Jinwon Song has built an unusually diverse career in HR. After graduating from university, he joined the HR team of a major corporation, working on HR planning and experienced-hire recruitment. During this time, he also founded SHRC, a research and networking group for HR professionals. In October 2016, after four years in corporate HR, he left the company to join INVOLVE, an organization providing social safety net services for individual clients. There, he has established a strong track record as a career consultant for university students: he is known for his especially high success rate. This interview explores the strategies behind Mr Song’s coaching and the principles that help his clients succeed.

Profile: Jinwon Song

Current Roles

• Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), INVOLVE—a personal social safety net organization
• Certified Labor Attorney and HR/Organizational Consultant, Myeongmun Labor Law Firm
• HR Manager and Certified Labor Attorney, major corporation
• Certified Labor Attorney and HR Consultant, Serim HR & Labor Law Firm
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Q. Your career path as both a labor attorney and career consultant is quite distinctive. Can you explain this?

I earned my labor attorney certification while still in university, and I worked at a labor law firm for about seven months after graduation. My work involved developing corporate recruitment systems and advising companies on how to operate them effectively—from evaluating application documents to training interviewers and structuring selection processes.

After building experience, I joined the HR team of a major corporation and took on responsibilities in recruitment, performance evaluation, compensation, and organizational culture.

Q. What motivated you to begin career consulting after leaving corporate HR?

I’ve always been interested in personal growth, and I enjoy building connections with people. During my time in HR, I learned about INVOLVE and found its mission deeply meaningful, and this ultimately inspired me to join the organization.

INVOLVE provides social safety net services for individuals, particularly those considered socially vulnerable. Here, I manage both career consulting for job seekers and HR advisory work for companies. Job seekers, too, can be viewed as a vulnerable group, so I wanted to support them directly. By combining my experience designing recruitment systems with management insights from my SKK GSB MBA studies, I strive to deliver objective and practical feedback throughout the consulting process.

Q. Based on your experience designing recruitment systems, what advice would you give to job seekers?

Every company has its own evaluation rubric, shaped by its values, vision, and strategy. Applicants should therefore study the company’s talent profile closely to understand what qualities are truly being assessed.

Q. Talent profiles often sound abstract. How can applicants use them effectively?

If a company lists “passion”, for example, as a value, then break it down into concrete traits—initiative, resilience, responsibility, or ownership. You can identify these values by reviewing the company’s website, CEO messages, interviews, and reports. Certain keywords will appear repeatedly, revealing the subthemes behind the company’s values. Once you identify these subthemes, treat them as the real evaluation criteria and prepare interview stories that align with them.

Q. What kinds of questions are most common in interviews?

Most questions are either future-oriented (“What would you do in this role?”) or past-oriented (“How have you handled things in the past?”).

Since past behavior tends to reveal more, interviewers tend to focus on past-oriented questions. Candidates should therefore not only plan how they want to develop in the future, but also analyze and structure their past experiences clearly.

Q. How can candidates prepare to talk about their experiences persuasively in interviews?

Companies often ask about experiences involving teamwork, communication, problem solving, resource management, creativity, challenges, and achievements.

Structuring your stories using the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—makes them logical and easy to follow. Many companies also use frameworks like the Balanced Scorecard, which evaluates learning and growth, internal processes, customers, and finance. These apply even to new graduates.

For example, you might highlight:

• how you plan to contribute to your team as you grow,
• how you’ve improved your personal efficiency,
• how you think from the customer’s perspective even in technical roles, and
• how you aim to contribute to financial outcomes regardless of department.

Demonstrating balanced thinking across all four areas can set you apart.

Q. What kinds of answers do interviewers tend to like?

Interviewers appreciate candidates who use standard business terminology, so learning basic business vocabulary is helpful. They also value well-structured answers with a clear introduction, main points, and conclusion, and they like people who can articulate how they connect to the organization. Above all, speak as a future business professional, not as a student.

Q. What should candidates keep in mind when choosing interview attire?

Your attire should match the company’s culture and the interviewers’ expectations. Outside of fashion-related companies, most executives prefer a conservative look. Slim-fit suits may be fashionable but can seem too casual in traditional firms. Hairstyles and makeup should emphasize neatness and professionalism rather than trends.

Q. How should candidates prepare for different types of interview?

Most interviews fall into a few main categories:

• structured interviews,
• unstructured interviews,
• presentation interviews,
• group discussions, and
• role-play interviews.

Each type evaluates different competencies:

• Structured interviews follow a rubric and typically cover collaboration, leadership, and teamwork. These are usually conducted by mid-level managers and scored on a 4–5-point scale.
• Unstructured interviews, often led by executives, rely more on personal judgment, so these are harder to predict. Understanding the company’s culture, history, and industry trends becomes especially important here.
• Presentation interviews test analytical and communication skills.
• Group discussions assess empathy and the ability to articulate opinions clearly, so active listening is crucial.
• Role-play interviews, such as sales or persuasion tasks, require adaptable, multidimensional thinking.

Q. Many students find executive interviews particularly difficult. Do you have any advice for them?

Executive interviews rarely have fixed “correct” answers. Many executives believe they can gauge a candidate’s potential through demeanor or facial expressions, even when a rubric exists. Understanding their perspective is key—they tend to prioritize organizational interests over individual ones. Conservative, organization-centered answers therefore usually score better.

Q. From your experience as an HR interviewer, what common mistakes do candidates make?

Today’s candidates prepare thoroughly, so their practiced answers are often strong. The problem arises when they face unexpected questions—many show visible anxiety or lose confidence, harming their evaluation. Practicing staying calm under pressure is therefore essential. That steadiness is often what distinguishes successful candidates from the rest.

Media coverage : https://magazine.hankyung.com/job-joy/article/202102189331d