LG shuns ‘specs,’ shakes up recruitment process

LG Group said yesterday that it will not look at the specifications, or “specs,” of applicants seeking jobs at the group, starting in the second half of this year.

Specs are a set of records and numbers used to prove the credentials of job applicants, such as grade point average, English test scores and overseas experiences. Many young Korean job seekers are preoccupied with their specs and spend a significant amount of money improving them.

LG will instead require an essay from applicants introducing who they are, why they are interested in the job they are applying for and what qualifications they possess that make them suitable for it, the group said.

The decision by the country’s fourth-largest conglomerate follows similar decisions by many other local companies amid growing doubt over the correlation between these specs and ability, along with mounting criticism that the focus on these records are incurring huge social costs.

LG said it will require English proficiency only for those who will work in the overseas marketing departments of its affiliates, adding that it will test for English aptitude through an interview rather than test scores. Information relating to an applicant’s family, address, and resident registration number, and a photograph, which is still required by many companies, will not be necessary at LG, the group said.

The basic process for the group’s recruitment - a resume, an aptitude and ethics test and an interview - will remain the same, LG said.

Meanwhile, the group opened LG Careers (careers.lg.com), a recruitment portal exclusively for the group, yesterday.

BY MOON GWANG-LIP [joe@joongang.co.kr]