By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
More than a quarter of college seniors and recent graduates in a survey said they have researched overseas employment while an overwhelming 95 percent of respondents said they would be open to working overseas if good opportunities arose.
The survey was conducted by online recruitment firm Jobkorea between April 17 to May 9. Overall, 635 college seniors and recent graduates looking for work have responded to the e-mail survey, according to the firm.
``These are young job seekers looking to build work experience. A lot of job seekers nowadays are honing their foreign language skills to be more attractive job candidates," said Byeon ji-seong, public relations manager at Jobkorea, who carried out the survey.
She said there are a number of factors that are influencing more young job seekers to look for employment overseas. ``There is the globalization trend of Korean companies. These companies are expanding overseas and are realizing that they need to hire more Koreans with overseas knowledge and experience.''
She also noted that ``Unfortunately, finding a good corporate job in Korea is not easy for many university graduates.''
Among those who said they are open to working overseas, 28 percent cited developing their professional skills as their reason for going abroad. Some 27 percent said foreign firms would provide a better work environment while 23 percent said they would command higher salaries after getting overseas work experience. Some 10 percent cited disappointing job prospects in Korea.
The survey found 28 percent of respondents would choose the United States for their overseas employment. The runner-up country was Japan, followed by the European Union, Australia and Canada.
michaelthewriter@gmail.com
|
