Just to name a few, Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia repealed a law that exonerates rapists and allows them to avoid punishment if they marry their rape victims. In Saudi Arabia, women finally gained the right to hold driver’s licenses. In the U.S. and around the world, more than 5 million people took part in the Women’s March in January 2017, to advocate fairness and equality. Then, Iceland set an example for all when it became the first country in history to make it illegal for companies with 25 or more employees to pay men more than women for the same job.

This year, steelmaker POSCO added a big win for women’s empowerment.

POSCO Follows the (Women’s) Lead

POSCO recently welcomed their first female executive, Lee Yu-Kyung, as POSCO’s Chief of Plant, Equipment and Materials Procurement. In a male-dominated industry, Lee’s achievement is a rare sighting, but after taking a deeper look at Lee’s work history and overall attitude, it’s no surprise Lee is a woman who deserves to be at the top.

Lee Yu-Kyung, POSCO’s first female executive employee.

For Lee, POSCO is her second job. She was at her first job in 1990 at an IT company when she saw, spread across the front page of the daily paper, POSCO’s ad calling for female employees.

“When I saw the question on the ad that read, ‘WIll you join POSCO to work towards a promising future today?’ I just thought this is it. It sounds tacky today, but at the time, it was the opportunity I had been waiting for.”

And so began Lee’s 27 years (and still counting!) with POSCO. The first task she encountered was handling exports of cold-rolled steel to Southeast Asia, and she was off on her first business trip to Singapore just months into her job.

“It was a rare opportunity for a fresh rookie 1st year recruit to be able to go overseas. Looking back, I think it was opportunities like these, and the expectations that came with them that built me up professionally.”

Keeping Work Interesting

After her experience in the Export Department, she moved from department to department about once every 3 years, including Machinery Purchasing, Raw Materials Purchasing, Marketing at POSCO M-Tech and even completed a year-long MBA program at Ewha Womans University.

“POSCO has a work-rotation program for its employees, which just goes to show how invested the company is in the growth of individual employees. It’s a lot more cost-effective for POSCO to hire employees to specialize in one position, but instead, we rotate every 3 to 4 years to learn new tasks, gain insight and experience new working environments. This is probably the biggest reason I believe I made the right choice in working at POSCO.”

Vice President Lee was the brains behind POSCO’s Global Information Hub. (Source: 727406 Vimeo)

Lee’s continued learning within the company lead to some impressive results. She set up what is now known as the Global Information Hub (GIH), a process for gathering market information by utilizing the network of global trading companies. Lee was also the first person to apply the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) to machinery purchasing so the company could make well-informed and comprehensive decisions.

Lee explained, “Whereas before, the price of machinery determined purchase decisions, TCO provides a more accurate cost based on the machinery’s performance and efficiency over its lifecycle.” As such, POSCO is still reaping the benefits of Lee’s hard work.

Lee’s professional achievements are impressive, but it’s not the only thing young professionals can learn from her.

A True Multi-tasker

“To be honest, I don’t recall too many moments where I encountered hardship at work. I just try to do all that I can in the given situation, and I know that’s enough. However, one of my greatest challenges came when I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child. Going through 3 pregnancies was tough enough, and I didn’t know if I could come back from a fourth. The thing I worried about most was what my coworkers would think if I took another maternity leave.”

“I’ll never forget what my boss at the time told me. He said, ‘I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for the company so far, and I know you will do well going forward. I know it’s hard right now, but this time is going to pass.’ Thanks to my boss I found the courage to come back after an 8-month maternity leave and get to where I am today.”

Advice for All Working Women

Just as her chief played a critical role in her career, Lee hopes to coach and foster other women employees at POSCO.

“I’m not going to say that being a working mom is easy. My third youngest once held onto a lamp post on the side of the street and cried all morning on our way to kindergarten. It breaks your heart, but those moments do pass, and then you’ll be glad you held on and fought through.”

Lee Yu-Kyung had plenty of advice for other working professional women.

Besides working through hard times, Lee shared other advice for working professionals.

“You gotta take care of yourself – during weekends, you have to get meaningful rest. You have to fit in time with your friends and enjoy the moments along the way.” Plus, for the past 10 years, Lee has fit in an hour of exercise every morning before work and can’t remember the last time she took a sick day. “Your body is just like the machinery in our factories. You have to take care of it, make sure nothing’s broken and maintain it over a long time.”

“Professionally, it’s important to try and see the bigger picture and work to your competitive advantage. Always watch what the seniors are doing, and be open and willing to learn.”

Going Forward as POSCO’s First Female Executive

When asked what her future plans were in her new role, she replied, “I believe purchasing goes beyond obtaining certain products. It’s about developing the supplier’s technology, business strategy and vision for mutual growth. That’s why we’ve always put an emphasis on fairness, transparency and cost-saving, but in the future, I would like to also work towards finding new technologies with suppliers to lead the market and gain further competitiveness. In order to achieve this, we plan to cut costs internally and continue to cooperate and co-create with our suppliers.”

