Korean Job Market: Character Over GPA?

In Korean, the strong emphasis on education / a high GPA (grade point average) is seen as crucial to get accepted in a top university, which will in turn lead to being hired by a top company. This survey points to other factors strongly influencing the hiring process. That said, I feel that one reason with most applicants sporting high GPA and strong academic credentials, so it's Character that sets them apart.

Chosun Ilbo notes---Businesses place more importance on a job applicant's character than their track record, a poll by employment portal Job Korea of 255 companies that are planning to hire new staff in the first half of this year finds.

Some 69.4 percent gave more weight to the character of applicants rather than their career or educational backgrounds. In other words, experience counted with less than one-third of companies. And 70.6 percent of the respondents named the personality of job applicants among decisive factors in hiring them, followed by work experience (50.6 percent), educational specialty (24.7 percent), first impression (14.1 percent), fluency in English or another foreign language (9.8 percent), the school applicants graduated from (5.9 percent) and special skills (3.1 percent).

The most popular attribute of job applicants was patience for 18.4 percent, diligence (15.3 percent), creativity 14.9 percent), ability to solve problems (12.9 percent) and loyalty to the company (12.2 percent).

The most unpopular attribute was disloyalty for 34.5 percent of the companies, followed by irresponsibility (18 percent), selfishness (10.6 percent) and lack of initiative (9.4 percent).

Korean Martial Art Experiences: Competition Years

One of my 2010 projects is to share more of my Korean martial arts experiences. In March 2008, I noted how traditional martial arts practice was a great way to gain insights into Asian culture. LINK. As a new Black Belt (actually mid-night Blue in Tang Soo Do/ Soo Bahk Do), I once lived to compete. Based in my hometown in Honesdale, Pa. I traveled weekends across the East Coast. Some culture shock, too. Life in a sleepy rural community was very different from the NY Metro area. Surprising I did well in competition--part physical talent, part modeling the top fighters, part getting into Finals frequently so I was competing against the best, which in turn forced me to improve and stretch out of my comfort zone.

I was recently contacted by the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame to share a short bio on my competition years. Here is what I shared.

Don Southerton Competition Years A Tang Soo Do (Soo Bahk Do) Moo Duk Kwan practitioner, Don Southerton began competing in 1975. Over the next five years his lead leg kicking style and uncanny flexibility became well known in the NY-NJ-PA-CT tournament scene. Southerton’s competition years include numerous lightweight division and grand champions wins including the Garden State Championships (NJ), Scranton Open (PA), and Academy of Karate Scholarship Championship (CT).

Following in their instructor’s footsteps, Southerton’s students, too, were successful competitors emulated the rapid-fire lead leg kick style. By 1981, Southerton had retired from competition to focus on teaching and operating a chain of martial arts schools in NY’s Mid-Hudson Valley. From 1983 to 1991, Southerton also served as coach/ chief instructor for the cadet martial arts program at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

In 2000, after 25 year teaching and managing martial schools in PA, NY, NJ, CT, FL, and CO Southerton turned his interests to writing and academia. Today he oversees Bridging Culture Worldwide (www.bridgingculture.com)—a consulting firm focused on Korean global business. Frequently traveling to Korea and in spite of demanding international consulting practice, Southerton has continued to train daily, while researching and studying traditional Korea martial arts. Often recalling his competition years, Don has fond memories of the comradeship and strong friendships forged.

글로벌인재, 의사결정속도, 현지화 전략” 그리고 Bridging Culture Worldwide

안녕하세요. 

Bridging Culture Worldwide 입니다.

지난 2009년 연말 일본의 니혼게이자신문 (にほんけいざいしんぶん)은 “한국 기업이 강한 비결”이란 주제로 특집기사를 게재하였습니다.

“글로벌인재, 의사결정속도, 현지화 전략”을 3대 성공요인으로 앞세워 한국의 기업이 글로벌기업으로 급부상 했다고 분석보도 하였습니다. 한국은 국내시장으로는 살아남을 수 없다는 위기감을 갖고  일찍부터 국외 시장 공략에 주력해왔습니다. 

국경없는 Business시대가 다가오면서 글로벌 현지화 전략이 매우 중요합니다. 글로벌 현지화 실패로 “한국까르푸”를 예로 들수 있습니다. 정말로 글로벌 현지화 전략을 아무리 강조해도 지나치지 않습니다.

Bridging Culture Worldwide는 귀사의 글로벌 인재양성 및 글로벌 현지화 전략에 알맞는  Cross Cultural Training Program을 제공합니다.국가간 비지니스 규범과 표준, 한국의 비지니스 문화 공유 그리고 귀사의 해외팀에게 일어날수 있는 일에 대한 대처방안 능력을 길러 줍니다. 

따라서 외국계 고용인 및 고용주, 국내외 본사의 해외팀 또는 주재원에게 꼭 필요한 Program 입니다.

이미 국내 글로벌 대기업 현대 / 기아 자동차, 현대모비스, 효성 그리고 해외 기업들이 Bridging Culture Worldwide의 Cross Cultural Training과 함께 글로벌 현지화 전략을 진행하고 있습니다. 또한 탁월한 성과도 거두고 있습니다.

Bridging Culture Worldwide와 함께 하는 순간 이미 귀사는 해외 경쟁력을 갖추게 됩니다.

다양한 서비스 정보를 원하시면 아래의 연락처로 연락바랍니다. 신속하게 답변드리겠습니다.

Don Southerton 

CEO and President 

+1-310-866-3777 

dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com

Korea and Olympic Pride

My brief commentary.

Korean media notes... Olympic favorite Kim Yu-na delighted fans around the world by winning the women's figure skating gold medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics. . Yu-na's 228.56 points topped the previous world record she set last October in Paris. 
Twenty-year-old Kim is the first Korean figure skater ever to win an Olympic medal.

She was amazing ! and no doubt this will dominate Korean media for the next few days. Coupled with the strong showing of their Olympic team, Koreans have a lot to be proud of....

On another level, Korea's Olympic success provides some insights into the people and its modern society. First, Korean play to win and not only at sports. For example, Koreans are strong global competitors in business. Samsung, Hyundai Kia Motors, LG, Doosan, Hanjin, and SK are major Korea brands now carving out international market shares based on aggressive sales, quality product and services, and design savvy. Like in sports, hard work and diligence are significant factors.

Looking deeper we find that Olympic success is also linked a collective society where success or failure is shared by all. A win by Kim is not only her win, but also a win for the entire nation. But perhaps more revealing is what drives many Koreans to support such high Olympic aspirations.

I see status as this powerful force. Specifically, the global status Korea gains by high achievement. This is very important for a culture where status consciousness is long rooted in a Confucian past. As a modern society, ranking among the top ten medal winners has been a recent goal in both Summer and Winter Olympics—a goal that through hard work, determination, and sacrifice Korean Olympians have achieved.