[DREAM CAREER] M1M3V6 FR - Podcast Ready4Work — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:07Hello, dear students!
2. 0:08Let 's get started with a new episode of your Ready 4 Work podcast.
3. 0:12Career plans, interviews, workplace attitude,
4. 0:15whatever your professional needs may be, this podcast is brought to you
5. 0:19by your Excelia Talent Centre. Through advice, anecdotes, and personal insights,
6. 0:25our guests open up and share their professional tips with you.
7. 0:29Today, our discussion focuses on social commitment and career or how to align the two.
8. 0:35So, to address this issue,
9. 0:37I 'm delighted to welcome Fabien Secherre, spokesperson for Jobs that makesense.
10. 0:42Hello. Hello Fabien, and welcome.
11. 0:45I start each recording with a personal anecdote from my guests.
12. 0:49So, when and how did you first feel the urge to make an impact, to find meaning?
13. 0:55Well actually, I did n't really have a lightbulb moment as such.
14. 0:59It 's more like a little
15. 1:00stone in my shoe,
16. 1:01a kind of dissonance that started to grow inside me.
17. 1:04I was politically active and working at SFR.
18. 1:08And so, I could see a bit of a disconnect between the two.
19. 1:12And after that, it was more about opportunities I seized throughout my career,
20. 1:16and I gradually refined my professional project as I went along.
21. 1:19But if we go back a little further,
22. 1:21I realise now that all the childhood dreams I had about jobs
23. 1:24were more or less connected,
24. 1:26with some kind of impact, something for the greater good. And actually, if you try this exercise, it 's
25. 1:31often the case.
26. 1:32I wanted to be a doctor, an ophthalmologist, a researcher.
27. 1:35There was always a quest for the common good.
28. 1:37In fact, if I reconnect with my younger self,
29. 1:40I 've wanted to work in impact for a long time.
30. 1:43Great. Before we go any further, how about you introduce your organisation? So, Makesense and Jobs
31. 1:49that makesense,
32. 1:50if you had to pitch them, what would you say?
33. 1:52First of all, it 's a bit of a tongue-twister:
34. 1:54Jobs that makesense is n't easy to say.
35. 1:56So, Jobs that makesense is an offshoot of the entity, the association Makesense,
36. 2:02which works to support and empower citizens to take action.
37. 2:07And actually, there are loads of things we do at Makesense:
38. 2:10we have impact entrepreneurship,
39. 2:12we support impact entrepreneurs.
40. 2:14We have investment funds for companies that are just starting out.
41. 2:17We also support students through programmes, often at the start of the academic year, focused on civic
42. 2:23engagement.
43. 2:24And so we have this platform, Jobs that makesense,
44. 2:27which focuses on employment and training.
45. 2:30And our mission
46. 2:31at Jobs that makesense is to support as many citizens as possible
47. 2:35to make impact their profession and help them find a job with a positive impact.
48. 2:40And why do we do this?
49. 2:41Because we believe that work is a huge lever for achieving
50. 2:45the ecological and social transition, and that on an individual level,
51. 2:50it 's also probably the most powerful way to take action.
52. 2:53When you look at it, we work 70,000 hours in a lifetime.
53. 2:56So if we put that towards making an impact, that 's where we can really
54. 3:00have a very strong positive impact.
55. 3:02Very clear. Thank you very much.
56. 3:04Our students are sensitive to CSR and sustainable development.
57. 3:08For them, it 's almost more natural than it was for us in our time.
58. 3:11But going so far as to imagine yourself in a committed career, that 's something else. Practically speaking,
59. 3:16what does that actually mean, a committed career?
60. 3:19What form can it take?
61. 3:20It can actually take many different forms. And often, this difficulty in imagining oneself
62. 3:27among students, we notice that it 's linked to several obstacles, limiting beliefs that we might have.
63. 3:34The first one is about salary.
64. 3:35We often tell ourselves it wo n't pay well.
65. 3:37But actually, we 've looked into it, and there are indeed salary gaps
66. 3:40of around 17 %. We carried out a salary barometer for the impact sector and the social and solidarity economy.
67. 3:48But in fact, when you look at
68. 3:50the differences in salary, it 's not to do with whether it 's an impact job or not, it 's to do with
69. 3:55whether it 's smaller organisations or larger ones,
70. 3:58whether they 're associations or companies.
71. 4:00So what I 'm saying is that there are well-paid jobs in the impact sector, just like anywhere else.