During her 27 years at POSCO, Lee was able to turn every challenge into an opportunity to become the professional she is today as well as a role model for other women working in male-dominated industries. There is no doubt she will continue to progress and rise to meet new challenges at POSCO.

Cover photo courtesy of The Daily Beast

2015 ‘Self-directed Safety Spread’ at POSCO
As the new year has kicked off, POSCO hosted the `2015 POSCO Family Self-directed Safety Spread Festival` at the Gwangyang Steel Mill, where 560 staff and executive members of POSCO Family had attended. Broadcasted live to Pohang and Gwangyang, the event was held to promote staff-oriented activities under the theme of ‘Self-directed Safety Spread’ and to create an industrial environment that is capable of sustaining a zero-injury record.

The ‘Self-directed Safety Spread activity’ is distinctive compared to the ‘top-down’ approach which is largely led by the executives and the company. In fact, the ‘Self-directed Safety Spread activity’ is carried out from the ‘bottom-up’ throughout the organization. This approach will further stress the fact that the importance of health and safety is placed on to staff themselves.

What Safety Means to POSCO
POSCO has long put safety as its top priority and, under the umbrella of improving workplace safety, it has undertaken wide-ranging activities, including reorganization, strengthening of preventive actions of unsafe actions, class-based education, and identifying and addressing risk factors. Through thorough investigations, both major and minor safety accidents were still occurring due to lack of safety awareness, systematization, and shared communication between staff and company.

Therefore, POSCO has pledged that this year would be the first of establishing a sustainable voluntary safety culture to achieve its zero-injury record. This chimes well with its vision of `POSCO the Great with workplaces that are safe and where employees are happy`, with staff at all levels of the company aligned to achieve this vision.

Action Plans for Safe Work Environment
POSCO came to a conclusion that voluntary participation and execution are the ways to swiftly execute its strategic vision for safety. Therefore, through action plans such as ‘Self-directed Safety activity Spread’ and ‘voluntarily active culture establishment’ will enable employees to feel and practice safety by themselves. Moreover, action plans such as ‘ultimate elimination of hidden hazards’ and ‘construction of safety infrastructure based on mutual trust’ should be conducted in order to build a solid platform for long-term health and safety.

With respect for human life and dignity, all staff and executive members of POSCO are now set to devote their energy to creating a zero-injury company. It has managed to accomplish ‘POSCO the Great with workplaces that are safe and where employees are happy’. And, this adds as the 5th reason why POSCO is a ‘Great Place to Work At’.

2013 POSCO Family Ethiopia Volunteer Corps
Since 2012, POSCO has been annually sending a selected volunteer group to Handode, Debeso and Adulala village, the Saemaeul Movement model communities. To differentiate with common aids, the POSCO Family Ethiopia Volunteer Corps is leading programs that reflect local needs and encourage residents’ participation.

The 2013 Volunteer Corps operated small business projects such as basket-making, needlecraft training and poultry distribution while also running a model farm to educate farming skills for onion, corn and tomato. Moreover, the volunteers improved the townspeople’s living environment by constructing a town entrance and a reservoir. The corps consistently provided a safe playground and a kindergarten to provide education for children before their entrance to elementary school. In addition, the corps implemented regular medical education about waterborne disease prevention and birth control. Through cooperation with KOICA’s joint medical team, the corps also operated a mobile hospital for the community.

Interview with a POSCO Family Volunteer
To learn more about the volunteer works, let’s listen to the firsthand stories of Ms. Youn, Ji-hye who has recently returned from community project in Adulala village, Ethiopia. She is a daughter of Youn, Hyun-sun, the Manager of Gwangyang Steelworks Iron-making Dept.

Please describe your business project in Adulala village

Among a number of business projects, we put the most efforts on ‘handicrafts business for local women’. The project is about gathering local women who are unemployed but possess skills to create handicrafts such as baskets and picture frames. In order to produce distinctive handicrafts, we varied the products in different sizes and studied craft designs with the women in the village. With such endeavor to develop the business, the local women received about 3,000 birr per month and 15,000 birr on the last month of the term. After making the largest profit, all of us had delicious lunch at a recreation forest in the neighborhood. I still have a vivid memory of them singing and dancing happily even when we came back to the village.

In what ways did you help them gain self-reliance?
Previously, the women at the village used to spend their days delivering water or looking after their children. After participating in the handicraft business, however, they now have incomes. We created savings accounts for them to save the income and prevent immediate spending. Rather than rewarding for each sale, we gave out money in envelopes once a month. Moreover, to inform the significance of common fund, we always saved 10% of sales profit in the common fund account. As a result, many women learned the joy of saving and even desired to visit banks on their payday to save their salaries. I personally felt delightful because I believe we have delivered hopes that rewards follow after hard works.

