- Twenty female mentors help 106 Sookmyung Women’s University students to indirectly experience their jobs and satisfy their curiosity

- Planning to provide opportunities for young people to explore various careers and to continue activities that interact with the local community

On September 15, twenty executives and staff members of the subsidiaries of HDC Group (Chairman Chung Mong-Gyu), such as HDC Hyundai Development Company, HDC IPARK Mall, Hotel HDC, HDC I-CONTROLS, HDC Shilla Duty Free, HDC I-SERVICE, HDC Asset Management, Real Estate 114, HDC Hyundai EP and HDC Sports, held an online job mentoring event with Sookmyung Women’s University Job Center called “Online Talk” where they shared their job experiences and knowledge with students.

At this event, a total of 106 Sookmyung Women’s University students who were preparing for employment were divided into small groups, so that one volunteer could talk to six or less students. The talk was carried out for approx. 90 minutes, using a video conference app for social distancing purposes due to COVID-19.

The students chose the field of their interest among the jobs the twenty HDC Group mentors had, including real estate development, distribution management, R&D, landscaping, interior design, sales, promotion & marketing, HR, strategic planning and social contribution. Based on the students’ questions they had received in advance, the volunteers shared their knowledge and experience in their jobs, introducing their jobs, explaining the work environment and their vision, suggesting how to prepare for the work and more.

This program was carried out as a joint activity with the HDC Group subsidiaries and was evaluated as a good opportunity for students to understand jobs through various perspectives and indirectly experience them. In particular, the HDC Group planned and organized the mentor group to be all female employees to provide the female students with more detailed and substantive mentoring through the perspective of a fellow senior who experienced office life first.

Manager Im Yoo-Bin of Urban Development Team 1 of HDC Hyundai Development Company who participated in the mentoring program expressed what she felt, saying, “I participated so that I could be of some help to the students who are probably going through the same thing I was when I was preparing for employment a few years ago. It was rewarding because I could let them know the charm of real estate development work and it felt good to encourage them to actively knock on doors regardless of their major if there was a field they wanted to try out.”

Section Chief Lee Eun-Shil of Sookmyung Women’s University Job Center, who prepared this talk with the HDC Group, stated, “The recruitment market has frozen recently, so I’m sure the advice of the female mentors working in the field has been a great help to the students who are looking to get employed. The HDC Group is centered on the construction industry, so I vaguely thought there would be almost no female employees, but I came to learn that the HDC Group has been making great efforts for gender equality such as being the first major construction company in Korea to choose a female site manager. I hope there are more opportunities for the HDC Group and Sookmyung Women’s University to cooperate and create synergy in the future.”

Meanwhile, “Online Talk” was planned as a spin-off of “Online Job Talk,” a mentoring program operated by the Seoul Volunteer Center since 2019. The HDC Group participated in “Online Job Talk” in May as a member of the “Yongsan Dragons,” a joint public service committee of private firms, government offices and schools located in Yongsan. With that as momentum, the HDC Group received guidance from the Seoul Volunteer Center and launched its own program, “Online Talk.”

Starting with “Online Talk,” the HDC Group is planning to use its competence within its subsidiaries such as construction, real estate development & operation, IT, leisure & recreation and sports, and regularly implement a customized mentoring program to provide opportunities for young people to explore various careers. Also, through close communication with the local community, the HDC Group will continue to proceed with social contribution activities to provide practical and effective help for people in need.