72. 4:05So that 's the first limiting belief out of the way. Next, we often get the impression that
73. 4:10these are specialist fields. That to have an impact, actually,
74. 4:14to have a committed career,
75. 4:15you 'd have to do what 's called a green job.
76. 4:18For example, being a renewable energy engineer, or a CSR manager,
77. 4:23or CSRD ( Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)
78. 4:26if you work in finance.
79. 4:28But that 's not the case either, actually.
80. 4:29Any job can have a positive impact. Today, I work in marketing.
81. 4:33Just like I used to do marketing at SFR,
82. 4:36I 'm doing it in a committed organisation, so I 'm having a positive impact.
83. 4:40And finally, we also tell ourselves
84. 4:43that these sectors are saturated, that we 're giving up our careers
85. 4:46when we move towards impact.
86. 4:49But if we take a step back,
87. 4:50the General Secretariat, the ecological planning department—
88. 4:53so this is n't coming from me—tells us that there are 8 million jobs today
89. 4:57that are affected by the ecological transition.
90. 5:00And if we look a bit further ahead,
91. 5:02we know that the ecological transition is unavoidable,
92. 5:04whether we do it willingly or not, it 's going to happen.
93. 5:08So it 's also
94. 5:09a question of employability to get involved now,
95. 5:11to start working in impact right away.
96. 5:13We know we 're getting a head start on the future.
97. 5:15I often draw a parallel with digital technology.
98. 5:18I did my studies from 2000 to 2005, and I took a gamble on digital.
99. 5:24It was n't a sure thing yet in marketing
100. 5:26and today I 'm employable because I have digital expertise.
101. 5:30So tomorrow, it will be the same with the environment.
102. 5:33If you train yourselves now and start working in jobs
103. 5:36related to the ecological transition right now, well, tomorrow you 'll be more employable than if you had n't done it.
104. 5:41And yes, I completely understand that.
105. 5:43So you agree with me, Fabien, one way to get involved through your career,
106. 5:47is to choose companies or organisations
107. 5:50whose purpose is focused on sustainable development, impact, and solidarity, we agree on that.
108. 5:56But how do you recognise them?
109. 5:58That 's the tricky part.
110. 5:59That 's why we launched Jobs that makesense, this platform—I did n't clarify that earlier,
111. 6:05so we 're a job and impact training platform.
112. 6:08We have around 10,000 committed organisations on the platform,
113. 6:11300 training opportunities,
114. 6:13these are often supplementary courses to initial training.
115. 6:17And we also have loads of content,
116. 6:20three hundred pieces of content, articles to help you understand the transition a bit better.
117. 6:24And precisely, on the question of
118. 6:26ten thousand impact-driven organisations, so how do you recognise them? There are loads of different types of
119. 6:31organisations. First, there 's the whole field of the social and solidarity economy. So here, we 're talking
120. 6:36about specific legal structures.
121. 6:38Associations, foundations, mutual societies,
122. 6:41cooperatives and ESUS companies ( Solidarity-based enterprises of social utility),
123. 6:47which is what we are at Jobs that makesense.
124. 6:49So that 's quite easy to identify, it 's the legal structure.
125. 6:52You go on sites like societe.com,
126. 6:54you have a look, and you know whether it 's an association or a company.
127. 6:57That 's the first point.
128. 6:58There are 2.5 million jobs, I think,
129. 7:02in the social and solidarity economy. We often forget that, it 's huge.
130. 7:07The second type of structure is public sector employment,
131. 7:09the civil service, which also has a positive impact.
132. 7:12We work for the public good: five million jobs.
133. 7:15So again, these are massive pools of jobs.
134. 7:17Then, there are all the companies we call
135. 7:20eco-companies or companies with a positive impact.
136. 7:24So here, these are companies whose purpose is to produce
137. 7:28goods or services that contribute to the ecological and social transition.
138. 7:33For example, you have Too Good to Go or Enercoop, everything related to renewable energy.
139. 7:40Here, it 's a bit more difficult
140. 7:41to quantify the number of jobs because there is n't a national database
141. 7:44of companies and eco-companies, but it 's quite substantial and it 's growing.
142. 7:49Next, moving on to the most difficult category,
143. 7:52there 's everything that involves partners in the transition.
144. 7:56So these are companies that support
145. 7:58citizens or businesses in having a positive impact.
