What if you put on your crampons rather than putting on a tie to go to a job interview? This is the method that France Travail chose to apply by organizing a job dating unlike any other: “From the stadium to employment”. Thursday, November 28, there were many footballers on the lawn of the Pont-Roux sports complex, in Bergerac, in Dordogne.
Practicing sport allows you to highlight other skills than those summarized on the CV: listening, the ability to take initiatives, etc.
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In their ranks? Recruiters from nearly 15 different companies in the region, ranging from the automotive sector to the personal services sector through to the hotel and catering industry, and around a hundred job seekers, of different ages and genders .
Soft skills
But no one knows who is who. Indeed, under cover of anonymity, the participants are divided into around ten teams. No question about professional background, number of years of experience… Only football occupies people’s minds. And bosses and potential employees sweat together, under a radiant autumn sun.
“Cohesion happened naturally. We find ourselves without pressure or stress, in a much less anxiety-inducing environment”
“With this format, we are taking things backwards. It’s about finding yourself differently, without a CV or an office, explains Marie-Jocelyne Senemaud, director of the France Travail agency in Bergerac. Everyone mixes during workshops which highlight personal qualities and especially interpersonal skills. » Soft skills which, according to her, is the most difficult element to analyze in an interview.
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More than a hundred job seekers, whether registered with France Travail or with local partner structures, responded to the call.
Also, the qualities highlighted by the practice of sport no longer need to be presented. Working together, success, listening, adaptation, communication… After two hours spent kicking a ball, the participants, smiling from ear to ear, confirm it: “Cohesion happened naturally. We find ourselves without pressure or stress, in a much less anxiety-inducing environment. » Besides, we are already happy to room within the teams, even though anonymity has still not been lifted…
“Get out of the CV”
“Businesses have evolved,” continues Marie-Jocelyne Senemaud. And to respond to recruitment difficulties, we realize that more and more of them are ‘going off the CV’. »
The arrival of new generations on the job market also requires employers to adapt to individuals who favor a balance between personal and professional life more than their predecessors.
“Today, the candidates are also, in a way, recruiting their future boss,” confirms the director. This job dating format allows participants to be placed in a position of mutually observing each other. And for some job seekers, who operate in a digital world and send dozens of applications by email, often without a response, to realize that recruiters are not all inaccessible. »
This Thursday, one of them may have even made, without knowing it, a decisive pass to his future employee… Which could result in the signing of the coveted employment contract, who knows.