What have you learned from the volunteering activities in Ethiopia

Many overseas volunteers often say that they ‘went to offer help but rather received it’. After 14 months of volunteering, I am having the same idea. Although I was the general manager of the business, many women who were older than my age called me, ‘my mother’ as they cheered and supported my work at the local community. I truly appreciated their genuine support. Every upsetting incidents at the village, I thought about my father who is currently working at POSCO in Korea. He must had a number of aggravating moments at work but he never complained at home. As I think of my father, I stood up again from occasional difficulties. I believe that arduous environments let you realize the importance of family. It seems that my activities in Ethiopia were the most valuable experience I had in life. In the future, I will always try to move forward by recalling the valuable memories from Ethiopia.

]]> https://newsroom.posco.com/en/posco-women-leadership-series-2-interview-young-choi-daewoo-international/ Fri, 30 May 2014 11:38:46 +0000 Are you a woman in the workforce looking for some good career advice? We are back again today to share advice from the voice of another female leader at POSCO. Meet Young Choi, a female executive at Daewoo International who is responsible for corporate responsibility.

Executive responsible for CR at Daewoo International

Please share with us your experience in applying to POSCO as well as your time here since then.

Pictured here: Young Choi at Daewoo International

In February of 1990, I graduated from university and started working at a bank but soon realized that this was not the path I wanted to take. One day I came across an advertisement on the first page of the daily newspaper.

It read, “Pohang Steelworks (the company name at the time) is seeking talented people. Do you think you are forward thinking and ambitious? Do you still think your career is a temporary state before marriage? How about joining Pohang Steelworks to build a better today for tomorrow?” I was immediately hooked.

Looking back, the ad was very cheesy but for women looking for career opportunities, the copy was right to the point. The fact that a steel manufacturing company wanted to help women with career advancement was very forward-thinking at the time. The ad successfully attracted over 2,000 applicants to take an entrance exam for 50 spots.

As I inherently had interest in advertising copy, after joining POSCO I became involved in business culture, PR, corporate image, advertisement planning, media relations and internal communications. I also gradually got involved in corporate social contribution activities as well.

I have focused much of my work on figuring out how to best deliver POSCO’s values in a way that resonates well with the general public. I have been responsible for advertising that captures the corporate brand visually. As difficult as figuring out the direction of ads is, I feel most satisfaction when I see that many people like the POSCO advertisements.

2005	2009	2012
“This ad integrates the symbol for steel ‘Fe’ into the word Festival to highlight the many cultural activities that POSCO is a part of. The site for the ad was at the Light Festival in Pohang so it makes the ad that much more meaningful.”	“The ‘$5 dollar bike’ features a stranger comforting a brother who wants to buy his younger brother a bicycle. So many people liked this ad that parodies of this were shown on a popular Korean comedy show.”	“Illustrated ad to revamp the overall corporate image to be more lively and sophisticated. The TV ad included the popular shuffle dance which was very well received!”

When did you feel the most satisfaction while working at POSCO?

Pictured here: Young Choi during a volunteer event

For those of you who have been at one workplace for a long period of time, the workplace becomes a large of your life. Since I joined the company, I have gotten married and also made a family. This has been possible thanks to the strong support system I have at the company.

At POSCO, I have made efforts to ensure that POSCO gives back to the community. When I see people relate and respond to POSCO’s CSR efforts, I feel much fulfilled. From TV ads to organizing a variety of POSCO concerts over the past 14 years, to creating schools in Zimbabwe, POSCO has been dedicated to communicating and giving back to the community. It is seeing the positive influence that POSCO is having on the community that makes me feel like my work is meaningful.

What are your main responsibilities in the CR sector at Daewoo International?

I am responsible for media relations, internal communication, advertising, CSR and external affairs. The work boundaries seem to be expanding as Daewoo International is the number 1 domestic trading company, so it must do a lot of global marketing and there are many issues to handle.

From entry level to executive, more on Young Choi’s career path

As a woman leader, we would like to listen to your views on strength of women leaders.

I believe that many women employees have strong responsibility skills. They are very good at seeing their responsibilities from start to finish. In addition, women have the ability to juggle and multi-task which is a great skill to have at the office. This skill of juggling allows women to not only care for work relationships in the office, but also to manage other relationships and respond to changing emotions.

What are some difficulties that women employees face and what is your advice to handle these tough situations?

