willing to join.

According to the Korea Employment Information Service, the resignation rate within one year for new hires reached 60%, and even among large corporations, 16% left within a year. These individuals are now becoming the main players in the job market as experienced rookies. In this situation, what should true fresh graduates do?

First, you should cast a wide net by applying to at least 50 companies. From major corporations to startups, if the position fits, apply everywhere and adopt the mindset that "wherever I am accepted is my place." In fact, last year, a friend applied to 50 companies, passed the document screening at three, and finally received a final offer from one. This amounted to a 2% chance of success. This is why the popular phrase among job seekers goes, "If you apply to 10 companies, you get zero offers; apply to 50, you get one."

Second, remember that 'number of openings is king.' There is no place for fresh graduates where only one or two people are being hired. The real opportunities lie with companies hiring tens or even hundreds. The problem is that companies rarely disclose the number of openings, making it difficult to know which roles or companies are hiring more fresh graduates. Here is a quick tip for guessing the number of openings: leverage your network of current employees. Since this information is not even shared at company info sessions, asking current employees is the fastest way to find out which departments and roles have more openings. In fact, a friend who initially aimed for Company A successfully switched to Company B based on a tip from a senior. Another tip is to search the news in detail; if there is news about factory expansion, the establishment of subsidiaries, new service launches, or global expansion, there is a higher chance that the company will be hiring more people.

Third, your chances of success increase if you apply to companies located in less desirable regions or to lesser-known startups. As government support is being strengthened for next-generation promising industries, startups are hiring more employees. One criterion for identifying promising startups is 'securing investment funds,' and I recommend the 'Datalab' section of the website 'Unicorn Factory.' There, you can filter startups by the amount of investment raised to distinguish the most promising ones.

Fourth, make it a habit to check job portals and startup recruitment sites daily for postings and information. Do not just look at job postings; also check out content on company analysis and recruitment trends. Among job portals, Saramin and JobKorea have the largest number of job postings, so choosing either one will suffice. If you create a simple profile, the platform will recommend jobs tailored to you, and the 'recruitment calendar' menu makes it easy to see application start and end dates at a glance. For startup recruitment postings not covered by the major job portals, use RocketPunch, GroupBy, or WantedLab.

Sook Eun Lee, Publisher of Employment Backbone

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