Spec is the abbreviation of "specification". This word was registered as a coined word in The National Institute of the Korean Language in 2004. It has now become one of the most frequently used words on campus and been being some kind of obsession. Spec means various things on the basis of object, but, at least, among people trying to get a job, it stands for the level of education, credits taken, test scores, relevant experiences, certificates to meet requirements, even voluntary service, and so on.

Some would say those things can't be big parts to evaluate, and others say those are regarded as absolutely important elements to show how competent applicants are. Whether or not, it seems it has no longer original meaning of self-development but some things to fill in resume as most of the companies conduct interviews with them. In the past, going to study or stay overseas sounded like a symbol of wealth, but regardless of economic status now it is considered a necessary and minimal investment, and students decide to go there since major companies place an emphasis on entering the global market and consider it a basic requirement. Even if you have high scores in Toeic, HSK, JPT, and any other tests related to language, you can not fill in the blanks of 'overseas experience' on their resume if you have no experience abroad.

It would not be essential but also doesn't sound 'optional or additional', I guess. These days, almost every student spends time to get pieces of paper companies put a premium on. According to survey, Human Resource Department basically thinks someone, who has many certificates but no various experiences, is NOT an active and enthusiastic person. To meet their needs, it looks like we should get relevant experiences as well.

Mentioning that, it occurred to me that their saying a 'FRESH' recruit is not like indicating 'new' any more. I want to say the letters might be the initials of Flawless-Reliable-Experienced-Superb-Human. Searching for qualified applicants, they thoroughly examine all of ours. That’s why we try to make brilliant spec and sometimes hide weakness points as much as possible. We are so busy to be qualified for the position. But there is something still missing. That is our characteristic molded so far. It’s huge part of our life and can’t be made for short time.

One of my acquaintances donated blood over 100 times for several years and got a kind of certification from The Red Cross. It'd be just a piece of paper, but it wasn't. With it, the company he applied for appreciated the aspect tremendously, and finally he got a job. The only best spec he had was characteristics, not Toeic and the others. Although it depends on the position, upright personality is still important more than anything. These days, many people have been doing voluntary work to fill in the blanks of "volunteer experience" on resume. It seems personality also needs to be proved in writing. We’re like a machine having manual proving good function called spec.

There has been severe recession, and we’re still trying to do our best as job hunters. We’re more improved with great spec, but more frustrated in doing something else again and again.

Ahn Yu-Jin  -

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