A Night That Illuminates Career Paths: Korea University Business School’s “Discovering Careers Night”

On Wednesday, October 29, the “Discovering Careers Night (Job多한밤)” alumni mentoring event was held at SUPEX Hall, located in the LG-POSCO Hall of Korea University Business School. “Discovering Careers Night” is jointly hosted by the Business School Alumni Association and the Korea University Economics and Finance Alumni Association (KEFA). The event provides a space for alumni to offer career-related advice to current students, and with continued participation from graduates in diverse fields, this year marked its sixth edition. 

The event was moderated by Youngil Kim (Business ’97), Director at Rifa Asset Management and a member of KEFA. He explained, “As we were exploring ways to support students in more meaningful ways beyond financial assistance, we came up with the idea for ‘Discovering Careers Night,’ a program that has continued thanks to the voluntary participation of alumni.”This year’s speakers—Sohyun Park (Business ’98, Head of Corporate Sales at HSBC), Jihye Yang (Business ’02, General Manager at KB Securities PE/Investment Division), Soyoon Park (Business ’08, Manager at BNB Asset), and Soohye Ahn (Business ’18, Principal Investment Division, IB Headquarters at Korea Investment & Securities)—shared their career journeys and offered practical advice based on their experiences in the financial sector.

The first speaker, Soohye Ahn, drew on her experience in the Principal Investment Division under the IB Headquarters at Korea Investment & Securities. She discussed her reasons for pursuing a career in finance and offered practical advice on preparing for employment. Drawing from her diverse experiences—serving on the Business School student council’s marketing team, interning at a venture capital firm, and participating in an exchange program in Singapore—she emphasized that “even activities unrelated to finance eventually become part of your career story,” reinforcing the message that “no experience is ever wasted.” 

Jihye Yang shared her career path, which began with an internship at Daewoo Securities and later spanned Deloitte Korea, KB Securities as a research analyst, Meritz Securities, and Neilson & Company as a marketing consultant. She candidly spoke about the realities of M&A due diligence and PE investment work. Reflecting on periods when she handled multiple trillion-won deals simultaneously, she noted, “Deals can shift directions several times in a very short period, and coordinating stakeholders and communication is the biggest variable,” emphasizing that “behind glamorous headlines lies intense workload and physical demands.” Nonetheless, she urged students to embrace challenges, saying, “The process of enduring and learning in difficult environments becomes the muscle that sustains your career later.” 

The third speaker, Soyoon Park, also shared her “diverse career path,” having worked across a wide range of organizations and roles—including Ridibooks, KB Securities ECM, venture capital, and now an asset management firm. She spoke candidly about what she learned at each stage: the grueling late-night workload as a consulting intern, data and service operations at a startup, IPO execution in ECM, and startup investments in VC. She encouraged students by saying, “You need to try a variety of experiences to truly understand what kind of work suits you.” 

The final speaker, Sohyun Park, reflected on her career journey—from working in IR at a listed company to becoming the Head of Corporate Sales at the global financial institution HSBC. She explained how she came to understand the stock market through drafting disclosures and engaging with analysts and institutional investors. She also shared her experiences as an equity sales representative in Hong Kong, New York, and other global financial hubs, where she communicated closely with international investors. In addition, she offered interview advice, noting that “what companies look for is not a ‘perfect answer,’ but the attitude and sincerity to explain your thoughts logically without getting nervous.” 

After the presentations, students asked detailed questions about career strategies in the financial sector, ways to overcome slumps, organizational culture, work intensity, and more. Reflecting on the session, Soyoon Park shared a message of encouragement: “Listening to your questions and conversations, I found you all incredibly energetic, smart, and passionate. The job-search period may be the time in life when you face the most rejections, but rather than feeling hurt or discouraged, I hope you see it as a process of finding the place that suits you best.” 

Students who attended the event responded positively. Seongbin Choi, a visiting student from the University of Hong Kong, said, “It was impressive to meet senior professionals who came all the way to campus to share their experiences so candidly. I could truly sense the strength of the Korea University Business School alumni network.” Yeonsu Bae (Business ’21) added, “It’s rare to have opportunities to directly meet and ask questions to professionals working in fields we’re interested in, so I hope events like this continue to be offered more often.” 

At this event, alumni shared their experiences to offer juniors practical advice and motivation, while students broadened their career perspectives and explored new possibilities through their seniors’ stories. In this way, “Discovering Careers Night” has developed into a warm mentoring space that goes beyond simply sharing job information, opening conversations about “failure and challenge, choice and growth.” Through this event, the Business School reaffirmed the solidarity and social responsibility of its alumni network and will continue expanding meaningful opportunities for exchange that connect academia, industry, and generations.