By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
For Kim Dae-won, who runs a small software company in Seoul, entry-level workers have long meant two things: young and easy to deal with. These factors, plus their slightly gullible nature, were also what made them fun and rewarding to coach.
But Kim says he realized that much of their unique characteristics are starting to fade out.
``Newbies aren't the same as before,'' said the 58-year-old entrepreneur, who oversees a staff of 80. ``Nowadays, they are older, better educated and have stronger awareness. They basically know what's up.''
This means that bosses need to show more respect and caution in working with their new incoming staff, he says, singling out the age factor as the most obvious change in recent years.
Kim's observation is accurate, as a new survey showed Monday that the average age of entry-level staff has gone up 2.2 years over the past 10 years to 28.7
Online employment site Incruit said its survey of 37,000 entry workers indicated that men and women are starting work 2.7 and 2.1 years later today than a decade ago, respectively.
Employment experts attribute the biggest reason behind the slower trend to longer studies.
``People are staying in school much longer now because of all the uncertainties shrouding the real world,'' said Lee Kwang-seok, the head of Incruit, who said belated graduation naturally leads to belated employment.
According to Incruit data, male students take seven years to graduate, while female students stay on campus for almost five years.
Lee explained that many job seekers are also entering the workforce later because they're investing more time to become competitive.
Many college students spend time overseas to hone their foreign language skills or prepare for certification tests to spice up their resumes, he said.
But what do employers think about the ageing bunch?
``Let's just say, if there are two equally qualified candidates, an employer would likely prefer the younger one,'' says Ki Eun-joo, a headhunter who mainly recruits for medium-sized domestic firms.
She said many traditional-minded senior managers think that younger subordinates are easier to manage, adding that they also want to avoid a situation where age and the corporate bureaucratic order get mixed up.