As a result of continued investment into Korea and solid overall economic performance across the country, recruitment activity increased in 2011. Employer sentiment was generally optimistic, with a continued trend towards recruiting bilingual, globally experienced professionals to drive both domestic and regional expansion strategies.
Technical, sales and marketing professionals were recruited strongly within the IT sector as these companies prepared for product launches and implemented expansion plans. Many companies hired junior and mid-level professionals with strong management potential as they sought candidates who could develop internally long-term.
There were also increased recruitment volumes within the online space. Companies looked to develop and expand their e-commerce capabilities and hired sales forces and marketing professionals to help facilitate this drive. This was particularly notable in B2C companies, which sought to grow their online presence by adding online marketing professionals experienced in SEO and SEM.
However, increased market volatility resulted in moderate hiring levels within the financial services sector. Globalisation strategies within these firms prompted an increase in the demand for professionals with international experience and regional reporting ability. When making replacement hires, firms actively sought to up-skill existing teams when replacing employees who had moved roles to maximise their business efficiency.
Competition for the best bilingual talent led salaries to increase and many job seekers received increases of more than 10% when moving position. As domestic firms will be seeking to expand overseas in 2012, competition between local companies and foreign multinationals for similar skill sets should create further upward pressure on salaries. Securing these professionals will remain a challenge for employers in 2012 due to a shortage of this talent in the market.