“Too qualified”, Quentin, 28, must play the sandwich man to find work in Le Havre

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Often, Quentin's routine is the same. He starts his day by looking at job offers, then, with his sign, sits at strategic points, often in front of the town hall from Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), before setting off again, submit CVs.

Quentin Patat has been unemployed since June 2024. To find a job, this resident of Sainte-Adresse decided to transform himself into a human billboard. A “shock” methodhe admits, “which is intended to challenge”.

A sign to be seen by recruiters

“The goal is to send a message when you can't do it any other way,” he says, convinced that he has already tested the main job search methods. For him, it's obvious: “When you can't do it in one way, you have to change. »

The young executive simply remembered an anecdote told by one of his former internship tutors: a sandwich man who had positioned himself in the industrial zone of Le Havre. “I came up with the idea 9 years later. »

After a DUT in electrical engineering, the young active continued with a professional degree in business management in an international environment, then a second in marketing. He then obtained two master's degrees, one in SME management and another in research and consulting. This, without counting numerous experiences in internships, work-study programs, then in student jobs. “To do project management, it is necessary to have a technical background and another managerialso I moved towards both,” explains Quentin.

Dreams of leadership

His dream? Take one day management of a large area. “As a child, I imagined myself managing Auchan de Montivilliers,” he smiles. It was at the foot of my house. » But here it is, “it was explained to me very early on that, to manage people, you had to study. In France, without studies, we don't have much. I lined up
“, he confides.

After leaving training, the latter took on two permanent contracts, as an engineer then a subsidiary director, in areas which do not always correspond with his target. “Sometimes you have to grasp the opportunities», Philosophizes the young worker.

Then in June, it paid the price of restructuring, he says. Since then, Quentin has applied to 43 large and medium-sized stores in the much-expanded Le Havre sector. He also made more than 200 spontaneous applications for agency manager positions and submitted 250 CVs to companies. An account that he scrupulously keeps up to date in an Excel table.

“I am the Poulidor of employment”

Result: eleven interviews, including five face-to-face. “I am often told that people have hesitated for a long time with my profile that I am too qualified, too expensive, and for others, I lack experience. I often come second. I am the Poulidor of employment», jokes the young man.

Unfortunately: “We come up against a wall of recruiters. When they tell us 'you don't have the profile, you lack the skills', they don't answer the question of how I can acquire them,” he continues, more seriously.

In the street, the feedback is constructive, but inconclusive. “The word ‘director’ is scary,” he observes. I removed all notion of direction, people made me understand that it was perceived negatively. » Now his sign indicates that he is looking for a position as “responsible» in certain key sectors.

“I have changed. Initially, there were no specific, assigned areas, which led to confusion. I was offered positions as a butcher and forklift driver, which is not very suitable,” he admits.

“Exposing myself is not something I like”

He who had taken three months to land his first job now watches time pass with concern. “It’s a gear. If we wait too long, we won't be able to get out of this box. When I see that I am applying for assistant manager positions and that I am offered the opportunity to become a storekeeper or multi-skilled employee, it is as if I were throwing my seven years of studies in the trash. It's demotivating. »

Exposing yourself is not something I like, but at some point, you almost end up begging the employer to hire you.

Despite the drops in morale, he still refuses to accept everything. “If the position is cut out for a DUT, it is not up to a more qualified person to take this job,” he asserts, ready, if necessary, to use city advertising billboards to get himself involved. to remark.

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