Women employees need to think about work, marriage, birth, childcare so sometimes it can feel like a 3000 m huddle race. During this period, one needs to mature in the workplace and also adapt to family life. Huddle racers plan their races in advance and analyze the obstacles ahead. Likewise, it is important for women to plan 3 to 5 years ahead. I was not very good at this so I had moments of difficulty. I sometimes wish I had known to plan ahead. If one can paint the big picture, one can face the challenges and overcome them more easily.

What is your secret to finding work-life balance?

I think that time management is very important. Depending on how you use your time, the results will be very different. Using your smartphone calendar and notebook, create a to-do list and prioritize your tasks in order to manage your time wisely.

Please share your role as a female leader at Daewoo International

Daewoo was established in 1967, and placed South Korea on the world map through its management philosophies. Enduring the difficulties of the work out in 2000, Daewoo was incorporated into POSCO in 2010 and is pioneering the path for overseas resource development and reviving the business fighting spirit. It has been building synergy with other POSCO holding companies as well.

If POSCO can lead the steel industry with its strong organizational structure and management capabilities, Daewoo can be a trading expert company that makes connections to pursue new opportunities and be profitable.

Combining the strengths of these two companies, I want to create new business opportunities and more value. I’d like start with building transparency and improving communication so that Daewoo’s domestic and foreign businesses meet global standards. I would like you to say that at Daewoo, “Resources are finite and original ideas are infinite”.

What advice can you give for women employees?

My mentors told me that work life was a long-drawn-out battle so I should not suffer a big loss in going after a small game and instead go step-by-step…I want to give the same advice. In particular, teamwork in an organization is like a live creature that wriggles and moves depending on different circumstances. Within an organization, it is important to have an open heart to avoid becoming an isolated island by developing prejudices and not communicating properly.  One should always keep in mind that the part makes up the whole, the colleague or boss in front of me is my company, and everyone deserves to be treated sincerely. 

Do you feel more empowered after reading this post? Hope you enjoyed our second women leadership series featuring Young Choi. Please look forward to our next post!

The first person we would like to highlight is Yukyung Lee of POSCO M-TECH.

Executive responsible for marketing at POSCO M-TECH

Please share with us your experience in applying to POSCO as well as your time here since then.

After graduating from college, I was working at a foreign IT company when I saw a position opening for a female at POSCO. I recall there was an advertisement on the first page of the daily newspaper. At the time, the 1^st female recruitment announcement was a big issue as it was very rare for Korean conglomerates to recruit female employees and there were no past cases of women, regardless job function, being able to freely apply for jobs

Pictured here: A newspaper ad for  the 1^st recruitment of female employees at Pohang Steelworks

After joining the Department for Exports, I worked on exports for southeast Asia and I also moved to the Plant & Equipment Procurement Department and then to the Raw Materials Procurement Department.

What kind of company is POSCO M-Tech and what is your role there?

I am responsible for marketing at POSCO M-Tech.

POSCO M-TECH started as a steel packaging specialized company in 1973. Currently POSCO M-TECH produces the alumnium deoxider and molybdenum used for the steelmaking process as well as steel packing for Pohang and Gwangyang Works. In addition, it has been creating new growth momentum by operating plants for steel raw material such as magnesium plants and ferro silicon factories.

The marketing department has been responsible for raw material procurement and product sales. As such, you can consider this department to be responsible for the profitability of the company.

When did you feel the most satisfaction while working at POSCO?

I felt most satisfaction with my job when I received recognition for my hard work. While working in the Department for Exports, I had to consider how to receive real-time market information and utilize the network of trading companies in order to receive information on each of the different markets. As the system developed, today it has become what we call GIH (Global Information Hub) which is an internal information sharing system for POSCO. In addition, at the time of plant and equipment purchase, TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) was introduced so that purchases were not only based on price but also quality by creating a process that evaluated suppliers based on considerations of maintenance costs and other costs that arise while operating facilities

I felt the most satisfaction after receiving recognition for my efforts which led to increased profitability.

Superwoman who takes care of work and family! What is her secret?

What is your secret to finding work-life balance?

I got married and had a baby soon after joining POSCO so I had to get help from my mother-in-law and a housekeeper. I started to live together with my mother-in-law since the birth of my second child and gave full responsibility on the house chores to the housekeeper even though it was costly. As nurturing and housework were taken care by others, I naturally could concentrate on working and spent time with children during my spare time. For women pursuing their careers, I advise you to ask for help from those around you so that you can focus on making most of your talents and excelling at work.

At first, my children wanted their mother to be home, but as they grew older, they say they are proud to have a mother who has a profession. Especially, my elder child wants to become a person who is passionate about their work like me.

A few words for those who dream of becoming a woman leader! 

As a woman leader, we would like to listen to your views on strength of women leaders and what efforts you have done to be where you are today.

