Hiring plans shrink for the second half, making early document preparation essential More job seekers are securing diplomas, transcripts and criminal record certificates in advance so they can focus on interviews.

Apostille Korea said it handles employment documents end to end, from issuance of domestic and overseas certificates through translation, notarisation by proxy, apostille and consular legalisation. With hiring volumes expected to fall from last year ahead of the second-half recruitment season, demand to prepare documents early has grown. Job seekers who studied abroad face the added burden of returning to that country to obtain their records.

Smaller hiring plans push document preparation earlier

As the domestic recruitment season including second-half open hiring approaches, more job seekers are gathering their submission documents in advance. Hiring in the second half is projected at around 250,000 positions, a significant drop from the same period last year. The decline reflects a prolonged economic slowdown that has cut companies' own hiring plans. The Ministry of Employment and Labour's first-half survey of business workforce by occupation shows companies planning to hire 251,000 people in the second and third quarters, down 20 percent, or about 63,000, from a year earlier. The tighter the competition, the clearer the shift towards cutting time spent on paperwork and concentrating on interviews and practical assessments. That is why securing documents early has become basic schedule management.

Why documents involving other countries take longer

Domestic diplomas and transcripts are relatively straightforward, but procedures lengthen once another country is involved. A criminal record certificate, commonly required by global employers, can only be issued and certified in the country concerned, and because the procedure differs from country to country it can take up to three months or more. On top of that, using the document internationally means the applicant must arrange notarised translation, the foreign ministry stage, and either an apostille or consular legalisation. Job seekers who have returned home after studying abroad face the added burden of travelling back to obtain their records. Apostille Korea handles domestic diplomas, transcripts and criminal record certificates as well as overseas diplomas and transcripts, covering issuance, translation, notarisation by proxy, apostille and consular legalisation in a single process. Delegating the procedure lets applicants spend their time preparing for interviews.

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Source: 민주신문 · 2019-08-06