146. 8:01This could be CSR consultancy firms, for example,
147. 8:04it could be a job platform for
148. 8:06positive impact, Jobs that make sense, that 's where we fit in, we 're a partner in the transition. It also
149. 8:12includes everything related to training
150. 8:14and raising awareness: the Climate Fresk, 2 tonnes workshop, and so on.
151. 8:18all fall into this category.
152. 8:20And finally, and this is
153. 8:22the most difficult type
154. 8:23to identify, it 's companies in transition.
155. 8:26All companies have legal obligations or go beyond
156. 8:29legal obligations to move towards an ecological and socially responsible transition.
157. 8:34And here, you can work in roles that directly contribute, that actively support this ecological
158. 8:40transition within large companies.
159. 8:43Okay, thank you.
160. 8:44So, to go a bit further, to sum up, among these organisations,
161. 8:48which ones are recruiting the most and offering
162. 8:50with slightly more interesting career prospects?
163. 8:54So, in terms of sectors
164. 8:57that we know
165. 8:58are key to the ecological transition and therefore,
166. 9:01are already recruiting
167. 9:02or will be recruiting, there 's everything related to energy-efficient building renovation,
168. 9:06which does n't necessarily mean being on the building site; there are lots of project management roles
169. 9:11around that, and a lot of support for citizens as well.
170. 9:15There 's also everything to do with renewable energy. We mentioned it earlier, so you could work at Enercoop,
171. 9:21or with other players in the renewable energy sector. There 's also everything related to low-carbon
172. 9:27transport,
173. 9:27for example, there 's a lot of talk about batteries: How do we produce
174. 9:31batteries? How do we develop shared mobility solutions?
175. 9:36How do we work in the cycling sector as well?
176. 9:39And there 's another sector:
177. 9:41everything related to agriculture and food,
178. 9:43I mentioned the example of Too Good to Go the fight against food waste is one such example.
179. 9:48So these are really the sectors that are recruiting the most at the moment
180. 9:52or that will be recruiting the most in the coming years.
181. 9:54And then there 's everything to do with the business transformation sector.
182. 9:57As I mentioned earlier, all companies
183. 9:59will have to transform themselves, and within these companies,
184. 10:03the big change we 've seen in recent years,
185. 10:05is that before, it was focused on roles that were, once again, technical, like CSR or CSRD positions, and now
186. 10:11it 's all professions that are being transformed.
187. 10:14We can really see this evolution happening within companies.
188. 10:17Today, when you work in marketing in a company, you 'll be incorporating
189. 10:21an ecological and socially responsible dimension. The same goes if you 're in procurement,
190. 10:26you 'll be asked about how to make responsible purchases,
191. 10:29so pay attention to the value chain and so on.
192. 10:31It 's really all professions that are adapting.
193. 10:34Okay, very clear.
194. 10:35So you 've already partly answered my
195. 10:37next question, which is about how to adapt for more traditional companies, those slower to change, really,
196. 10:44how can you take an engaged stance within them?
197. 10:47And if you had, for example, any concrete cases or professions that come to mind to illustrate this change.
198. 10:54It 's quite tricky because not all companies
199. 10:57are on the same level, really, when it comes to their willingness to change.
200. 11:01There 's a definition of 'What is positive impact?' by Thierry Sibieude
201. 11:04that I quite like, which says it 's a desire to transform society.
202. 11:10And so here, there 's the voluntary aspect; there are companies that
203. 11:13are starting to reduce their negative impact,
204. 11:16but they 're doing it because they have no choice,
205. 11:18because they have legal obligations.
206. 11:19For me, that 's not really positive impact.
207. 11:22On the other hand, there are plenty of large companies that are playing along.
208. 11:25For example: the Bel Group, which produces Babybel, The Laughing Cow, and so on.
209. 11:30They 're not the first that come to mind when you think of positive impact,
210. 11:34but they really do have transformation plans, and they 're extremely transparent about it.
211. 11:38So a good way to identify a company
212. 11:41that 's greenwashing or a company that 's genuinely playing
213. 11:44by the rules is to look at their transparency.
214. 11:47What actions are they taking?
215. 11:48Are their actions really about changing their business model?
216. 11:51That 's what we 're talking about here.
217. 11:52It 's not about changing the coffee stirrers to fit the machine, it 's really about
218. 11:56how do I transform my business model.
219. 11:58So are the impacts really focused on that?
220. 12:01Are they audited by an external party?
221. 12:04And also,
222. 12:05does the company communicate about what it still has n't managed to do?
