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Major departures from the age-honored doctrines of Asian business are included in the top 10 trends of the job market announced Tuesday by job portal site Scout based on its surveys of headhunters, job consultants and the personnel directors of major businesses. They include flaunting of seniority in salary structures and a growing disregard for old school ties.
¡ß Reducing reliance on school education:
A survey with corporate personnel directors shows that the importance of school education in job interviews is falling, from 46 percent in 2002 to 35 percent in 2004 for new graduates, and 36 percent to 22 percent for applicants with work experience. As the value of school ties and names erodes, direct and indirect working-level competence will become more important.
¡ß 'Salary reversal' more common:
As the salary system expands, wage difference grows within the same job positions. "Salary reversal", where subordinates earn bigger salaries than their boss, is becoming more common. In a recent survey of 178 personnel directors, 78 percent said they had seen cases where seniority was disregarded in salaries.
¡ß 'Salary peak system' to spread:
More companies are enticing staff into honorary and early retirement. Banks and other businesses have started adopting a "salary peak system", where the salaries of staff are cut from a certain age in return for guaranteeing them jobs until they retire.
¡ß More casual workers:
Previously, casual and contract work was confined to professions and the service sector. But now more companies prefer to hire casual workers, who cost less and are more easily replaced than regular staff.
¡ß Internship programs increase:
Internship programs which help companies select the workers of their choice will also increase. The number of internship programs rose from 14,000 in 2002 to 34,000 in 2003, and 43,000 in 2005.
¡ß English proficiency tests lose distinction:
Toeic, TOEFL and other English proficiency test scores are losing their power to persuade employers as more companies include practical English presentations or debate sessions in their job selection process. Companies like Samsung Electronics, Hyundai-Kia Motors and Daewoo are conducting interviews in English. Demand for second languages other than English will also increase.
¡ß Avoiding speedy promotion:
Because fast promotion can mean a target for early retirement or salary freeze, workers try to avoid speedy promotion. A law that says fast promotion equals success no longer holds true.
¡ß More one-man businesses and university-work links:
Links between universities and employers will increase where universities are responsible for cultivating talented workers and companies hire them when they graduate. Experts also predict that the number of one-man businesses - especially in areas like translation, program development or design - will grow as companies downsize and outsource to raise corporate productivity.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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