They remain few in number, but the proportion of job advertisements which use the “you” has almost doubled in three years, according to a study carried out by the job search engine ‘Indeed’. A practice that does not please everyone.
They represent only 3.2% of the advertisements published on the job site Indeed, but their number is increasing very quickly: over 91% in three years, almost doubling. But in some sectors, these announcements, which are close to the candidate, are very present. They represent more than 10% of job advertisements in marketing, also 10% in media and communication, nearly 9% in IT development. Next come retail trade, sports activities, trade, and even human resources.
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Alexandre Jude, economist at Indeed, tells us that indeed, job ads that use the “you” generate more clicks than those that don’t. It is mainly companies known to the general public, which have a fairly strong image, who use them. They feel authorized to do so, summarizes Alexandre Jude. And they do it rather for positions that are not too high in their internal hierarchy.
Formal formalities in decline
However, the familiarity of the candidates has perverse effects. Still according to the economist from Indeed, the use of familiarity in advertisements dissuades seniors from applying. Similarly, and this is counter-intuitive, they displease the youngest, those under 24, who do not appreciate this practice. Companies that use the “you” would be practicing a form of anti-senior discrimination that would not say its name. Alexandre Jude rather advises companies, if they want to diversify their recruitment, to communicate on their social and environmental values, on their responsibility. By using the “you”, according to him, they deprive themselves of certain profiles that could be valuable to them.
According to the review sociology of work, two-thirds of French people are familiar with their immediate superior. A phenomenon even more present in the private sector than in the administrations. Executives are more familiar with their boss, while employees, who prefer to stick to “you”. Men are also more likely than women to use “you” in reporting relationships.