223. 12:09If I go back to the example of the Bel Group,
224. 12:11if you look at their impact report, it says, 'We 're not there yet',
225. 12:15and here 's what we 're going to do to reach that goal.'
226. 12:18And that desire for transparency really shows
227. 12:21that there 's a genuine commitment. So, for me, these are fundamental points
228. 12:26to consider when deciding which company to join.
229. 12:29And also, who is driving this within the company. Is it the CEO who talks about positive impact?
230. 12:35Or is it being led by a marketing director who also sometimes acts as the CSR director?
231. 12:41Even though I work in marketing, that 's a very bad sign.
232. 12:44Because it means it 's just CSR communication.
233. 12:48We see this in some groups.
234. 12:50So, there are all sorts
235. 12:52of pieces of evidence to help you decide:
236. 12:54Is this a company that is genuinely committed
237. 12:57or is it just greenwashing?
238. 12:58So, to answer, if the company is greenwashing
239. 13:02I say Red Flag, do n't go there, because you 'll wear yourself out
240. 13:05trying to make it change if there 's no real will to change,
241. 13:08you wo n't manage it on your own.
242. 13:10On the other hand, if it 's a company that 's sincere,
243. 13:13even if it 's still a long way from reaching its goals,
244. 13:17go for it wholeheartedly. And there are groups of committed employees
245. 13:21who are forming and will help the company to transform itself.
246. 13:24Great. And if we come back to students, without necessarily wanting to get involved, most of them tell us
247. 13:31about their need for meaning, for alignment with their values.
248. 13:35So then, during a job interview,
249. 13:37what questions could they ask to gauge all that?
250. 13:41The question of meaning, actually, is quite
251. 13:44personal. We put a lot of very different things behind the idea of meaning.
252. 13:48There can be positive impact,
253. 13:50so, 'What causes do I want to support?'
254. 13:52So before asking yourself what questions you 're going to ask in the interview, first of all
255. 13:56ask yourself what questions you should be asking yourself.
256. 13:58So, 'What are the causes that interest me the most,
257. 14:01that I would like to support in my company?'
258. 14:03When we talk about values, it 's also 'What are the values that are truly important to me?'
259. 14:07'Are they societal values?'
260. 14:09'Is it about gender equality?' There are loads of different values
261. 14:13that might be non-negotiable for you.
262. 14:15So, list them out, and do the same for the causes, as I mentioned.
263. 14:18Also, the tasks we enjoy doing
264. 14:20and those we do n't like at work, because meaning can also come from
265. 14:23not finding my tasks interesting,
266. 14:26well, if I do n't find them interesting, then I do n't find meaning in them.
267. 14:29So, also make a list of the tasks that interest us, the ones
268. 14:32that interest us less, and also the question of work/life balance.
269. 14:36"What is the right balance for me?" "What is the right work rhythm for me?" and so on.
270. 14:40I 've got a list, because there are six dimensions
271. 14:44to this question of meaning.
272. 14:46There 's also the question of recognition,
273. 14:48so the level of salary or
274. 14:50"What forms of recognition are important to me?"
275. 14:52And finally, the work environment, "Where is my workplace?"
276. 14:56If it 's very far from my home, maybe that 's going to be a problem.
277. 14:59And "What kind of social interactions can I have at work?"
278. 15:02So once you 've made this list for yourself,
279. 15:04it 's really a sort of framework
280. 15:06where you ask yourself questions and say, "This is what's important to me."
281. 15:09Here, you 'll be able to reflect these questions back during the interview.
282. 15:13So it could be,
283. 15:15if it 's the cause of biodiversity that interests you,
284. 15:18you can ask directly in the interview,
285. 15:20"How are you committed to biodiversity?"
286. 15:23"Do you have an action plan?"
287. 15:24"And concretely, what are you actually doing?"
288. 15:26If there 's a value that 's very important to you, such as gender equality.
289. 15:31You can directly ask, "What are you doing about it?"
290. 15:33"What is your gender equality index?" —that 's mandatory.
291. 15:36"So, what are you doing to improve this index?"
292. 15:39"How is this embodied in the company's day-to-day
293. 15:41life?" All companies
294. 15:43they also have a list of values. Sometimes it 's just nonsense.
295. 15:46So here, you can also ask about it, and it shows your interest—do n't be shy
296. 15:50about this and think, "No, asking these questions will ruin my chances."
297. 15:54and the way you ask them.
298. 15:56On the contrary, it actually shows your interest in the organisation.
299. 15:59Alright, great!
