His vision of recruitment in 2023
How to qualify the year 2022 for the firm?
Marie-Claire Lemaitre: 2022 has been a very good year for our firm. We expect an increase of around 20% in our turnover. Thanks to the many games of musical chairs in the top management of companies, our “search” activity intensified with +25% growth.
And 2023? What developments do you expect?
MC. L.: The start is slower than in 2022 but we feel things are moving favourably. We should be on the same activity levels as in 2022 because the talent shortage is still relevant. Today, it is the companies that are in competition with each other and no longer the candidates.
Active sectors for recruitment
Which sectors inspire you with confidence for recruitment in 2023?
MC. L.: Functions related to CSR and the environment will continue to create jobs and companies are also looking to strengthen their existing teams. We are eagerly looking for compliance managers, but also engineers with climate knowledge. And then, of course, IT professions hire again and again.
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Candidates suspicious of employer speeches
How will candidate and company expectations evolve in 2023?
MC. L.: Candidates have expectations about their life at work and outside of work. For the former, they wish to evolve in conditions that allow them to flourish on a daily basis. From the outset, of course, we think of the locals. But in reality, they ask us above all about the working atmosphere. They are sometimes very suspicious because they have had bad experiences before. They ask about the possibility of teleworking but it goes beyond that. A candidate recently asked me what the employer’s position was on telecommuting. If the company had backtracked on the subject after the covid, he would not have joined this employer deemed too retrograde for him. Applicants also want details of CSR actions concretely deployed by companies.
On the “outside work”, they want time for their family life but not only: they want to be able to devote time to their associative, sporting commitments… Work should no longer cannibalize their entire schedule, nor their mind.
Faced with these demands, employers always take a little time to understand that they have to make themselves attractive. The employer brand is no longer enough to attract talent.
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The recruitment process should not exceed 3 weeks
What notable changes in recruitment processes in 2023?
MC. L.: Candidates want to invest much less time in these processes. Firms and employers must therefore be more reactive to receive them and make a decision. A candidate who has not heard from the employer after 3 weeks moves on. The contact points with the candidates must also be optimized to really learn more about him at each stage. And this, in order not to multiply the steps precisely.
The reward for audacity
Given the tensions on the market, which profiles benefit from it?
Employers are more open to more generalist profiles because they are deemed more adaptable than experts. Having studied literature and then having chained positions in legal, commercial, purchasing… proves the candidates’ ability to adapt.
More “linear” profiles are less popular at the moment. For example, business school profiles with a marketing option who have spent their entire career in marketing are not popular because they have not been able to show curiosity.
Marie-Claire Lemaitre, group associate of the recruitment firm Mercuri Urval France
More opportunities for executives who want to change sectors? of region?
MC. L.: Bridges between sectors are possible if the candidate demonstrates strong curiosity and motivation and good potential. The objective is for him to be able to adapt quickly to the new business reference system. And then there are different sectors but with transposable methodologies (marketing, production). For example, automotive and agrifood. But it is true that the more time you spend in a sector, the more a label you have on your forehead. So candidates must be careful to manage their career so that this label does not stick.
Seniors remain a default choice
Are recruiters more open to senior candidates?
MC. L.: France is still resisting on the subject but the employment rate of seniors should increase because the shortage of talent will push companies to change their outlook on them. Today, when we integrate a senior it is often because the younger candidates have withdrawn. So a default choice. Abroad, employers do not have this view of seniors at all.
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The era of new managers
Looking back, has the health crisis changed the skills required of executives?
MC. L.: Today, a manager with top-down methods will be excluded from the recruitment process. On the contrary, he is expected to be able to give sense to the missions of his team, whether he works in collaborative mode even if he makes the final decision.
Interview Questions
What questions are candidates asking that they weren’t asking before?
MC. L.: As I told you, their questions relate to teleworking and CSR. They want to know where they are really stepping and above all they check what the company tells them.
Do you have a favorite question for candidates that you haven’t asked before?
MC. L.: For the past few months, I have systematically asked them what question they would like me to ask them.
Leave to earn more
What better strategy to achieve a wage gap in 2023? to stay ? leave ? to come back ? form ?
MC. L.: Unless there is a substantial promotion, internal mobility does not allow for a real salary gap. External mobility remains the best strategy for this.
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The recruitment firm must be involved in the retention of talent
What will emerge best for your job as a recruitment intermediary?
MC. L.: The firm of tomorrow will be the one that will help companies to be more attractive for real. And this, for the selection but also for the retention of talent and it starts with the integration of newcomers. As an intermediary, we must ensure that this integration will be tailor-made. For example, a candidate from another sector of activity will have a dedicated internal pilot to bring him knowledge of the new sector.
Leadership positions are lacking women
Do you have more “yes” votes for the hiring of female managers?
MC. L.: In 27 years in the business, I’ve never had any reservations about hiring women so today we don’t have more requests or “yes” on this subject. On the other hand, it is obvious that we have, for example, fewer female candidates for general management positions. Where are the women ?
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Mercuri Urval France in a few figures:
- Number of recruitments in 2022: NC
- 20 consultants in 2022
- CA 2021: 3 million euros (do not yet have CA 2022)
