Nine out of 10 Gen Z job seekers in South Korea say their perception of a company has changed after going through its interview process, according to a new survey, suggesting that interview conduct and organizational culture are directly shaping corporate branding and recruitment competitiveness.
According to recruitment platform Jinhaksa Catch on Tuesday, 87% of 1,652 Gen Z job seekers surveyed said their image of a company changed after an interview. The findings suggest that questioning style, interviewer attitude and overall atmosphere have become key factors in how candidates assess corporate culture.
Among respondents, 58% said their impression turned more positive, while 33% reported a mix of positive and negative experiences. Only 9% said their view turned negative.
Of those who had been through interviews, 40% said they had encountered unfair or uncomfortable questions.
The most frequently cited category was "personal questions" — covering topics such as marriage, childbirth and family relationships — at 33%. That was followed by excessive pressure questions (19%), insincere interviewer attitudes (12%), questions with unclear intent (12%), questions disparaging educational background or major (11%), appearance-related questions (6%) and prompts to disparage former employers (5%).
By contrast, the most cited conditions for a "good interview" were familiarity with the candidate's application materials (53%) and an atmosphere of attentive listening and respect (51%). Other factors included providing interview compensation (20%), giving feedback regardless of the hiring outcome (20%), sufficient advance guidance (20%), starting on time (14%) and offering opportunities for candidates to ask questions (14%).
"An interview is a place where companies evaluate applicants, but it is also a process in which applicants evaluate the company," said Kim Jung-hyun, head of Jinhaksa Catch. "Gen Z in particular reacts sensitively to respect, fairness and preparation, so the interview experience itself has a major impact on a company's image."
While the interview experience is emerging as a defining factor in corporate image, companies are also intensifying their preference for candidates who can be deployed in real work immediately upon hiring.
According to a survey of 650 HR managers conducted earlier this year by HR tech firm Incruit, the biggest issue in this year's HR market was "stronger preference for experienced entry-level hires." A total of 33.5% of respondents said the trend of favoring entry-level candidates with prior work experience who can be deployed to real-world tasks immediately would intensify.
As companies seek to reduce training costs and onboarding time by preferring candidates with hands-on experience, the burden on first-time job seekers is growing, analysts said.
Issues related to artificial intelligence also ranked high. Some 21.5% of respondents cited "job losses due to AI," while 20.8% pointed to "expansion of AI-based recruitment automation" as a major change. The findings suggest that the adoption of AI technology is replacing repetitive tasks, reducing some entry-level hiring while also automating the recruitment process itself.
Other issues cited included extension of the retirement age and rehiring (18.9%) and a rise in young people who are "just resting" (18.2%). With companies simultaneously favoring experienced workers and scaling back hiring, concerns are growing that the job-seeking burden on young people could increase further.
