In this blog post, we talk to Seoul National University students about their daily lives in the workplace and their concerns about building their resume and preparing for certifications. It points out that Seoul National University students have relatively little pressure to find a job, and emphasizes the importance of increasing one’s self-worth through certifications, studying English, and various experiences.
For most students who are in their fourth year of a four-year engineering program and want to continue their studies, April and May are busy months. Not only are you preparing for midterms and presentations at school, but you’re also thinking about applying for jobs (or going to graduate school), and other complicated and busy things. If you’re in your mid-20s, you’re probably also thinking about finances and marriage, and the pressure to build your resume can be overwhelming. ‘Spec’ is an abbreviation of the English word specification, and it has recently become a neologism among job seekers that refers to the sum total of external conditions that one can secure, such as education, credits, TOEIC scores, certifications, and overseas internship experience.
However, graduating seniors at Seoul National University don’t seem to participate in the so-called “spec stacking” that most college students across the country are doing. They seem to be doing the bare minimum to fulfill the graduation requirements. In fact, when I try to study for certifications at school, I sometimes get reactions like, “Hey, a Seoul National University student is studying for certifications?” In the past, in the 1970s and 1980s, entering and graduating from Seoul National University was a kind of free pass, a gateway to all kinds of jobs. No matter what company you work for, if you are a Seoul National University graduate, you have the confidence that you can do well if you put in the effort and the expectations of those around you, and if you continue to work for the company, you can dream of becoming one of the “elite” and reaching the top of the company. As a result, it was not uncommon for me to enter the front line of an oil refinery despite majoring in Korean literature.
In my own department, the Department of Architecture at Seoul National University, companies used to provide a lot of accommodations for new employees from Seoul National University. In the past, companies would hold recruiting seminars at the school, executives would visit the school to convince them to join the company, and seniors who joined the company first would visit the school and take juniors out to dinner. They even had executives come to the school for interviews. I’ve also heard stories of companies postponing interviews or test dates to accommodate students’ schedules, and of students embarrassing companies by refusing to join as a group when the number of hires at a particular company was limited.
Of course, recruitment events are still held at the school from time to time and senior dinners are held, but the problem is that most students think that they deserve this kind of treatment. (Usually, recruitment is when a company makes an announcement, and interested people come to the headquarters auditorium to receive training and ask questions, and job-seekers in the provinces have to take time out of their lives to come to Seoul). Of course, it’s fair to say that I worked hard in middle and high school to get here, so the benefits I’m enjoying now are a given. However, when I compare myself to students at other universities who have to take a leave of absence to get credits, English, and certifications to get a job, and when I see that Seoul National University has a long way to go before it can compete with the best universities in the world, I think there are some things that students at my school should realize.
Although the current employment rate is weaker than it was in the 1970s, when Korea’s economy was growing rapidly, it is still true that Seoul National University students have a somewhat laid-back attitude when compared to students at other universities such as medical and pharmacy schools and other top four-year universities in Seoul. So, let’s take a look at why, when, and what has caused students from Seoul National University to stop worrying so much about finding a job. First of all, self-confidence (or self-esteem). They know that their hard work pays off, and their “I can do it” confidence is superior to other students because of their learning ability and understanding, which is backed up by their hard work, and as a result, they are more confident in finding a job. In other words, they think that if they put in the effort, finding a job is just a matter of time.
Secondly, because people around them are more aware of their abilities than they are, Seoul National University graduates are often given key positions in the company after joining the company, and when juniors from the same university join the company, they are more interested and attracted to them, so Seoul National University graduates continue to occupy key positions. Just being a graduate of Seoul National University is a family honor, and with it comes the envy of others and a pink slip of a future that is more concrete than others. This is because it takes relatively little effort to pass the application process and get a job with just a sign that says ‘National University of Seoul Graduate’ compared to friends who came out of local universities ‘armed with English, certificates, and overseas internships’.
Of course, there is no one who hasn’t studied harder than anyone else before coming to Seoul National University. However, entering Seoul National University does not mean that your life is over. No, it’s just the beginning. I’ve seen some of my classmates who worked harder than anyone else to get here, but after they got here, they were lazy, as if they had achieved all their goals in life. Since you have studied hard to get into Korea’s top university, Seoul National University, it is important to increase your self-worth not only with academics, but also with various experiences, English studies, and certifications.
A certificate is not a foundation, extension, or enrichment of your major field of study, but rather a practical exercise for entering the workforce. This is because most of the theoretical knowledge is in your major studies at university, while certifications require practical knowledge. Studying a foreign language is not just a certificate that you get when you graduate, but it is the foundation for a globalized company in the global era. Studying abroad or interning abroad can be a valuable experience that broadens your horizons and expands your horizons not only in Korea but also around the world.
The reading room on the third floor of the Seoul National University Central Library is open 24 hours a day for Seoul National University students. The reading rooms on the other floors turn off the lights at 11 p.m. with a sign announcing the closure, which has stuck with me ever since I first came here.
“Dear students, thank you for your hard work today, and I hope that your efforts today will help many people in the future.”
I always keep this quote in mind and hope that I can become a student at Seoul National University who thinks that studying is not just for me and my family, but for many people, and puts in more effort.
