Fickle candidates in France and Germany: How to secure their applications

In especially competitive job markets like Germany and France, it's no longer enough to keep candidates interested until you have them sitting in your fit interview. Candidates are often volatile and can be lost to competitors at any step of the process, even into the trial period. Once hired, employees also stay with the same employer for shorter periods than they did 10 years ago. Understanding the expectations and motivations of local candidates is crucial to developing effective strategies to outbalance this trend. We explore these strategies to help international companies successfully recruit in Europe.

The labor market in Germany has been characterized by a low unemployment rate for several years. According to the latest statistics, it has risen to 6 % in 2024. This 0.3 % increase does not detract from the fierce competition between companies to attract the best talent.

Unemployment in France is slightly higher with 7.3 % in 2024, although certain populations do have a harder time finding a job than others. Young professionals (excluding students) are often struggling to find their first opportunity to gain experience. With 17.2 % of unemployment for professionals under 25, France is over 3 % above the European average. Getting the experienced candidates can be a challenge nonetheless, especially in niche or international situations with specific skill sets.

With such a tight labor market, qualified candidates often have several job offers to choose from, increasing their bargaining power and volatility. As a result, you can walk a candidate through several stages of the recruitment process, only for them to finally withdraw and accept another offer. It is essential to avoid this costly waste of time as much as possible.

Candidate volatility also manifests itself in a tendency to change jobs more frequently, motivated by more attractive offers or more favorable working environments.

According to a Destatis study of employees aged 25 and over, employer change rates in Germany between 2013 and 2023 have evolved as follows:

• Leaving after less than one year of employment: from 11.1 % to 12.8 %.

• Leaving after less than three years of employment: from 10.4 % to 13.7 %.

• Departure after less than 10 years of employment: from 17.9 % to 20 %.

• Departure after more than 10 years of employment: from 47 % to 41.7 %.

We can therefore observe a shortening of periods spent with the same company at all levels. The average length of contracts depends on the sector, but recruiters also observe a predominance of short employment periods in their candidate pools.

The definition of "job hopper" probably needs to evolve. For one, in a fast and disruptive economy, experience in several different work environments can bring your candidates exactly the adaptability and out of the box thinking you need.

Staying with an employer for two years is no longer surprising. As a result, candidates are developing the habit of interviewing and negotiating, and don't hesitate to start the recruitment process with several companies at once.

It may seem obvious, but optimizing the recruitment process in terms of candidate experience and speed will be essential to retain your candidates.

You don't want to waste time - and neither do your candidates. From the outset, get on the same page when it comes to the concrete, material factors of the job. If you do proceed, communicate transparently what further steps candidates should expect. Candidates who have a choice between equal offers will favor the simplest and smoothest recruiting process.

This is especially true in Germany, where candidates will try to provide you with all the information you need in the various documents that make up the traditional German application. The French may sometimes feel more adventurous and apply for a job they’re probably unfit for, motivated to learn on the job and make up for missing skills with quick adaptability. In both cases, the recruiting side is better off laying the cards on the table.

Less is more: does the written summary of the last interview or the assessment you require really provide the answers you're looking for? If your aim is simply to introduce the candidate to the various members of staff, there's no need for a formal one-to-one interview. A trial and presentation day, for example, will be far more revealing in both directions.

In other words, don't do in five steps what you can do in two. A recruitment specialist knows how to evaluate and compare candidates on objective criteria in a single structured interview.

Using the right digital tools is also an important asset for these efforts in optimization. Having a dedicated platform for managing applications (ATS) or outsourcing to a company that has their own will help you to ensure a high quality candidate experience.

Here are the three criteria most sought-after by candidates, according to the latest studies and Eurojob Consulting's own systematic surveys:

• Flexible working conditions have become a key element in attracting talent to Germany. Jobs that do not offer at least 2 days a week working from home are clearly less attractive and often turned down.

• Attractive salary package: work out a package tailored to the market, the region and the candidate's qualifications, then make the candidate an explicit offer as soon as possible. Even if your budget is competitive, a candidate will prefer a real offer to a vague prospect. He or she won't wait forever to compare offers if your competitor has already put theirs on the table.

• Candidates are looking for professional development opportunities. If the development of a position is clearly defined and depends on objective criteria that seem achievable, this perspective will influence the motivation and choice of candidates. At the very least, this means offering a permanent contract (unbefristeter Vertrag / CDD), as employees on fixed-term contracts are much more likely to leave their company quickly. The best thing is to offer relatively quick and interesting career development to avoid candidates changing jobs when they'd really rather be promoted.

Demonstrating a healthy, positive corporate culture is becoming an increasingly essential factor. In France and Germany, candidates really want to feel that they will be respected and valued, and that they will be able to develop both professionally and socially.

First and foremost, eliminate common mistakes, make sure that all minimum requirements of a healthy corporate culture are met. Displaced, discriminatory or irrelevant questions during interviews must be eliminated. The same is true of arguments based on gut feeling, despite proof of the required skills. These mistakes will drive away candidates. The first step in this direction is to raise awareness among all those involved in the recruitment process, across all levels, through appropriate training.

"In France and Germany, candidates really want to feel that they will be respected and valued, and that they will be able to develop both professionally and socially."

Lea Orellana-Negrin
Recruiter
Eurojob-Consulting

Once your team has that down, you can think about the little things that make work, and especially team work, more enjoyable for everyone. This will also have a positive impact on employee retention in the long term, of course.

Having a corporate culture is more than throwing a pizza party every now and then. Across social media, candidates are actively portraying companies who still rely on such means as outdated. Your company can likely already be recognized by its clearly defined mission and its values. Analyze what sets you apart, not only in the marketplace, but in the way you work together within the team. HR professionals know which questions to ask to quickly sketch this outline and use the right elements to draw in candidates with specific cultural backgrounds, like in France and Germany.

Nikolai Rabald