“Visiting the companies I had targeted for employment and seeing them in person was great, but above all, meeting current employees and hearing their explanations directly made the tasks I need to prepare for much clearer.”

JBNU student Shin Ga-eun (Division of Chemical Engineering, Class of 2020) participated in the JBNU Division of Career Support program "Becoming a Company Expert" during this winter break and visited the companies she had aimed for since entering university. Together with her teammates Kim Seul-bin, Kim Yu-ra and Yang Seo-yoon, she analyzed companies, met company practitioners in person, heard about the difficult periods those professionals experienced while preparing to join their companies, and obtained practical information on the overall employability skills required in the hiring process.

The "Becoming a Company Expert" program, which encourages students to proactively visit their target companies and independently investigate company information and job-preparation competencies, has now firmly established itself as a flagship employment program at JBNU and has become popular among many students.

Offered each summer and winter break, the program this winter attracted 28 teams and 81 students. Students analyzed companies by team and conducted on-site visits, meeting HR officers or alumni working at the companies to learn about the employability competencies needed for hiring.

After the program concluded, JBNU received exploration reports on February 17 and selected 14 teams with outstanding results through presentation judging. Prize money was awarded and the participants' recent activities were commended.

At the awards ceremony, held on a small scale in accordance with quarantine guidelines, the team "Jeonbuk FC" — Kim Seul-bin, Shin Ga-eun and Yang Seo-yoon (all Division of Chemical Engineering) and Kim Yu-ra (Department of Chemistry) — which visited the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency, LG Chem and OCI and produced thorough company analyses and job-related interviews, received the grand prize and a cash prize of KRW 1,000,000.

In addition, the team of Kim Ra-yeon, Yoo Da-hyun, Lee Ju-yeon and Lim Yeon-ji (Department of Food Science and Technology), which visited the Korea Food Cluster Promotion Agency and Purmil; the team of Kim Hyun-chae, Yoo Se-won and Jeon So-young (Department of Business Administration), which visited the Financial Supervisory Service and Jeonbuk Bank; and the team of Moon Min-ji, Park Ji-yu, Shin Ye-rin and Lee Ga-yeon (Department of Chemistry), which visited Farm&Co and Cosmax, received Excellence Awards.

Kim Yu-ra (fourth-year, Department of Chemistry), who received the grand prize, said, "Thanks to the 'Becoming a Company Expert' program, I was able to conduct interviews with company practitioners without feeling burdened. By visiting companies in person, I learned detailed aspects of companies and industries that might not attract external attention, which was helpful. Through participating in this program, I plan to establish a systematic plan and expedite my job preparation."