Check the basis first
In Korea, job applications usually include a jagisogaeseo, a self-introduction essay made up of several questions, each with a limit such as ‘up to 500 characters’ or ‘up to 1,000 characters’. The first thing to check is whether the limit is with spaces, without spaces, or in bytes. With a different basis, the same text can pass or go over. If neither the job posting nor the input screen states the basis, paste your text directly into the input box and look at the number it shows; if you still cannot tell, it is safest to aim for the with-spaces count.
How much should you fill?
There is no fixed rule, but the common advice from recruiters and career coaches is to fill 80–100% of the limit. If the limit is 1,000 characters and you wrote only 400, it can look as if you did not prepare well. On the other hand, repeating yourself just to reach the length can count against you. What matters more than length is a concrete answer to what the question asks.
Example: allocating length within a question
For a single 1,000-character question, you could divide it like this.
- Opening sentence (about 50–100 characters): state your answer to the question in one sentence first.
- Supporting experience (about 500–600 characters): describe the situation, your role, what you did and the result, in that order. Include results you can express in numbers.
- Lessons and connection (about 200–300 characters): connect how that experience will be useful in the job you are applying for.
If there are several questions, it helps to draw up an allocation plan first so that each question uses a different key experience. In this tool's essay mode, add the questions and enter their limits, and you can see the progress of each question at a glance.
Trimming when you are over the limit
- Cut repeated expressions: start by reducing phrases that recur, such as ‘I’, ‘I think that…’ and ‘I was able to…’. The word frequency list makes them easy to find.
- Split long sentences: sentences over 100 characters are hard to read. Starting with the longest sentence, split it in two or remove unnecessary modifiers.
- Remove generalities: sentences anyone could write, like ‘Communication is important in modern society’, can be deleted without losing any content.
- Cut parentheses and asides: most explanations in parentheses can be removed without changing the meaning.
Expanding when you are short
If you are short on length, add concrete facts rather than extra adjectives. Filling in when, with how many people, what problem, what you changed and what result you achieved increases both length and persuasiveness.
Final checks before submitting
- After pasting into the submission system, check the character count it displays again. Differences in how line breaks are handled can change it by a few characters.
- Leave a few characters of margin rather than hitting the limit exactly.
- Avoid special characters and emoji, which may break in the system.
- Keep a separate copy of your draft, independent of this tool's autosave (which is on this device only).
Last updated: 2026-09-23