"Visiting companies in person and hearing explanations from current employees made everything click in my head and greatly increased my confidence about getting a job."

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) student Kwon Minju (Division of Chemical Engineering, Class of 2020) says she made the most of this summer vacation. She participated in the university's career support program "Become a Company Expert" and visited companies she had long targeted. Together with like-minded classmates she formed a team, analyzed target companies in their spare time, and met current employees to obtain valuable information on the competencies and preparation needed for hiring.

The JBNU "Become a Company Expert" program, designed to give students the opportunity to take the lead in company visits, conduct interviews with current employees, self-assess their job preparation, and redefine their career direction, was held this summer to great student response and satisfaction. Twenty-six teams comprising 71 students participated.

The Division of Career Support at JBNU held a meeting on August 29 to recognize and encourage 14 teams with outstanding company visit results, presenting certificates and cash prizes.

At the awards ceremony, the "Gieopkkun" team—students Kim Hyemin, Lee Chi-hyun (both Department of Business Administration), and Lim Chaemin (Department of Accounting)—who thoroughly carried out company analyses and interviews with job-related personnel at institutions such as NH Nonghyup Bank and DB Financial Investment, received the grand prize and a cash award of KRW 1,000,000.

The Excellence Award went to the "Gieopchaja Sammanri" team (Kwon Minju, Lee Minju, Choi Yae-eun, Chu Sohyun—Division of Chemical Engineering), which visited LG Display, GS Caltex, and SK hynix; the "Gongdanyeok" team (Park Seungju—Department of Business Administration; Lee Seongmin—Department of International Trade), which visited the National Pension Service and the National Health Insurance Service; and the "Cheonghaejin" team (Park Taegyeong—Division of International Humanities and Social Sciences; Hwang Deokgeon—Department of International Trade), which visited the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, Korea International Trade Association, and the Jeonbuk Economic & Trade Promotion Agency.

Lee Chi-hyun, the grand prize winner (Senior, Department of Business Administration), said, "I have been steadily preparing for a career in the financial sector, and the 'Become a Company Expert' program gave me an opportunity to reassess my current situation. It helped clarify my thoughts about working in finance, which made the experience meaningful, and receiving an award doubled my joy."