The recent employment situation has been frozen to the point that it has been dubbed the “employment glacial era.” Most businesses postponed their hiring plans or even canceled them altogether. Thus young applicants are facing a despairing time these days. Therefore young people are searching for opportunities through a variety of occupations. However, the Z generation who is trying to find jobs has been affected the most by COVID-19. They might only get answers back from just one or two companies among those to whom they submit their applications. Some applicants could not even get any replies at all. A lot of corporations are reluctant to hire permanent workers in order to reduce labor costs in recession. Accordingly, we can expect the percentage of temporary positions to be increasing more and more. In this respect college students who are between jobs have severe stress and concerns about the unpromising employment market.

 Recently a student was interviewed about her job search. She said she applied to over 100 businesses in a year yet she did not get many opportunities for an interview. As a result she is still a job seeker. Besides she experienced ridiculous situation where a company notified her of the cancellation of employment within 30 minutes of telling her she was hired. Not only are there too few jobs but also the method of hiring employees has been changed. In this difficult situation the most concerning thing to them is reducing the number of workers. In addition the biggest fear is that nobody knows when this will end. These days, chances for internships, extracurricular activities, and some contests have decreased dramatically due to COVID-19. This is the reason why students cannot accumulate diverse experiences. Job Korea and Albamon did a survey on the prospects for getting a job of 885 students who are expected to graduate from a four-year university in Korea this year. Following the findings, the number of students who have differentiated ability except for graduation credit and certificates based on their major which everyone acquires is lower than last year. The decrease in activities regarding employment that requires meetings seems lead to this conclusion. As alternatives to the changed circumstances, some programs for improving job competencies and executive abilities are being held. However, there are obvious limitations. It is becoming more difficult to appeal to interviewers since they are competing with more applicants with only common specifications as, the opportunity to develop their differentiation has disappeared. It is difficult for job applicants since opportunities to experience various things are diminishing while corporations that prefer lots of experience are increasing.

 As the difficulty of finding a job becomes severe, one out of three college students is choosing a double major. By major, the top three areas that have the highest percentage of multiple majors selected are humanities, social science and business. The reasons for their choice are “to find a new career path” and “because it’s a field I want to study,” but the biggest reason is employment. Especially students who have a deep concern about their major have more inclination to do a double major compared to others. To keep up with this trend, some university are expanding their systems on double major and minor. To give a hand in this tough time, Seoul Digital University are offering the opportunity for students to learn and develop competence in a variety of areas by connecting to an adjacent major through the system of double major and minor. Specializing in one major is fine, but it is also advisable to try many different things and open your possibilities and future to overcome hard circumstances.

 The government and several institutions operated supporting businesses to sympathize with the suffering which job seekers are facing and help them. One non-profit promotion agency which is composed of professionals in hiring and labor is creating a ‘National Employment Support System.’ This is the system that provides a vulnerable social group with employment support service and support for living at the same time. Job applicants with experience in hiring and those in low-income households will be paid up to 3 million won for a total of six months, 500,000 won per month. The second program the agency is operating is ‘Deduction for Filling Tomorrow’ for young people. This is a project that allows young people between the ages of 16 to 35 to work long-term in small and medium-sized companies as full-time employees. Moreover they are offering labor fees to the companies that create jobs by hiring the young. The purpose of this is giving hands-on background related to IT for the applicants and supporting the practical creation of added value for corporations. Although there are various job support services for job seekers, the extent to which they actually engage is very low. To figure out the reason for this, we interviewed a student who is preparing to work in a public enterprise.

Q1. Please introduce yourself.

Hello, my name is Park Ji-won. I am 23 years old and I am majoring in accounting and preparing to get a job after graduating from college.

Q2. How do you feel about the reality of employment that university students are facing?

 I think many job seekers will be having a hard time due to the uncertain future as more and more companies postpone hiring due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and more companies are not posting jobs. I was also eligible to take the written test after passing the public company documentation process, but I am frustrated that the test schedule is being continuously postponed. In addition I can easily see on hiring sites that most businesses prefer experienced applicants to newcomers. There are many more companies which are trying to hire new staff as interns or temporary workers. Therefore, whenever I see employment announcements that demand career experience my worries and fears about it become deeper.

Q3. What was the most difficult thing about preparing to get a job during this period?

As I said before, passing the corporate document process does not mean that we can move on to the next stage. It is not certain when the next schedule will be posted. The uncertainty of this is the hardest part. Additionally I studied to acquire other certificates that can help me to get a job while waiting for the next company notice but it was not an easy thing to do. Because COVID-19 was getting worse, I got messages from the certificate test site informing me of the delay. As a result, the fact that the period of employment preparation is indefinitely longer and the number of competitors increases is the most exhausting and difficult thing for me.

Q4. Do you know any cases of businesses that the government or institutions are supporting for job? seekers?

Yes. As far as I know, there are many services that apply for them. The first service I know of is the ‘Youth Special Job Support Fund’ that provides support to ease concerns about the cost needed for financially strapped students while searching for a job. The second one is ‘Deduction for Filling Tomorrow.’ The last one I know of is ‘Employment Wing Service.’ It is the project that lends formal dress clothes to interviewees when they have job interviews.

