“Blind Recruitment”

[Anchor Lead]

More and more Korean companies are recruiting employees regardless of age and academic background. The purpose is to recruit solely based on one's ability and root out any irregularities in the hiring process. The traditional formula of employment is being challenged in many ways. Take a look.​

[Pkg]

This public firm is holding interviews of new recruits. Applicants form long lines from early in the morning. But they suddenly head to the dressing room half an hour before the interview. They all change into a white shirt. Their name tags show only the positions they applied for without their names.

[Soundbite] Kim Jin-wuk(Blind Recruitment Applicant) : "We changed into this shirt as part of efforts by the firm to not recognize individual personal traits."

The company also runs ID checks to see if any applicant might be related to an employee.

[Soundbite] "Those with number one are in group B, and number two is group C."

The interviewers are also assigned to groups through a random draw. A candidate wearing a prosthetic leg receives the same questions as anyone else, only concerning job capabilities.

[Soundbite] (Interviewer) : "What do you think is the biggest problem caused by increased generational discord within an organization?"

A life insurance firm conducted such blind recruitment for the first time ever this year. Forty percent of the candidates who were selected had majors in the natural sciences and engineering. The percentage is more than four times higher than last year.

[Soundbite] Yoon Gyu-seok(Science and Engineering Recruit) : "Students with commerce and business majors usually apply for jobs in the finance sector. This blind recruit offered me an opportunity because there were no tests on business administration and the economy."

There are critics who say that academic background and other titles are also part of one's overall ability. Whether blind recruitments will prove successful is expected to depend on obtaining fairness not only in the process but also of the outcome.