Generally, the woman in the family listens, is considerate, takes initiatives, and solves problems that arise between family members. These are the roles and qualities also required for leaders at work. If you see a family as a small organization, the mother’s leadership which involves listening, being considerate, taking initiatives, and solving problems, could be said to be the strength for women leaders in the workplace as well.

I also try to listen and consider various opinions of employees before saying my thoughts. When receiving reports I always ask for the opinions of the person in charge since there is no one more knowledgeable about the matters at hand than the person in charge. I think when leaders listen to employees, the employees are motivated to work harder, think more and propose better ideas.

In addition,  I think the initiatives of a leader influences the atmosphere of the organization, so I try hard to be efficient with my time by exercising in the morning and constantly working on self-development even after work. I hope I can be recognized by employees as a hardworking leader that is smart and realistic but also warm-hearted.

Please tell us about your plans for the next 5, 10 years.
I am currently working as the marketing executive for POSCO M-TECH and I would like to help grow the company to be a specialized, global materials company. My current work is focused on sales of Ferro Alloy like deoxidizer, molybdenum, etc.

Going forward, I would like to take on responsibilities beyond operation of POSCO’s ferrosilicon factories and magnesium factories to contribute to management as well. I also want to be able to inspire juniors by setting an example as a successful female leader in the steel industry.

Finally, please give a few words to women who are entering the work force!

First of all, I want to say “take a long-term view of your life.” When you first enter a company, you may be disappointed when you realize that not everything can be done with only passion. Because each organization is made up of a diversity of people, there are many unexpected issues that can arise and problems between internal and external bodies. Also it is possible to have to do work that is not necessarily always that meaningful.

Nevertheless, I don’t think you need to be too disappointed. It is through these experiences and conflicts, you are able to build your career and your unique strengths.

Grow your dreams and boldly take on those challenges. If you were tired of simultaneously taking care of children and doing work, ask for help from your family, friends or neighbors. And enjoy the work and responsibilities with passion.

I advise to work while keeping in mind what others around me and customers need. Most of all, work stamina is very important. You should always make time to take care of your health. That way, you can have an enjoyable work life.

Hope that Yukyung Lee is a source of inspiration for you. Please look forward to reading our next post for the POSCO Women Leadership Series!

Find out more details and apply here: http://gorecruit.posco.net

POSCO is screening overseas recruitment to select outstanding individuals in China/Southeast Asia. Have you checked the announcement? Many people probably have been waiting for this announcement! And now, here is the top information for those who do not want to miss this chance! We fully reveal the interview of the Manager Haein Park who became a part of the POSCO family through overseas recruitment and the Manager Boyoung Lim, the recruitment manager! Through these interviews, do not miss the finest tips to become a part of the POSCO family!

Pictured here: Recruiting manager Boyoung Lim and Manager Haein Park

Recruiting manager Boyoung Lim reveals a tip to become a part of the POSCO family!

Pictured here: Recruiting manager Boyoung Lim

1. Please let us know about the company ‘POSCO’!
As the history of mankind have the same way in developing with steel, the road that POSCO has been taken for the development is engaged with the history of Korean economic growth. For the last 46 years after the foundation in 1968, with the challenging mindset and power of execution, this company created something out of nothing and is the leading company in Korean iron and steel industry. As a result, even in the global economic recession and the crisis of global steel industry, the company made high performance and showed high competitiveness. The company was selected as ‘World’s most competitive steel industry’ for 6 consecutive times by WSD (World Steel Dynamics) – a global evaluation group for steel. POSCO has been recorded as the most respected company in Korea for 11 consecutive years.

2. What is the background for POSCO to execute overseas recruitment in China/Southeast Asia?
Meanwhile, POSCO has invested in China/Southeast Asia to enter the global market with the continuous increase of steel demand. 42% of the product sales volume is already exporting to overseas, and the company is planning to preemptively enter developing countries, where steel demand will be increasing. This is to expand overseas marketing abilities and achieve market diversification. This overseas recruitment was executed to promote successful businesses, with a mind that securing talents with fluent local language and cultural knowledge is the most important factor.

3. How is the overseas recruitment being processed?
Anyone who graduated a local university in China/Southeast Asia or who is planning to graduate in February, 2015 can apply. Qualification requirements include having a deep understanding about the local area and fluent local or foreign language skills. Applications can be submitted at POSCO’s recruitment homepage (http://gorecruit.posco.net) until May 7 (3pm). Interviewees will be selected and the interview screening will be held abroad and locally. The result of each screening will be informed via e-mail separately.

4. What is the most important part for the interviewee to have during the recruitment?
The concept of the right people who POSCO is seeking is global citizen, creator, and executor. Global citizen refers to an individual who has an open mind and global capabilities, and respects diversity to perform in the global stage. Creator takes endless challenges with an indomitable will and passion to achieve the target in the best level, and creates new values with unique perspectives and approaches. Lastly, a executor means a person who fully completes the given work with professional skills and knowledge about the own area. Based on such concepts, understandings of local society and culture, language proficiency, and application field will be screened as this is the overseas recruitment.

