Lotte hiring will focus on diversity, job skills

Lotte Group said Wednesday that it plans to hire 900 workers and 400 interns during the round of recruitment starting in September.

The retail conglomerate emphasized it would focus on job-related capacity and diversity, including making sure that at least 40 percent of new hires are women.

Lotte will begin receiving job applications on Sept. 1 and internship applications on Nov. 3. Final results will come out in late November.

This year, Lotte said it has adjusted its hiring criteria to focus on applicants’ ability to complete the job they’re applying for, unusual in a country that still bases most hiring off credentials like what school one attended and scores on exams like the Toeic.

Lotte plans to double the number of applicants who pass the initial CV and cover letter screening and raise the bar for its assessment known as L-Tab that evaluates an applicants’ fit for the company and job requirements.

Lotte said this would help the company find applicants that are more suitable for the job.

The changes are in line with the government’s push to have companies enact so-called blind recruitment, where pedigree and test results are eliminated from consideration.

To enhance diversity, Lotte has promised to hire more female and disabled workers. “We’re planning to hire female workers to account for at least 40 percent of all new entrees this year, not only in the services and retail sectors, but also at manufacturing and petrochemical affiliates,” the company said in a statement.

Lotte also plans to put an additional 2,600 temporary workers into permanent positions, making the total of such employees 4,600 when combined with those who were put on permanent payroll in the year’s first half.

The company’s chairman, Shin Dong-bin, pledged last year to put a total of 10,000 temporary employees on a permanent payroll by 2019.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]