Meeting your future employer between a tackle and a test? Pôle Emploi made it possible this Thursday at the Roger-Couderc stadium in Montigny-le-Bretonneux (Yvelines). 90 job seekers had an appointment with bosses for a very special “work” day. “A new way of recruiting”, sums up José Rodriguez, director of the Pôle Emploi agency in Guyancourt, organizer of the “from the Stadium to employment” operation in partnership with the French Rugby Federation (FFR).
From 10 a.m., all the participants, job seekers and recruiters, were mixed without presentation on the rugby field for passing workshops and small matches. An opportunity to “see the candidates in unconventional situations, specifies the boss of the Yvelin agency. We identify qualities of leadership, adaptability and motivation”.
Values of commitment, friendliness and self-transcendence
The initiative of Pôle Emploi had already taken place around athletics, but it was the first for rugby. The choice of the oval is not trivial the day after the grand slam of the Blues during the Six Nations Tournament and before the World Cup in France organized in 2023. For Vincent Pubert, responsible for the Ile-de-France League of rugby is, on the one hand, “an opportunity to discover the discipline” and on the other hand, “a sport that highlights the values of commitment, conviviality and surpassing oneself”.
After the field, a collective meal served to bring down the masks. Recruiters from the 11 companies present could begin the series of interviews. With the usual difference that shirts and ties had given way to less conventional outfits, namely basketball and T-shirts, all in the open air and above all… the familiarity was de rigueur. “Breaking down the barrier of traditional maintenance allows for more free exchanges. The candidates are more comfortable,” say Emelynne and Loïc, representatives of the retail chain Lidl.
“We are less stressed”
The two colleagues did not ask for a CV or cover letter. The morning rugby session allowed them to already get an idea of the profile of the candidates facing them. “The exchange is only about experiences and technical skills”, they justify.
A method approved by Ilona, registered with the Pôle Emploi de Guyancourt since September 2021. The 19-year-old young woman, looking for a position in the Air Force, said she was “less stressed thanks to the contacts made during sports morning. It is easier to express oneself, one is calmer, more tranquil”.
Unlike his more traditional information interviews, the person concerned found the operation “less formal and less stressful”. Satisfied, she says she is ready to try the experiment again. Even if she hopes to have found a job before the next edition scheduled for Plaisir, next November.