College graduates lost in job search

A graduate student walks past a bulletin board bearing notices on job openings at Sogang University.

Bahk Eun-ji, Kim bo-eun, Jung Min-ho

Han Suk-hoon, a 27-year-old law major at Hanyang University in Seoul, graduated three weeks ago but he still goes to school every day.

At the library, he reads newspapers to keep up with current affairs and studies for an English proficiency test.

He has struggled to find a job. He applied to more than 30 companies in the second half of last year and was granted interviews by 10.

One finally selected him but he had to pass a three-month-internship to land a permanent position at the company.

Han did his best to pass the screening ― he emptied trash cans and did all sorts of office chores that regular employees shunned doing. However, despite all of these efforts, he didn’t make the final cut.

Since spring, he has applied to seven firms but never made it the interview stage.

“Although I knew the job market was tough, I didn’t think that I would end up graduating jobless,” said Han. “It’s really frustrating, and since I do not know whether I’ll be employed by the end of the fall, I feel insecure and miserable.”

People may think that Han lacks competence or that it is simply bad luck. But the situation is similar for those from his department. Han says nine in 10 of his friends are either looking for work or are staying in school, putting off graduation.

Given Hanyang University considered a prestigious school here, those from lower-ranking universities face harsher realities.

Choi Eun-hye, 25, graduated from a college in Gyeonggi Province last summer. Since then, Choi has made efforts to strengthen job interview skills and sharpen her English proficiency at a study group with other graduates.

Even after graduation, she has been studying for more than a year as no company wants to hire her.

What’s worse is that she is losing confidence in herself and employers are reluctant to hire those who spend a year just hunting for a job.

The first question asked at most interviews is about the one year hiatus ― “What did you do during the year after graduation?”

This frustrates her.

“I hate to answer the question because I know that those interviewers will think I wasted a year,” Choi said.

This vicious cycle is ongoing. But she doesn’t know how to break it.

“If I fail to get a job this fall, I might end up being jobless for a long time. I’m losing confidence as time goes by. So, I think this is the last chance,” she said.

Postponement of graduation

As employers are reluctant to hire those unemployed for a year or more after graduation, students are forced to delay leaving university as long as possible.

Lee Yu-jin, a 26-year-old student at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, postponed her graduation for two semesters.

“This feeling of getting old while jobless is really horrible. Age matters in the Korean job market, especially for women, but I have no choice but to put off graduation until I land a job,” Lee said. “I am seriously considering that I may have to prepare for state tests to become a civil servant or CPA (certified public accountant) if I fail to get a job this season, like many of my friends are doing.”

But Lee said it’s not what she wants to do. She also said it’s not as simple as people think that jobseekers should turn to smaller companies.

“Some people criticize young people only looking to be employed by major firms. But the reality is people believe that where to work represents the status or who they are. Am I wrong?”

That’s why Lee continues to apply to large corporations such as Samsung and LG, just like many others.

Kwon Hyun-jin is in his 10th semester at Hanyang University. Although he has filled all the requirements for graduation, he has decided to stay for another term to pull up his GPA.

“Companies require good grades, so it was my only choice in order to increase my chances of landing a decent job,” said Kwon. “Companies prefer graduates-to-be over graduates as applicants. This is because the latter give a negative impression, as they are neither student nor employed. So staying in school has become a popular option.”

But Kwon says he knows that the prospects of finding a job are far from bright.

Lowering expectations

According to Statistics Korea, the employment rate of jobseekers who graduated from a 4-year-college was 54.5 percent in 2011.

However, given that the figures exclude part-time workers, interns and non-regular employees, the actual job market for the young adults is far bleaker.

The data also showed that 11,645 people earned doctorate degrees in Korea and 1,160 received them overseas last year.

A growing number choose to go to graduate school, hoping the advanced degree will give a better chance in the job market. After spending a lot of time and money on more education, the situation they end up in is not much different from their first attempt.

With a limited number of positions actually requiring further education, many wind up working in fields where a degree is not required.

Labor experts advise young jobseekers to look for opportunities at small- and medium-sized companies.

Kwon Jin-ho, director of the youth employment planning division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, says one of the main reasons behind the tight job market for college graduates is the mismatch between the supply of young applicants and demand from small, but promising firms.

“Many young people remain jobless, while small- and medium-sized companies are short of qualified people,” Kwon said.

Another problem I found after talking to people who work for human resources department is that many people have similar experiences and qualifications, which makes it hard for companies to choose the most suitable candidates, Kwon said.

“Jobseekers should know what makes them stand out from the crowd instead of following the herd,” he said.

Although the college entrance rate is dropping, the country produces more university graduates than it actually needs, Kwon said.

“Last year, 72.5 percent of high school graduates chose to go to college, a number that is slowly falling but is still higher than the OECD average.”

According to the latest data, the OECD average was 59 percent in 2009, compared with 81 percent in Korea.

“The recent move by big conglomerates, like Samsung and SK, to hire high school graduates seems desirable, regarding the demands of the times,” said Kwon.