300. 16:01And for our students who dream of a career in finance, for example,
301. 16:04what are the committed opportunities that exist in these professions?
302. 16:08Well, you should go for Green-Got or Hélios
303. 16:11or Crédit Coopératif, which are committed banks,
304. 16:15that 's already the first, the first point.
305. 16:17So there 's a whole field of responsible finance
306. 16:21that exists. There are players in the sector,
307. 16:23so I 've just mentioned three of them.
308. 16:25There 's Lita, for example, for responsible investment.
309. 16:29You can also specialise in responsible finance, so you can ask yourself how to channel
310. 16:34investments towards the ecological and social transition
311. 16:37and not finance the oil industry, for example,
312. 16:41just to name one.
313. 16:42And you can also, within companies, work on CSRD,
314. 16:46double materiality,
315. 16:47all the challenges of transforming the financial world to address the issues
316. 16:51of the ecological transition. So actually, while we 're focusing on finance here,
317. 16:56But you can show me all your master 's degrees and I 'll find you.
318. 16:59the pendants in the impact. What I was saying earlier is that these are n't necessarily specialist jobs.
319. 17:05All professions have their share of potential positive impacts.
320. 17:09Great! Thanks Fabien.
321. 17:11To finish, I would like us to speak a little more frankly because our students are very sensitive to this.
322. 17:16If you had to give positive points and points to keep in mind
323. 17:20when considering joining committed companies,
324. 17:23what should you do? What should you pay attention to?
325. 17:25I 'll use myself as an example.
326. 17:27What it brought me in a positive way is all about alignment.
327. 17:31Feeling aligned,
328. 17:32we were talking about values earlier, feeling aligned with your values, it feels good.
329. 17:38Not having to ask yourself on Monday morning, "What on earth am I doing here?",
330. 17:42that 's pretty good.
331. 17:43There 's also the question of employability.
332. 17:45I mentioned it earlier, realising that it 's actually
333. 17:48a really positive thing to say to yourself, I 'm getting ahead for the future
334. 17:52and I know that if I move towards positive impact, well, tomorrow,
335. 17:56I 'll be, I 'll continue to be employable.
336. 17:59There 's also a sense of pride,
337. 18:00which goes hand in hand with alignment, being able to say, "this is what I'm contributing to",
338. 18:05"this is what my work is for," and thinking, `` I can really see myself in
339. 18:09what is the vision of the ideal society that my company stands for? ''
340. 18:14It 's not just some fluffy nonsense.
341. 18:16But there are risks as well,
342. 18:19the first risk I see, especially when it comes to career changes,
343. 18:22but there are students who are in that situation, is wanting to throw everything away because you do n't
344. 18:27feel good in your current job.
345. 18:29People say, actually, I need to retrain or I need to make a complete change.
346. 18:33There 's a wave of talk about changing direction,
347. 18:37it 's one possible path but it 's not the only one.
348. 18:40And you can also say to yourself, `` I like my job,
349. 18:43but how can I do it in a different kind of organisation? ''
350. 18:46So be careful not to throw everything away,
351. 18:48or to underestimate the issue of salary.
352. 18:51There are also
353. 18:52sometimes people who say, well, I want to have an impact
354. 18:54and so I sometimes hear, and it horrifies me,
355. 18:57people who say
356. 18:58`` Yes, but you 'll earn less, but you 'll have more impact,
357. 19:01you 'll find more meaning, so it balances out. ''
358. 19:03No, it does n't balance out at all,
359. 19:05we work for a salary so you need to be aware of that
360. 19:08and therefore ask yourself,
361. 19:09"What is the minimum salary I want to have?"
362. 19:12and based on that, you build your career plan, impact or no impact.
363. 19:16And finally, this is especially true in associations,
364. 19:20it 's something that 's being talked about a lot at the moment,
365. 19:22the tendency to overinvest sometimes because we 're having a positive impact,
366. 19:26because we feel super committed, super aligned,
367. 19:28because we believe in the values of what we 're doing at work, and so we tend
368. 19:32to overcommit, not count our hours, work at weekends, work in the evenings.
369. 19:38And you know, you 're not a superhero
370. 19:40or a super-heroine, so you risk burning out.
371. 19:43So you need to be careful before that happens.
372. 19:45Thank you, that 's very clear.
373. 19:47Thank you very much for all this information, which will be very useful to our students.
374. 19:51Thank you.
375. 19:51We wish them all wonderful, committed careers.
376. 19:54See you soon, Fabien. See you soon.