82 percent of job ads require experience, survey finds

Eight out of 10 job postings in the first half of this year sought candidates with prior work experience, according to new data, effectively sidelining recent graduates. With internships and entry-level roles increasingly scarce, young job seekers face shrinking opportunities to gain the very experience that employers demand.

A study by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which analyzed 144,000 job postings on private recruitment platforms, found that 82 percent required prior work experience. Only 15.4 percent were open to both experienced and inexperienced applicants, and just 2.6 percent specifically targeted newcomers. Meanwhile, a separate survey of 1,000 recent college graduates found that 53.2 percent had no work experience during school—highlighting a widening gap between employer expectations and educational outcomes.

Despite widespread youth unemployment, many companies continue to complain about a shortage of qualified candidates, typically defined as those with proven on-the-job experience. As a result, it has become increasingly common for so-called entry-level positions to be effectively reserved for applicants who already have work experience, a practice critics describe as misleading.

Among South Korea’s five major conglomerates, only Samsung still operates a traditional recruitment program for fresh graduates. Small and medium-sized enterprises also tend to avoid hiring true beginners, citing the high cost of training and the risk that new employees will leave for larger companies. As a result, many young job seekers are trapped in a cycle where they cannot gain experience because they do not already have it.

Internships, originally intended as a bridge to employment, are now as competitive as full-time roles. Some even require previous work history. “I applied for an internship to gain experience, but even that position required experience,” lamented a job seeker. Others said companies often promise that interns will be hired full-time but rarely follow through.

Experts say breaking this cycle will require a coordinated effort from the government, educational institutions, and the private sector. The government should expand subsidies and tax incentives for companies that invest in training new talent. Labor laws that discourage firms from hiring unproven workers, largely because of the difficulty of termination, should also be reviewed.

If employers continue to favor only experienced hires, they risk a long-term talent shortage, particularly as South Korea’s working-age population continues to decline. Without structural change, the country may find itself without the next generation of professionals.