SK hynix ranked first for the first time in the 'most desired companies for college students to work for.' It surpassed regularly mentioned companies like Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Hyundai Motor in the 'semiconductor market boom' to take the lead.
Job and recruitment platform Incruit announced on the 28th the results of its survey on 'the most desired corporations for college students to work for in 2025' ahead of this year's second half public recruitment. This is the first time SK hynix has taken first place in this survey, which has been conducted annually for 22 years since 2004. Samsung Electronics, which ranked first for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, placed third this year with 5.4% of the votes.
This year's survey targeted 1,176 college students seeking jobs and was conducted based on the market capitalization of the top 170 corporations in the domestic stock market (KOSPI and KOSDAQ) as of June 5. However, holding companies, financial companies, and public enterprises were excluded from the survey. SK hynix accounted for 7.1%, rising 8 places from last year. Respondents cited SK hynix's 'satisfactory salary and compensation system' (66.7%) as their reason for choosing the company.
SK hynix received the highest votes (9.3%) from male job seekers. By major, engineering and electronics students (16.8%) were selected as the most desired corporations to work for.
CJ ENM (6.7%) rose three places to second this year. 'Excellent welfare benefits' (41.8%) was cited as the primary reason. It also emerged as the most desired corporation for female job seekers (8.5%). Additionally, humanities, social sciences, business, and education majors (9.6%) selected it as the most desired corporation.
Samsung Electronics in third place and Naver in fourth (4.7%, down two places from last year) were both noted for 'satisfactory salary and compensation systems' as advantages. CJ CheilJedang, which rose two places to fifth (3.1%), was preferred for its 'leading corporate image within the same industry and community' (24.3%). Hyundai Motor (2.6%) and Kakao (2.6%) shared sixth place.
Incruit also investigated 'preferred corporations by major field.' In the humanities, social sciences, business, and education category, the following corporations showed high preference: ▲ CJ ENM (9.6%) ▲ Samsung Electronics (4.9%) ▲ Naver (4.7%) ▲ SK hynix (4.1%) ▲ CJ CheilJedang (3.4%).
In the engineering and electronics field, the rankings were as follows: ▲ SK hynix (16.8%) ▲ Samsung Electronics (7.2%) ▲ Hyundai Motor (4.5%) ▲ Naver (3.8%) ▲ Kakao and Samsung C&T (3.1%). In the natural, medical, and life sciences field, the rankings were: ▲ CJ CheilJedang (8.6%) ▲ Naver (6.4%) ▲ Samsung Biologics (5.7%) ▲ SK hynix and Samsung Electronics (4.3%) ▲ OTOKI (3.6%).
Lee Myung-ji, Head of Team at Incruit, said, 'The tendency to prioritize salary and compensation systems has become more pronounced this year, leading to fluctuations in the rankings of top corporations.' She noted, 'Given this year's results, corporations need to emphasize substantial compensation and a leading corporate image in their hiring branding strategies.'