Samsung Elec. to Hire Outstanding Interns Full-time

Samsung Electronics will select eight to nine-week interns after an hour of interview as regular employees depending on their performance. The interview had lasted just 35 minutes and interns got preferential treatment in being considered for full-time employment instead of receiving an offer.

The new internship system will serve as a form of recruitment in addition to hiring people fresh out of college. Since Samsung has served as a leader in where an industry is headed, attention is on if the rest of the sector follows the company’s example in their recruitment.

The new system in which interns with verified performance will become regular employees will take effect in the second half of this year, the company said yesterday.

It plans to hire 800 interns, twice that in the first half of this year (400 to 500). How many will stay at Samsung Electronics remains unknown. College juniors or seniors can apply for the internship Dec. 12-16 at Samsung’s recruiting site (www.dearsamsung.co.kr).

The most notable feature of the new internship is that those with outstanding performance over their eight to nine weeks of apprenticeship will be immediately hired full-time. The evaluation of their department heads will be a major factor in the hiring process. With the previous Samsung internship lasting just four weeks, interns only received extra points in the interview but nothing more.

Since the new system can directly lead to formal employment, Samsung will lengthen the intern’s interview from 35 minutes to an hour to add intensity. In addition, internships divided into engineering and non-engineering tracks will be integrated.

While maintaining its annual open recruitment every six months, Samsung Electronics will gradually increase the share of intern-turned-employees among its new recruits. A company source said, “The reform seeks to encourage students to study their majors more in-depth and prepare for career development rather than memorizing model answers for interviews and glossing up their resumes.”

abc@donga.com