SK opts for audition over application

Not only a GPA over 3.0, a Toeic score above 900 and related licenses, but also information about parents’ occupations and assets have been required of a job applicant in Korea.

However, a few companies are changing the information required from applicants at recent recruitment sessions.

SK Group, the country’s third largest conglomerate, said yesterday it will select interns who will be eligible for regular employment later through an audition-type process called “Viking Challenge.”

Those who want to participate need to apply online (www.skviking.com) until March 22.

The group will hold auditions in six cities in April and May. Applicants will stay at a camp for training and be asked to complete missions at each round. Those who make it to the final round in June will work as interns at subsidiaries of the group.

“We want to see, face-to-face, various talents, broad experiences and creative ideas from our future employees through the auditions,” the group said in a statement.

The audition-style recruitment doesn’t include a document deliberation stage, which means applicants do not need to submit resumes, certificates that prove their academic scores or personal background information.

According to a survey by a job portal Saramin.co.kr yesterday, human resource managers at major companies think the current document screening system at most Korean businesses requires job seekers to disclose unnecessary personal information.

When asked to specify superfluous information sought on job applications, about 65 percent of 300 HR managers cited parental assets, 54.7 percent the father’s hometown, 47 percent housing type, 40.2 percent religion, 40.2 percent blood type and 25.6 percent occupations of parents.

About 74 percent of respondents agreed to remove such information from their job application forms.

Hyundai Motor Group also made a change in the latest recruitment of entry-level employees.

The nation’s biggest automaker removed the photo and English score from the list of requirements.

By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]