"You Need to Earn at Least 44.7 Million Won"...The No. 1 Job-Seeking Condition Chosen by Job Seekers

[Financial News] The average annual salary sought by job seekers for the second half of this year was found to be 44.7 million won. That is about 3 million won higher than the salary they expected to actually receive.
According to a survey of 1,013 job seekers conducted on the 1st by the employment platform CATCH, operated by Jinhaksa, the average desired salary among those planning to apply in the second half of the year rose by 1.7 million won from 43 million won in the survey conducted earlier this year.
When choosing a company to join, the most important factor was also compensation, including salary, at 42%. Work-life balance and working conditions followed at 18%, while growth potential and career development opportunities came in at 12%. Job fit and company stability each recorded 8%.
As for the type of company respondents plan to apply to in the second half, large conglomerates ranked first at 52%. Public enterprises and public institutions followed at 30%, mid-sized companies at 29%, small and medium-sized companies at 13%, and foreign companies at 11%. Twelve percent said they had no application plans.
As the job market becomes more difficult to enter, more applicants are also broadening their search. In a multiple-response question on application criteria for the second half, the most common answer was "expanding the size of companies I will apply to," at 29%. Expanding the range of desired job roles came next at 24%, followed by lowering salary expectations at 21%. Expanding target industries and applying for internships or contract positions each accounted for 15%.
The most common outlook for the second-half job market was that it would be similar to the first half, at 32%. Twenty-nine percent viewed it positively, while 24% expected it to be negative. The remaining 15% said they did not apply for jobs in the first half.
The biggest difficulty in the first-half job search process was a lack of job postings worth applying to, cited by 37% of respondents. This was followed by applicants' high qualifications and experience levels at 21%, a small number of openings at 18%, and high demands for job-specific skills at 17%.
Kim Jeong-hyeon, head of CATCH at Jinhaksa, said, "Job seekers are broadening the range of companies and roles they will apply to, while still prioritizing large companies and high compensation." He added, "The mismatch between the jobs they want and the actual hiring opportunities is likely to continue in the second half of the year."
[email protected] Lee Jumi Reporter