VIDEO. Emmanuel succeeds in his job interview to work as a waiter at the “Joyeux, served with the heart” café

Carrier of trisomy 21, Emmanuel goes that day to a job interview. He takes the RER with his mother to get a job as a waiter at the café Happy, served with the heart : a new Parisian establishment which has taken up the challenge of hiring almost exclusively employees with intellectual disabilities. For him, this job is not just a livelihood. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, to finally be almost like the others.

Along the way, his mother makes him rehearse the fundamentals of any job interview… “What’s important when you’re a waiter at Café Joyeux?” she asks him. “You have to be happy, smiling, in good shape, have a proper outfit, listen well and be properly focused on your work”, replies seriously Emmanuel, who has put on a nice shirt for this decisive day.

“I am a good worker”

Arriving at the company’s headquarters, Emmanuel and his mother are greeted by Yann Bucaille, the boss of Joyful. He made his fortune in the energy sector and has devoted himself to his new chain of restaurants for the past year. The head of the company takes the young applicant to an office where four other people are waiting for him. “Thank you for coming, one of them told him. We are very happy, we were waiting for you. So, Emmanuel, tell us about yourself. Tell us who you are.”

“I am a good worker, he said confidently, strapped into his strict suit. When you do a job, you do the maximum possible of what you can do. It’s feeling that you are capable of achieving great things and a new experience.” Thirty candidates aged 19 to 45 presented themselves. Fifteen were selected for service and cooking. The selection committee was charmed by Emmanuel. After the interview, he was hired!