Exposing the application process and life in POSCO of the Manager Haein Park, who entered the company through the overseas recruitment!

Pictured here: Manager Haein Park

1. Please introduce your assigned task

After joining POSCO in 2010, I’ve worked on personnel projects such as development and management of core talent overseas, staff assignment, and HR department recruitment. The most memorable tasks were, choosing outstanding personnel from the local employees at POSCO overseas corporation around the world, managing the career path through studying abroad and dispatch work to Korea, and the overseas recruitment of international students in various countries who were needed for the development strategy of the company. From February 2014, I moved to the Marketing Department, according to the POSCO’s circulation appointment system, and now I am in charge of exports to China in the cold rolled steel sales group of the Electrical & Electronic Marketing Dept. I do analysis of the Chinese market, making sales contracts through negotiation with clients, and delivery production management.

2. What was your motivation to apply to POSCO?
Later my 20s, my life was focused on China. So I wanted to do something related to China. I majored in international politics and economics. Thus, I had a high interest in basic industry and my values about the environment and social contribution was high, too. This was the reason why I always had an interest in POSCO. The steel business has a high wall for foreign companies to enter to other nations. However, POSCO implemented active localization as establishing branch offices in China so I started having an interest in its Chinese business. Therefore, I found certainty that this company walked with the same values as myself, and this motivated me to apply.

3. What did you prepare in priority for your entrance to POSCO?
I just loved China so I socialized with various Chinese people and traveled around China. Not only that, I studied Chinese language, cultures, food, politics, economy, and overall life style. Maybe this had appealed the interviewers during the recruitment. Also, I may get good scores by answering the simple questions as relating to the POSCO business as I studied the basics about the job that I was applying to, researched the status of its overseas businesses, and read almost entire articles related to the company.

4. What experiences from before entering POSCO help to execute work after the entrance?
The experiences of traveling around the world and the having diverse social experiences were helpful to me. When I was appointed to take care of the employees with different nationalities and communicating with them at the HR department, the experience of studying abroad allowed me to think what the dispatched or studying abroad employees do need. Thus, I was able to think how study abroad students can gain recruitment information and what service is wanted from recruiters when I was in the Recruiting Team.

5. What does an overseas recruited employee have to be careful to adapt to the organization?
I think those employees who have spent their childhood, school years, or social life abroad has many advantages, including flexible and open mind, and actively expressing own thoughts. However, as much as life at work needs systematic cooperation with stakeholders, there must also be a process of making teamwork and opinion coordination. There may be times when a person must sacrifice his or her profit for greater things. Showing consideration to the surroundings when necessary can make the strengths of overseas recruited employees shine even more.

6. Please tell us your dream or vision
I am doing my best to be born again as a sales agent. I believe it needs a lot of studying on products and trade. If there is an opportunity, I would like to be sent on a dispatch assignment to a branch office in China in order to gain knowledge and experience about the Chinese market and about sales. In the future, I want to become a sincere authority on Chinese affairs with a comprehensive understanding and business experiences to compete and associate with Chinese people in China.

7. Last word to say to the people who are preparing entrance to POSCO?
I think it is important to select the company that fits well with my own values before finding a job. I believe a match exists not only between people, but also between the company and an employee. When I see the people who enjoy working and show good performance, they are usually the ones who match with POSCO. The thoughts of what kind of person I am, what makes me happy, and what values I have should be done before applying to a company. The studies on the company and the employees, the history, and the vision are required. I hope many POSCO lovers and people who can develop at POSCO could join us.

Have you well noted the recruitment related tips told by Manager Boyoung Lim and Haein Park?
We hope it helped many applicants! The deadline for application is May 7, 15:00 (Korean time basis), so do not miss this opportunity!

Apply here: http://gorecruit.posco.net
POSCO Home Page: http://www.posco.com/

Thank you very much for joining us today. Can you tell us about how you started working at POSCO?

I’d say I grabbed the opportunity at the right moment. I was working for a translation agency which I’d established after coming back from Taiwan, where I gave lectures at the Central Police University. One day, I saw an advert from newspaper saying POSCO was hiring overseas regional experts. It certainly drew my attention. Before applying for it, I was slightly hesitative because I heard POSCO was a bit conservative towards female employees. It took me some time to consider but eventually, I handed in my resume and got accepted.

It was a big challenge. Until then, I only had experiences at schools. Then, I thought it could be quite fun to work in a company. My career at POSCO began in the overseas investment and business department. There was a great degree of investments in China by POSCO during the time. My Chinese skill came in very handy and I was also an interpreter for the management. Later, I moved my post to Sales for heated carbon and stainless steels.

