Old-school hiring doesn’t hire anyone anymore, carte blanche in L’Echo
Recruitment is a showcase. Companies that struggle to hire are often those whose practices don’t match their rhetoric. Behind talent shortages, ongoing tensions in certain professions, and the low mobility observed in the job market lies an issue far broader than a simple human resources problem. Recruitment has become one of the most reliable indicators of how companies are actually governed—and of their ability to make decisions, stand by their choices, and plan for the long term. When recruitment stalls, it’s not just positions that remain unfilled. Career paths become frozen, decisions fail to materialize, and value is no longer created. This dysfunction is rarely due to an absolute shortage of skills. Much more often, it is a symptom of organizations that struggle to clarify who they are, what they expect, and what they are prepared to offer. Very observant talents In many companies, recruitment is still treated as an operational, reactive function, sometimes purely administrative. A job ad is posted, a few channels are activated, and then people are surprised that applications don’t come in as expected or don’t match what they’re looking for. That way of thinking belongs to another era. Today, the recruitment funnel no longer starts with the job offer, but with perception. Before applying, talented people observe. They read, compare, and assess the credibility of a project and the consistency of its message. They try to understand how decisions are made, what the relationship is to power, autonomy, and responsibility. In other words, they evaluate governance long before they consider a position. This reality becomes particularly clear in the candidate experience. Response times, clarity of the process, quality of interactions, ability to make decisions: every touchpoint says something very concrete about the company. Far more than institutional speeches or the promises displayed on a careers site. The lived experience never lies. SMEs are more exposed In SMEs in particular, where responsibilities are concentrated and communication channels are short, recruitment acts like a magnifying glass. It is often at this very moment that candidates understand what it really means to work in this organization: where the grey areas lie, how trade-offs are made, and how much room is given to trust and initiative. Recruitment is therefore not just an entry gate. It is a stage where everything is on display. And like any stage, it forgives neither improvisation nor inconsistency. Companies that struggle to recruit are often those that struggle to make decisions, to set priorities, and to align their practices with their rhetoric. Every interaction with talent says something very concrete about the company. The experience people have never lies. Conversely, those who are getting ahead have understood that recruiting is neither a collection of tools nor a series of best practices. It is a coherent system, aligned with a particular way of leading. They are not trying to attract everyone. They fully own what they are, what they are not, and what they no longer want to be. Because recruiting is never a neutral act. It means accepting certain skills, rejecting others, opening up or closing off career paths. With constant hesitation and half-measures, old-school “dad-style” recruiting ends up not hiring anyone at all. Conversely, clear, demanding, and fully owned recruitment says something essential: the company knows how to make decisions—and it knows where it’s going. Amélie Alleman - Opinion piece published in L'Echo - 27 February 2026
