Recruitment, the right talent is not always the one you think of!

Ah the perfect candidate… we all dream of it.

Your ad is ready.

You have taken the time to list ALL the diplomas and their cohort of Grandes Ecoles, ALL the skills to have without forgetting ALL the years of experience and ALL the soft skills without which you will not take their application into account.

A few days after the publication of the offer mentioning this magnificent 5-legged sheep, you feverishly check the returns and there, surprise: you have received 5 applications diametrically opposed to your request.

Often, it is only after weeks of wandering and a dangerously approaching deadline that we begin to review our criteria, feeling like we are lowering our standards.

What if we go wrong? What if we thought “out of the box” from the start of our research?

5 tips to open your recruiter chakras and find the pearl out of your ecosystem.

Decompartmentalize! 

Except for ultra-specific expert professions, many functions can be learned. Do you have well-oiled internal training processes? Go ahead and recruit personalities first. In its “Future of Work” report, the World Economic Forum lists the soft skills most sought after by companies. Two soft skills are particularly valued: autonomy and adaptability.

To illustrate autonomy, we will talk about taking initiatives or good time management. Candidates with this quality are also proficient in managing priorities.

Among the other valuable skills directly related to our professional world, let’s now talk about the sense of service. The company needs profiles capable of going beyond their missions to put their skills at the service of their peers and customers.

Adopt a multi-sectoral approach

It will allow you to bring new insights to the team in place, you will therefore teach a new job to a talent and the latter will feed the plurality of your team. Everybody wins. Support functions are often transposable. The multi-sectoral approach or identification of analogies brings new blood into the organization thanks to a different sectoral culture: an outside perspective, new good practices, new skills for the organization, the field of possibilities is vast! Luxury, watchmaking, tourism, passenger transport and events are similar sectors in terms of skills and posture that can be transposed to the CHR environment.

This approach also enriches the search for candidates by going to find them where the feeds are populated! The “talent war” is then easier to conduct and provides the candidate with new employment and retraining prospects.

Applications from seniors should be considered carefully.

Experienced profiles are making a strong comeback. Thus at Louvre Hotels, the period is marked by a return of seniors over 55 years old and 40% of the teams are over 45 years old *. Seniors often bring skills, organizational and management systems, a different way of thinking forged by their careers. Within the ÏDKIDS group, seniors are paired with more junior profiles and mutually bring their mutual experience and culture (digital, new trends, tips, etc.) to each other. In addition to the mentoring they can bring to more juniors, they are also more productive and know how to free up time in their agenda to represent the company at trade shows, conferences and workshops with other professionals! As a bonus? More experienced profiles know how to remain calm in all circumstances, a real advantage in the face of the culture of immediacy which sometimes prevents them from taking a step back.

Prioritize skills

Yes, the Grandes Ecoles train outstanding specialists, but when the candidate has the skills, even if he does not have the desired diplomas, he will evolve alongside you. This is a practice used at Ducasse for a long time with recruitment of profiles off the beaten track.

A candidate has professional and personal experiences that demonstrate their abilities, skills, and most importantly their personality! A candidate without a diploma but passionate about the hotel and catering industry will have a thirst for learning, a desire to do well and above all an unfailing motivation to “compensate” for this lack of a diploma. In addition, he is a candidate who can be trained specifically in the culture and methods of the company, he has no “bad habits” to lose which could come from an overly academic background.

Plug&play or junior?

The “plug & play” candidate with the required 5 years of experience is not there? A junior may surprise you with their ability to learn and innovate. Of course, you will have to invest time to accompany him, but he will quickly increase his level of skills as soon as he is followed and encouraged.

Whether it is “plug and play” or with potential, a time of adaptation and training is necessary for the newcomer, so you might as well make the most of it. On average, 46%** of companies are ready to hire a candidate who is a little more junior but who demonstrates motivation and a thirst for learning. For what ? Because this candidate will feel valued while being more loyal to this company, and above all he will be even more inclined to take up the challenges and accomplish the missions entrusted! Determination remains the best factor to assess a candidate’s ability to integrate the company and meet the expectations of the proposed position.

Candidates often have more imagination than recruiters and the most cheeky of them dare to apply for positions far from their sector and their knowledge.

Let yourself be surprised by the atypical profiles, their thirst for learning and their motivation bring dynamism and novelty. Once trained, they will be grateful to you for giving them a chance and will want to give their best!

Ségolène Saltel for B.R.A. Magazine                   

*Source : foodhoteltech.com

** : APEC – Pratiques de recrutement des Cadres 2022