Recently, digitalisation, automation and the emergence of new professions have turned recruitment strategies on their head. Once excluded from traditional selection processes, unconventional profiles are becoming increasingly attractive: thanks to their rich and varied backgrounds, atypical profiles can become a key resource in meeting the new challenges the new challenges facing companies.
An atypical profile is characterised by a non-linear career or academic path, as in the case ofa retrained profile or a self-taught professional, for example. They may also be professionals with a neuro-atypicalprofile. These candidates stand out for the diversity of their experience and their ability to ability to bring different perspectives to bear on problems.
1. The hidden benefits of non-linear career paths
Faced with the recruitment difficulties encountered in recent times recruiters are being forced to turn to skills-based recruitment, one of the key CVtrends in 2024. Unlike more traditional profiles atypical profiles with non-linear career paths are more likely to have developed particularly interesting skills that meet today’s needs, including:
- versatility
- adaptability and flexibility
- a willingness to learn
Versatility is a competitive advantage in an economic context characterised by ever shorter innovation cycles and skills with shorter life cycles. shorter innovation cycles and skills with shorter life cycles .
These candidates, with their non-linear career paths, are used to moving between different sectors or functions and demonstrate the versatility and flexibility that are essential in most sectors today. They are then able to transpose the skills acquired fromone field to another.
Secondly, the varied experience of these profiles strengthens their professional resilience and their willingness to learn. Having often had to overcome obstacles in their careers, such as retraining, self-taught apprenticeships or periods of unemployment, they have developed an ability to bounce back more quickly from the difficulties of the professional world.
This resilience is now proving to be an invaluable asset in helping companies to cope with the rapid changes taking place in the market, while the willingness to undergo continuous training (for example in artificial intelligences ) guarantees that their skills and knowledge will be maintained over time.
2. The growing importance of soft skills
Soft skills are behavioural and interpersonal skills, are often the strong point of unconventional profiles, such as creativity initiative, problem-solving and emotional intelligence.
Despite the fact that a traditional CV may not highlight these these qualities as much as hard skills, soft skills are becoming increasingly valued by recruiters.
To identify these valuable qualities when recruiting, it is essential for recruiters to adapt their approach during the recruitment process by :
- broadening the selection criteria for Applicant Tracking Systems Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) by including morekeywords
- diversifying selection tools and recruitment tests to better identify the skills of atypical better identify the skills of atypical profiles to be analysed (games, skills-basedinterviews, role-plays or simulations, personality assessments , among others)
Finally, another factor to consider is the trial period, which can help to reveal the potential of potential of these candidates with atypical profiles.
If an individual with an original profile seems interesting interesting but lacks an essential skill, Pre-employment training courses are available to bring candidates up to date. These little-known schemes can be a valuable resource for fill gaps and hard-to-fill positions.
3. Motivation and commitment sometimes stronger than traditional profiles
In addition to these valuable behavioural skills atypical profiles also stand out for another major asset, their high level of motivation.
Aware of the difficulties involved in convincing recruiters of their suitability for a job, unconventional profiles are often more determined to prove themselves, unconventional profiles are often more determined to prove themselves. As a result, they are more likely to invest themselves fully in their tasks and inject new energy into the team and even the corporate culture.
What’s more, their unique backgrounds give them a different perspective on business issues. This new perspective could be the catalyst for major innovations. Numerous success stories testify to the contribution of atypical profiles to the development of creative solutions and the challenging of established practices. creative solutions and challenge established practices.
4. A less exploited talent pool
By opening up to atypical profiles recruiters have access to a wider and often overlooked talent pool. With competition easing off for the time being, recruiters can still find their ideal candidate.
By integrating profiles considered atypical, a company can enrich its teams through the diversity diversity brought about by their different ways of thinking. However, to attract these unique profiles, you need to rethink your recruitment processes. Recruiters must:
- focus on skills rather than qualifications and qualifications and experience limited to the target sector
- draw up clear and inclusive job advertisements in which these profiles are encouraged to apply, making clear that the diversity of backgrounds is valued
- apply on specialised platforms that target original profiles such as jaipasleprofil.fr, misterbilingue.fr for multilingual profiles with an international outlook , and autypik.fr for committed companies looking for autistic or neuro-atypical people.
Recruiters can also set up partnerships with professional retraining retraining associations , or tap into the network of Chambers of Trades and Crafts to publicise the needs of the companies the needs of the companies they are recruiting for. Finding qualified talent requires creativity and ingenuity.
5. Potentially lower training costs
Once these atypical profiles have been attracted and recruited companies can also benefit from an unexpected advantage in terms of training and integration. Thanks to their adaptability and speed of learning, they may require less investment in training than more traditional profiles, depending on the sector.
They are used to adapting to new environments or moving fromone sector to another, they are often more autonomous and more willing to acquire new skills, particularly through continuing training.
However, just like a recruit from a more traditional career path, very few of them prove to be immediately operational once hired, few of them prove to be immediately operational once hired. The quality of the support or mentoring systems in place to help an atypical to help an atypical profile find its feet.
Without this, the risk ofa recruitment failure can be costly, two to three times the initial cost of hiring, depending on the position.
Last but not least, the recruitment of atypical profiles represents a strategic opportunity for organisations seeking to stand out in a sometimes difficult economic environment. These candidates bring an invaluable wealth of transferable skills and a diversity of experience.
Integrating these profiles into teams can lead to an increase in innovation by innovation by challenging traditional approaches. They can also they can reinvigorate the corporate culture and actively contribute to the company’s agility and competitiveness in the marketplace.
Although finding and integrating these profiles can present certain challenges a well thought-out support process will help maximise their potential. It ‘s time for companies to dare to change by considering these unique unique talents as long-term assets worth investing in.
