Four new hires across MD, design, engineering, and global marketing share how they found their way to OLIVE YOUNG and what they’ve learned along the way. Who are the people who are hired at OLIVE YOUNG? They include merchandisers (MD) who spot the next trends in beauty and wellness, designers who create visuals that capture customers’ attention, engineers who develop services connecting online and offline experiences, and global marketers who introduce OLIVE YOUNG to customers around the world. Their roles may be different, but the four new hires featured here have one thing in common: each found their own vision of what OLIVE YOUNG could become and took the time to imagine how they could contribute to that future. We met four new hires who joined CJ OLIVE YOUNG in the second half of 2025 to hear why they chose OLIVE YOUNG, how they prepared for the recruitment process, and what they have learned and experienced since joining the company. “I look at the OLIVE YOUNG app and stores not just as a customer, but as someone observing every detail.” — H, merchandiser (MD) For H, being an MD is about more than responding to existing demand. It means identifying needs that customers themselves may not yet be able to articulate, and turning those insights into new products and opportunities. “I want to develop a sharp sense of what customers need, including the needs they haven’t discovered themselves yet. My goal is to become an MD who continues to open up new possibilities and define the next paradigm in K-beauty and wellness.” Throughout the application process, H focused on consistently showing how they think and what they could bring to the role. Before taking the CJ Culture Fit Test (CJ CFT), H reflected on their own values and identified two or three strengths they wanted to emphasize. Rather than trying to find the “right” answers, H focused on answering honestly based on those personal values. The most challenging part of the process was the presentation interview. Since it was difficult to predict what the topic might be, H looked for answers in places they encountered in everyday life. I regularly visited pop-up stores in Seongsu, K-beauty exhibitions, and OLIVE YOUNG’s specialty stores. I wanted to see firsthand what customers were responding to and develop my own insights from those observations.” H recommends that prospective applicants explore the OLIVE YOUNG app as thoroughly as they might explore a neighborhood. Instead of simply shopping and leaving, take time to look at the different tabs and features, as well as the promotions and curated collections being offered. Even a service you use every day can reveal something new when you look at it from an observer’s perspective. Paying closer attention can help you see where OLIVE YOUNG is headed and the kinds of experiences it hopes to create for customers. “OLIVE YOUNG is where I can bring my design into the world.” — M, Visual Design For M, the desire to work at OLIVE YOUNG grew from the many visual experiences encountered in everyday life. Every time M walked into a store or opened the app, the trend-forward designs immediately caught their attention. I see OLIVE YOUNG as a company that communicates with customers from the forefront of beauty and wellness trends. The opportunity to showcase my work through the stores and app that people use every day, while growing through diverse feedback, was especially appealing to me.” For the portfolio, M focused on work they felt most confident in. Rather than simply presenting polished results, M made sure each project clearly communicated the thinking behind it: what they wanted to express, how they approached the concept, and why they made particular creative decisions. M also regularly explored OLIVE YOUNG’s own design work. The goal was not to recreate what OLIVE YOUNG had already done, but to understand what resonated personally and where their own creative sensibility intersected with the company’s visual language. For M, the portfolio was more than a collection of completed projects. It was a story about what kind of designer they are. Understanding their own taste and showing how that sensibility can connect with customers’ everyday lives became a central part of how M approached preparing for a career in visual design. “I believe good code is not something you create alone, but something that grows through sharing.” — S, Backend Engineering S saw OLIVE YOUNG as an exciting place to grow as an engineer. The company offered an opportunity to work on large-scale services connecting not only an online platform, but also a nationwide network of offline stores. The company’s growing focus on strengthening its technological capabilities was another reason S decided to apply. While preparing for the first interview, S questioned every sentence in their application and portfolio: Why did I make that choice? Was there another approach? How did I identify the root of the problem? What exactly did I solve? By repeatedly asking these