Q5. I heard that it is not easy for college students or job seekers to receive such services. Do you agree with that? What is the reason?

I really agree with that. I have applied for the support. However I had to not only log in to a lot of sites but also write in detail about my plan and determination to get a job. The questions I had to fill out were as many and as complicated as the cover letter, so I needed a lot of time. In addition, it took about two to three days to apply for the service because many procedures were needed, such as my personal information and my family’s. Most of the time, even though I spent so much time applying, I did not receive support because I was judged to not qualify based on my level of income. Of course I understand that there are many people who are in a more difficult position than me. However, it is a little frustrating and sad to see this reality because it is not easy to receive state support even in a tough situation. Also, I think it is more difficult to use these services because they are not well known. There are many services that I learned from other people or some sites related to employment. Listening to my friend’s stories, I feel that there are not enough ways for job seekers to easily learn about these services.

Q6. What do you think should be improved first to help more job seekers?

I don’t think it’s the right answer, but I hope the support service will be improved by expanding the number of people who can be accommodated even if the amount of support is reduced a little at first. I understand the situation of the government and institutions that cannot give a hand to all of the students. Yet, it is also a fact that using the supporting service in reality is much too complicated. I think it would be better to reduce the amount of support they offer and help more people. Additionally corporations should open not only chances but also possibilities for new employees. To make it come true I think there is a need for more support for companies that hire new employees than others that hire experienced employees. Though I know that there is already a support system for companies that hire new employees I would like to tell you that if there were more various systems to encourage companies they would hire new employees rather than experienced employees, which would really help job seekers. Lastly I hope that support services are promoted more actively so that a lot of people can approach them easily.

Q7. Even though it's a difficult situation, what do you think is the most important thing to get a job in the future?

Now everyone is in a difficult situation to find a job. Therefore, the most important thing is to think positively and try to keep doing self-development. Of course I know that it is easier said than done. However it is better just to do our best in what can we do than keep feeling anxious or nervous. When the test I was preparing for was delayed, I was overwhelmed by great frustration and depression and became helpless. It's good to rest for a while in a tiring situation, but I thought I was wasting precious time an negative thoughts. Also I realized that trusting myself and to keep trying is a much better way. One more thing that I would like to emphasize is that it is also important to study relevant to the job you want, just as much as acquiring certificates needed for the work you want. This is because when an interviewee is interviewed after passing the document process, interviewers sometimes decide whether he or she is the right person for the headquarters by asking how much he or she knows about the job he or she has applied for. Finally I sincerely hope that the situation will improve as soon as possible and that all the efforts that many people are doing to get a job will be rewarded. I cheer for everyone who is preparing to get a job!

 The job market is frozen due to the current COVID-19 crisis, but job seekers should be aware of the recruitment trend with hope. You can get the job you want only when you quickly understand the trend. Besides If you are aware of hiring trends it would lead to new opportunities and achievement in the employment market after you get a job. According to several hiring specialists, contact-free interviews will continue to remain commonplace throughout the year. The most increasingly popular method is ‘AI interview.’ Interviewers may take the advantage of being able to make objective evaluations without prejudice or subjective valuation in the hiring process and match the applicants with appropriate work by analyzing their inborn characteristics with AI but, it may be difficult for interviewees to adapt to this new method. Therefore you should try to become skilled through experience beforehand and show off all of your capabilities in the interview. Job seekers can use non-face-to-face recruitment application programs from job information institutions such as ‘Incruit’ to prepare for the new hiring method of companies. The application named ‘I am ground’ is a program that has been released for people who don’t know how to prepare for the AI interview. Through this, you can apply for a video interview as if you are actually interviewing with questions for your desired job. In addition, mock job interviews like this can help applicants choose their duties by analyzing and identifying their own tendencies systematically. Based on the results, eight factors are provided that can be used in actual interviews, including what needs to be improved and what strengths the applicants have. Such services will help job seekers take a step closer to the changing hiring trend. Another factor as important as being flexible and ready for a changed environment is confidence and passion. At times like this, efforts should be made to clearly set goals and prepare thoroughly for the industry which you desire. Nowadays, companies value job seekers’ ability to analyze their jobs, so job seekers should accurately grasp the talents and duties of the companies they support. If you can analyze your job properly, you can further improve your competitiveness.

 It's already been a year since COVID-19 broke out. Currently, job seekers will be increasingly frustrated and by the dark reality that coincides with their employment period. As COVID-19 is not ending and is getting worse due to the influence of various factors, “Corona Red”, which refers to anger, is now replacing the term “Corona Blue,” which refers to depression caused by COVID-19. Although many people are struggling to prepare for employment due to the uncertain future of the job market and changes in familiar hiring methods, the day will definitely come when they can be compensated if they continue to work with a positive and healthy mindset in their daily lives. When you think it's too hard and exhausting, why don't you spend time with your family and friends to get away from negative thoughts such as depression, lethargy, and self-blame? Pharos hopes that all job seekers will overcome difficult situations and achieve their goals as soon as possible so that they will be filled with happy days ahead of them.

75th Cub Reporter• HAN SONG HEE• shhan0509@hanmail.net

75th Cub Reporter• CHOI HYUN JEONG• chj010627@naver.com