Margaux Fodere
modified to
10:39 a.m., February 13, 2023
According to a survey conducted by the EM Normandie School of Management, one in four employees dare not apply for a job when they have the required skills and experience. But what is this phenomenon and why does it particularly affect French people with choppy backgrounds?
Not daring to apply for a job when you have the required skills is a reality for one in four employees in France. This is the surprising result of a survey conducted by the EM Normandie School of Management, which is interested in the phenomenon of self-elimination. Some candidates, haunted by the impostor syndrome, refuse to apply. The French with the chopped course are the most affected. This is particularly the case for Marie, who has been looking for a commercial position since January.
A fear of failing in the recruitment process
If she sees offers every day, she does not dare to apply despite her fifteen years in the business. “After a bad experience with my employer, I’m afraid of finding myself in front of a recruiter. It’s as if there was a wall in front of me,” she explains. Like her, many French people do not even apply for an ad, especially those who have had choppy careers. “There is a stereotype: the one who has had a good education is the ideal course. There are people who have a slightly less obvious course”, explains Jean Pralong, professor of human resources management at the EM Normandie school at the microphone of Europe 1. “Those who self-eliminate themselves say that they have no chance of being taken because they have stopped working, they have moved …”
And very often, it is for fear of failing in the recruitment process that they censor themselves. “A candidate who has been a little used to having negative answers does not want to dive back into them. That is what explains this avoidance”, continues the professor of human resources management. Sitting at a desk facing the HR manager, meeting your future manager or even taking technical tests… For some candidates, the recruitment process is a real source of anxiety.