When did you feel most challenged while working at POSCO?

Few years ago, I was reassigned to Beijing Office when my parents-in-law were very unwell and my husband was the only child to look after them. Although my husband told me to seize the opportunity, I just couldn’t leave them behind and move abroad. I even thought of quitting the job because of this. But POSCO showed me a tremendous consideration and allowed me to stay put in Seoul. I am still thankful for POSCO as the company listened to my voice and understood the personal issue.

Could you share your ‘Know-Hows’ on communicating with young colleagues?

I often visit my junior colleagues’ Facebook accounts. You can see their thoughts and worries through SNS which can be quite helpful to understand the difficulties they are facing. Speaking with my eldest daughter is another way of enhancing my communication skills with young employees. She is familiar with thoughts of the young generations like her so I try to have more conversations with my daughter whenever I can.

What would be your advantages as a female leader?

I reckon my strongest attribute comes when I take care of each individual’s feelings carefully. Notably in marketing, which is my field, it could be a great boost if you care for clients with great delicacy so you can lead them into a right direction.

How do you keep the balance between family and work?

I personally think husbands should be great supporters. My husband is same age as I am and we are just like friends. We talk about concerns and worries about our works together. There are certain things you cannot share with colleagues but you can always speak to your spouse about, well, virtually anything.

Also, husbands need to help their wives to keep up with housework such as raising children. The majority of female workers tend to feel sorry for not being able to spend much time with their kids. But I think it really depends on how you put it. When my kids were about three or four years old, I always explained to them about what I was doing for work because I thought it was essential to let them know their mom was playing an important role as a member of society, not just working to gain financial rewards. We need to make our children to be proud of us, not neglected. Also, I try to emphasize their roles within a family for studying hard and being independent. My children have been behaving really well to me and I’m grateful for that.

Are there any advices that you would like to give to your female junior employees?

I’ve seen many women taking time-offs or quitting their jobs after getting married. I feel sorry when the female talents are forced to cease their careers because of the first 1 or 2 years of childcare after giving birth. When my children were babies, I was living with my parents-in-law and they brought the children up with so much love. Some say it’s hard to live with their parents-in-law but I think there are so many things you can learn and thankfully receive from them. We only need to talk and narrow down our differences and things will turn out to be fine.

What is your grateful moment as a member of POSCO?

I appreciate POSCO for trusting me and promoting my position to be the first female team leader, group leader and executive. The President of Overseas Corporation carries a tremendous responsibility of managing a corporate and I’m glad that the company offered me the role.

You’ve worked in marketing field for quite a long period. Do you have any special business skills to tip us off?

I focused on developing our small and medium-sized enterprise partners’ potentialities so they could overcome the market’s fierce competition. Also I put a lot of effort into understanding clients. Such efforts have resulted in improvements of the relationship between POSCO and the partners. For instance, there was a Japanese steel pipe manufacturer, which wasn’t participating in any meaningful business with us. Now, the firm has become one of our royal customers purchasing 90 percent of their purchases from POSCO. I managed to accomplish the success by researching their needs whenever I visited the firm. After a while, I realized that Japanese companies had limited knowledge of foreign trends and market condition as they were generally targeting domestic market. I provided them with information of export market because I was familiar with the area as a leader of the export team. The company could act faster than its competitors and generated profits with the resources I gave them and it naturally led to the firm’s trust in me.

Such achievement was feasible because I tried to assist them by developing their potentiality so they could overcome the market’s fierce competition. If I had only offered cheaper price or any other simplistic solutions, the success would not have been possible.

What are the essential attributes and attitudes you would suggest your fellow members to have?

POSCO is a manufacturing company so a firm discipline should be applied to all. Furthermore, our staff ought to possess a sense of ownership towards the company. You need to do your best, even if certain decisions could give you hard times. At the end of the day, you will realize it was worthwhile doing and satisfactory results will soon follow. This is a view I would like to put forward to, not only POSCO but also, our affiliates.

As for the last question, how do you see yourself after 5 or 10 years from now on?

If there’s an opportunity, I’d like to work as a marketing executive to develop myself by managing a broader region. Struggling markets like Japan at the moment would be the place I’d want to challenge. For a long term aim, my dream is to challenge myself as far as I can and keep advancing forward.

After the interview with Vice President Liang, POSCO could realize how important it is to love our work and devote ourselves to the company. This concludes our series of interviews with POSCO’s three female executives. POSCO wish their journey ahead would be leading them towards glorious success, setting the fine examples for POSCO and other female talents. As always, POSCO’s effort to cultivate female leadership marches on.

