Global recruiter seeks Korean talent
.jpg)
Robert Walters Country Manager Duncan Harrison speaks during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, Friday. / Courtesy of John Redmond
By John Redmond
With Korea's unemployment rate dipping below 3 percent, the youth job market is more competitive amid large-scale layoffs and fewer recruitment options in large companies.
As a result, many bilingual Koreans are looking to international companies for secure job prospects.
Global recruitment agency, Robert Walters PLC, established in 1985, is a specialist professional recruitment consultancy that opened its Seoul office in 2010.
Operating across five continents with offices in 24 countries and employing 2,800 people, Robert Walters is a leading global specialist recruitment service seeking talent Korean jobseekers.
The Korea Times spoke with Country Manager Duncan Harrison about what Robert Walters means for Korea and the global market.
Q: Please explain what Robert Walters does here in Korea.
A:
Robert Walters is a mid-level recruitment service and 99 percent of our clients are international companies.
Q: What key sectors does the firm focus on and what firms do you represent?
We specialize in introducing bilingual Korean staff to international companies. We organize that by industry segment. We have eight different focus teams.
Q: What differentiates Robert Walters from its competitors?
We are a British global company operating in Korea and everything we do is in English. Even our Korean consultants communicate with candidates in English.
Q: What makes the Robert Walters experience special?
The focus is on quality not quantity. We prescreen candidates and give a client three strong recommendations as opposed to 10 potential candidates.
Q: As Korea strives to develop an internationally minded workforce, what advice can you give jobseekers who are looking to work for multinationals?
Having studied overseas is an advantage. Also, gaining experience and knowledge of international organizations and living overseas are also beneficial. The ability to be creative and have good ideas is another strong point.
Q: How do you see the job growth in Korea these days?
Though a lot of the big companies are not hiring as aggressively as before, the large number of free trade agreements (FTAs) being signed with Korea has led to more international positions.
For more information, contact
.
John Redmond is a freelance writer.