Hwang devotes life to career consulting
CCF president urges young people to develop own competitiveness
Career development was unheard of here in the late 1990s, until Hwang Eun-mee introduced the concept.
Now president of the Career Consultant Forum (CCF), Hwang, 62, began her career at the Bank of America’s Seoul branch in 1977, where she worked for 18 years as a secretary as well as in HR and marketing.
Based on her work experience in HR, Hwang founded EM Consulting in 1995, which provided personnel recommendations to global firms.
This was when she realized the need for career development services.
“On the sidelines of work, I was assisting college students in getting jobs, but later found students who graduated from renowned schools and entered conglomerates were quitting their jobs,” she said.
“This was because they didn’t know about their aptitude and only focused on landing a job at a good company — students need to learn about themselves and plan out their careers.”
Recalling her experience as an intern at IBM during her college years, Hwang in 2000 started helping youths acquire global internships.
In 2009, Hwang founded CCF, a non-profit corporation that provides consulting on career development to teenagers, university students and moms. It also trains consultants and runs pilot programs at various institutions.
As a career consulting expert, Hwang highlighted the changes in the job market with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution.
“The conventional definition of success here is earning a degree from a prestigious university, joining a renowned company, going high up the corporate ladder and making lots of money,” she said.
“However, now, people need to focus on developing their own competitiveness, as they will live working not for a company, but assume tasks on a project-by-project basis.”
Hwang added learning about one’s aptitude and planning ahead for one’s career is a life-long process which should start at childhood. University years are crucial, she added.
“Career development centers at universities are still focused on students getting employed — universities need to put career planning as a requisite in students’ freshman year,” she said.
Hwang also said learning and developing one’s skills will need to become a life-long process.
“People need to know about these changes in order to adjust and prepare themselves accordingly and what we are doing is trying to raise awareness,” she said.
Hwang keeps up with the latest developments in the field by taking part in global conferences.
Hwang is also an active member of Business and Professional Women Korea (BPW), which she joined in 1993.
Her efforts have been recognized — Hwang received the Yu Gwansun Award, presented to women who have contributed to the nation’s development, in honor of the late patriotic martyr.
“It was a tough journey, but looking back I feel a sense of pride,” Hwang said.