Jonathan, the Travel Bug Meets Korea and POSCO

Hello, Jonathan. Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Jonathan, and I’m originally from the US. Actually, it’s almost by chance that I ended up living in Korea. Wanting to travel and see more of Asia, I first came here as an English teacher. My plan was to stay only for one year, but then one turned into two, then three… While studying in graduate school here in Seoul, POSCO’s Global Internship Program came to my attention, and I decided to take the program for three weeks. Upon graduation, this experience turned into a job opportunity, and it has now been more than eight months since I joined the company.

You are working in the API Steel Sales Group. Can you tell us a little about what you do?
Primarily, I focus on supporting various sales activities in the API Steel Sales Group. This includes gathering market intelligence, responding to price inquiries and keeping an eye on the production status of bids we have won. Sometimes, there are surprises as well. Last week, for example, an inspector from one of our biggest Latin American end users made a surprise visit to Korea. She spoke no Korean and only minimal English, while the interpreter who joined us didn’t know very much about our specific product or the technical vocabulary related to steel. In the end, our communication was a mix of Spanish, English and Korean, with good doses of laughter and gestures to fill in the blanks. Personal contact like that makes the everyday routine of sales work worthwhile.

Do you communicate in English at the office?
I use both English and Korean. There are no major issues affecting communication between me and my group members. They speak English fairly well, and I put a little extra effort into listening since I know that English isn’t their mother tongue; same goes for when I speak in Korean.

There must be a corporate culture gap between the U.S. and Korea. When do you feel the difference the most?
First of all, I had never worked in a big company before joining POSCO, so I don’t really know if the differences I see are due to different culture or simply company size. In my previous job, if there was a problem, I could talk directly to the president. I would just knock on his door and go right in to talk to him. At POSCO, this is unconceivable – things have to travel up through the hierarchy; appointments have to be scheduled; official reports written up – it is all fairly bureaucratic. That seems to be the biggest difference that I see.

What do you want to achieve at POSCO?
I’m currently focusing on learning about industry and POSCO’s business practices. Although it is not certain for now, I hope I can be transferred to POSCO’s U.S. office. POSCO America isn’t very large yet, but building upon the experiences I have here, I would like to expand the company’s US operations.

Affairs related to Central and South America are in hands of Sergio from Colombia

Hi, Sergio. Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello. I’m Sergio Alejandro Rub from Colombia. I came to Korea in 2011 and joined POSCO in January this year. I took POSCO Global Internship Program for about two weeks as well. After that, I started working full-time at International Affairs Department.

How did you know about POSCO, and how did you come to apply?
I was living in China in 2009. Back then, one of my closest friend’s father was working at POSCO. Well, that makes him my senior at work now. Anyway, that was my first encounter with the company. When I was doing a postgraduate degree, I was told about POSCO Global Internship Program, so I applied for it.

What do people in Colombia think of Korean companies?
Five years ago, no one really knew about Korean companies. Some people even thought that the major Korean conglomerates were Japanese companies! But now, it has changed a lot and there is an increasing amount of interests in the companies from Korea.

You are working in the International Affairs Dept. What is your daily routine?
I mainly deal with collaboration development in Central and South American nations. My task is to find possibilities for cooperation between POSCO and other companies and governments. My team and I analyze what measures it takes to develop new products, such as which company to work with or how to maintain relationship with governments. Pioneering new market frontier is also one of the International Affairs Department’s operations.

Is there any problem communicating with your colleagues?
Unlike Jonathan, I only use Korean to communicate. And since I only use Korean with native Korean speakers, I gain an advantage in improving my Korean. For any other purposes, I speak both Spanish and English.

Are there difference between working in Colombia and Korea?
Korean companies have different positions like assistant, manager and senior manager, right? In Colombia, there are no titles like that, so everyone’s equal. Also, Koreans go for drinks during weekdays, but Colombians hardly drink before weekends because we think it affects our work. For the past two years, I think I drank at least two or three days during a week.
We have something in common though. Koreans and Colombians both have a craze for soccer. Well, actually Koreans drink beers and eat chickens while watching a soccer match, but Colombians don’t drink much alcohol unless there’s a match for a Colombian national team.

What do you want to achieve at POSCO?
It’s only been three months since I started working at POSCO. So I want to learn more about the company. It would also be fantastic to get to know about the International Affairs Department more in depth.

Working at POSCO HQ as Foreigners

There are 17 foreign nationals working at POSCO at the moment. POSCO’s recruitment process for foreign nationals is undertaken as below. Recruitments are mission-based: in other words, whenever POSCO’s operations require appropriate talents from overseas. Details, such as period of employment, can vary depending on circumstances.

During the interviews with Jonathan and Sergio, we learned a lot from the two POSCO members. Although they are working away from home, Jonathan and Sergio never lost smiles on their faces and were working really hard. Didn’t you get the same impression? ‘Hello, POSCO’ will continue speaking with the POSCO members with different nationalities, so stay tuned!