follow-up questions, S was able to anticipate a wider range of interview questions while also organizing their problem-solving process into a clear, logical narrative. OLIVE YOUNG’s tech blog was another useful resource for understanding the company’s technical challenges and engineering culture. For engineering candidates, the coding test is difficult to prepare for in a short period of time. S recommends building a consistent habit of solving one or two problems a day. Even on days when a problem cannot be solved completely, simply summarizing what the problem is asking in a sentence or two can help build the fundamentals of problem-solving over time. For the second interview, which included business leaders, S revisited their experiences through the lens of how OLIVE YOUNG works. The goal was not only to demonstrate technical capabilities, but also to show what kind of engineer they hoped to become at OLIVE YOUNG and, ultimately, what kind of person they wanted to grow into. After joining the company, S found an even more active culture of collaboration than expected. Internal study groups and knowledge-sharing sessions happen naturally, with colleagues actively supporting one another’s growth. “OLIVE YOUNG is where my potential can reach the world.” — D, Global Marketing D applied from Vietnam after seeing OLIVE YOUNG’s growing ambition in global markets. With more customers around the world looking for K-beauty and OLIVE YOUNG accelerating its global expansion, D saw an opportunity to put their own experience and skills to work at an important moment in the company’s growth. What D wanted to become was a “Global YOUNG MAKER.” At OLIVE YOUNG, YOUNG MAKERS are employees who discover new possibilities from where they stand, take the initiative to turn those ideas into action, and contribute to the company’s growth. During the application process, D began by organizing the ideas that had come from everyday life in Vietnam. Thoughts such as “It would be great if this kind of service were available in Vietnam” or “Local customers might respond well to this kind of experience from OLIVE YOUNG” became the starting points for developing original ideas for the global business. What mattered was not simply the experience itself, but what D had discovered through it. D observed the lifestyles and preferences of local customers, then connected those observations with OLIVE YOUNG’s strengths and articulated the opportunities from a personal perspective. D believed that living and experiencing a market firsthand offered a unique perspective, one that could reveal opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. Looking ahead, D hopes to grow into a global marketer who connects OLIVE YOUNG with customers across Southeast Asia. The goal is to understand different markets and cultures, and communicate OLIVE YOUNG’s possibilities in ways that resonate with local customers. Their first experience of how OLIVE YOUNG works The four new hires each prepared for the recruitment process in their own way. H closely observed stores and the app. M focused on communicating the thinking behind each design. S worked to clearly articulate how they approached and solved problems. D turned possibilities discovered in a local market into ideas from their own perspective. Yet the questions they ultimately prepared for came down to one: What do I want to create at OLIVE YOUNG? Rather than trying to memorize the “right” answers for the company, they looked back on their own experiences, identified the strengths they had developed along the way, and connected them to OLIVE YOUNG’s future. That was how four people with four different perspectives found their way to OLIVE YOUNG. For all four, one of the most memorable experiences after joining the company was OLIVE YOUNG’s structured onboarding program. Among the various programs, the CJ Group’s new-hire idea competition, ONLYONE FAIR, gave them an opportunity to imagine and build the future of OLIVE YOUNG together with their fellow new hires. New employees from different functions formed teams to develop new business ideas, define problems from the customer’s perspective, and turn their ideas into tangible outcomes. Rather than stopping at the idea stage, they exchanged perspectives and put their ideas into action, experiencing firsthand how OLIVE YOUNG works. Winning was certainly rewarding, but the experience offered something more. They had the opportunity to turn their ideas into something real alongside their colleagues, and gained the confidence to see that even as new employees, they could contribute ideas for OLIVE YOUNG’s future. Now, each of the four is beginning a new set of questions in their own role: How can I discover products customers have yet to find? How can I create visuals that become part of everyday life? How can I build more reliable services? And how can I help expand OLIVE YOUNG’s possibilities around the world? For these four new YOUNG MAKERS, the next chapter is just beginning.