Foreign companies hunting Korean talent

AMCHAM president says Korean employees are No. 1 in the world

Global technology majors such as Microsoft, Intel and International Business Machine (IBM) are pitching up to hire Korean graduates.

“Korean employees are No. 1 in the world,” Microsoft Korea Country Manager James Kim said at a student session held in Seoul, Tuesday.

Amy Jackson, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) said the same day, “Korean employees are among the best in the world, if not the best in the world.”

AMCHAM Korea held its fourth “innovative” program at the University of Seoul, Tuesday, to give undergraduate students opportunities to get to know multinational companies operating in Korea and their businesses.

The AMCHAM Innovation Camp was started last year as part of corporate social responsibility activities of the U.S. business lobby group. A year earlier, the AMCHAM Council on Innovation for the Future was created for the purpose.

AMCHAM leaders discussed what expertise they have that can be used in an innovative way. They came up with a “brainchild” incubated by Jeffrey Jones, a Kim & Chang lawyer and chairman of Partners for the Future Foundation, Amy Jackson told The Korea Times after the camp.

They agreed to “provide some kind of advice and mentoring to Korean university students, particularly from universities that might not usually get to meet with foreign CEOs,” said Jackson.

In Korea, large conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group remain the most desired dream jobs for a lot of college graduates.

But at the same time, a growing number of graduates want to get a job at a multinational company as they have studied overseas or prefer a different corporate culture compared to traditional Korean companies.

Still, the reality didn’t absorb such a growing desire among Korean graduates to work at a multinational firm until 2013. Last year, AMCHAM held an innovation camp at three provincial universities ― Chungbuk National, Pusan National and Keimyung universities.

“Most of the innovation camps we’ve been doing have been outside Seoul. That’s because there is a concentration of foreign businesspeople and others in Seoul,” said Jackson. “So more students in Seoul tend to have opportunities to meet foreigners whereas outside Seoul they tend to have less opportunity so that’s where our focus has been and probably will continue to be.”

On this year’s plans, she said AMCHAM is planning three camps like last year. “But we haven’t fully decided yet.” The University of Seoul was the first campus in Seoul to have the event.

The president looked very enthusiastic about the program, saying, “We felt energized. I think American CEOs who participated were really happy and enjoyed them. So we will continue.”

As for things to be improved, she said there should be enough time for students to ask questions. The mentoring sessions with CEOs lasted for 50 minutes at the three previous camps but an additional 25 minutes were given at the fourth camp.

“I think at first I gave more of a lecture. I didn’t allow enough time for students to ask questions, because I was afraid there would be no questions. I was totally wrong so now I try to dedicate half of the time for questions because all the students are so interested and engaged,” Jackson said.

The three-hour program composed of introductory and mentoring sessions drew some 400 students mainly from the University of Seoul and six neighboring universities including Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Kyung Hee University, according to Oh Yoo-sung, president for student affairs at the University of Seoul.

Mentoring sessions hosted by Kim, IBM Korea General Manager Shirley Yu-Tsui and Intel Korea President H.S. Lee drew a strong response from students due to growth potential.

“It was an invaluable opportunity to listen to lectures from CEOs who are hard to encounter, and to learn thoroughly about the values companies pursue. I believe today’s experience will help me study with clear goals for my future,” Chung Da-hae, 19, a freshman who studies business administration at the University of Seoul, said.

Lee Jung-soo, 26, a graduate-to-be at the University of Seoul with a major in computer science, said that the session with Kim gave him clear guidelines of how to find a job at Microsoft as software engineer in the U.S.

During the sessions, Kim who also serves as AMCHAM chairman, asked participating students to “think differently and act differently.” He also called on students to have a passion about changing the world.

Jackson and Yu-Tsui, who are both working mothers, encouraged students to look at working at foreign companies. They stressed “flexibility,” at jobs which is common at foreign firms allowing working moms to continue their careers.

Jackson, married with two young children, said she has managed to build her career due to three specific things: flexibility in her job, ability to change jobs in careers and the support of her husband and her family.

In her personal tips for a successful career, Yu-Tsui said, “don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Enterprises need wild ducks.”

All the tips from the technology CEOs seem to be well received by the students who are seeking jobs at global information-technology companies.

To be sure, high-tech companies have their own reasons to participate in the innovative camp.

“There is concern in the high-tech companies that there is going to be a mismatch between jobs and skill sets not just in Korea but globally. So I think they see high value in telling Korean students where they can seek job opportunities in the future,” Jackson said.

Asked if AMCHAM runs similar programs in other Asian countries, she said, “We have a network of AMCHAMs in the Asia-Pacific region. I have not heard of this being done in another AMCHAM.” By Choi Kyong-ae The korea times