The phenomenon has been the same for many years, but it tends to grow. Despite the large number of unemployed, many job vacancies are never filled. The lack of attractiveness (difficult work, staggered hours, etc.) or even the mismatch between training and the reality of the labor market partly explain this asymmetry, but not only.
According to a study carried out by the EM Normandie Chair of Human Resources Skills, Employability and Decisions, self-censorship by certain candidates plays an important role. In concrete terms, talents who are nonetheless competent eliminate themselves in anticipation of selective recruiter behavior.
With strictly equal skills, some candidates do not dare to offer their services, although they could be recruited, the study authors stress.
Nearly half of applicants self-remove despite matching profile
To reach this conclusion, the study is based on an empirical approach, that is, based on lived experience.
Thus, 165 general accountants, all job seekers, were faced with real advertisements. The candidates had equivalent skills and seniority, but very different paths: very linear for some, very marked by phases of unemployment for others.
The ads were chosen according to the skills and places of residence of the candidates. The text was still vague about the company’s name and sector, but evoked attractive remuneration, teleworking opportunities, and prospects for functional and geographic development.
They then had to decide whether or not to apply, then describe the reasons for their choice.
Only 46% of the subjects chose to apply. In all cases, the estimation of the chances of success is the main reason for the decision (81% of those who do not apply), well ahead of the affinity with the position (7.6%) or with the company (11 %).
Candidates with less linear paths are more likely to give up
With equal abilities, this estimate is also directly related to differences in career paths before the study.
In fact, candidates for the less linear races anticipate elimination (43% apply). “Instead of trying their luck and applying en masse, they seek to avoid the negative emotions that negative ones engender,” it can be read.
Paradoxically, respondents with high career quality (without periods of unemployment or precarious contracts) also apply low. “They are undoubtedly demanding and their background allows them to be selective: the choice to apply is motivated first by affinity with the company and by development prospects,” the study explains.
Finally, it is the respondents whose professional quality is medium (rather linear career paths with some periods of unemployment and/or some precarious contracts) who are more likely to apply.
Between risk avoidance and selectivity
“They know their background isn’t ideal. But they risk applying more often, particularly because of affinity for the position. They’re primarily interested in the missions presented by the ad.”
“The scarcity of applications, therefore, does not have the same meaning and the same causes: risk avoidance and disappointment among those who assume that they are unattractive, selectivity among those who, on the contrary, have more cards in their game. The act of applying is, therefore, not only the rational decision that we spontaneously imagine,” the study concludes.
For Jean Pralong, professor of digital HR and career management and author of the study, “France is not lacking in talent… It is a pity that so many of them are wasted. We are faced with a paradox: a large number of positions Today, job seekers struggle to cover themselves, despite the fact that the number of unemployed continues to be high. This study suggests that if we did it differently, we would avoid wasting the skills of profiles who want to work”.
“It would be important to change the contracting rules to favor access to employment and not deprive yourself of skills that, in short, are less rare than we suppose,” underlines the specialist.
Source: BFM TV
