Where France Wants to Work Now

A company that has never lost its human touch and remains faithful to the values of craftsmanship. That's how this prestigious brand, with its emblem of the horse-drawn carriage, describes itself. In 2015, Hermès trained 77 craftsmen and women, aged between 19 and 60, in the art of leather making. Hermès is also a fast-growing company that has doubled its workforce in 10 years, in particular outside of France. As Jérôme Frémont explains: "Our drive is twofold; craftsmanship and sales. These are the two areas in which our recruitment needs are highest."  There are opportunities for both engineers and e-commerce types; innovation is in the company's DNA, as shown by the launch of the Hermès Apple Watch.

Ah, the tweed jackets, No. 5 and the stars! At just 16 years of age, Lily-Rose Depp, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, is the new face of the ultra-famous Chanel No. 5 fragrance, a judicious choice for the brand with the intertwined Cs. A walk up the red carpet stairs of Cannes was enough to make her the most talked-about star of the moment. But let's not forget the artistic director, the celebrated Karl Lagerfeld, who has been at the helm since … 1983! On a more discreet level, the grandsons of Coco Chanel's partner manage the "small" family business, with its 4,000 employees in France and €6.7 billion turnover (in 2014). That's enough to offer employees a generous and highly appreciated share in the profits.

Less carbon, increased sustainability and more innovation: this is the world imagined by Engie, formerly GDF Suez. For a successful energy transition, the group has formed Creativ’Labs, enabling creative talents to explore resources and design sustainable homes for the future. The challenge is already being met, since Engie is already the leading producer of non-nuclear energy in the world. This major French group, boosted by its 150,000 employees, has another less-expected unique feature: it is the only listed company to be directed by a woman, namely Isabelle Kocher (pictured above), who was appointed CEO In May 2016. Reflecting its efforts to ensure parity, the board of directors also boasts 63 percent women.

With its 32 brands in 130 countries, including L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme, Yves Saint-Laurent Beauty and Vichy, L’Oréal is the uncontested leader of the cosmetics industry. Its philosophy is to offer beauty to men and women worldwide. To this end, the group has over 82,000 employees and recruits 15,000 new staff per year, including 4,000 at managerial level, with a certain taste for innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. For example, the MakeupGenius app, created in its San Francisco laboratory, enables consumers to virtually test and then order L'Oréal Paris products. Easy! The app has been downloaded 15 million times.

The world's leading jewelry brand. The No. 2 watchmaker.  Founded in 1847, the brand is now the flagship of Richemont, No. 3 in the luxury market behind LVMH and Kering. Unlike its competitors, there are no perfumes or fashion accessories, but rather a solid tradition of watchmaking. In May 2016, despite a slump in the watch sector, the group inaugurated a campus in Switzerland to train 1,000 employees in the art of watchmaking. On Richemont's website, the HR director Thomas Lindemann promises that staff will “find fulfillment in their work in order to strive for excellence, arousing genuine passion and sincere pleasure.” 

From the top of the Carpe Diem tower in the La Défense business district of Paris, Thales CEO Patrice Caine can afford to smile. After six years of stagnation, the profits of the aeronautics and defense group are finally taking off again, thanks to orders worth 19 billion euros in 2015, most notably for London Underground signaling and for Australia's Hawkei vehicles. The result: 6,000 new recruits worldwide in 2016, of which between 2,000 and 2,500 will be permanent contracts based in France. To attract applicants, the group has designed an app enabling candidates to geo-locate vacancies close to home. Another innovation: virtual reality. Wearing an Oculus headset, candidates can learn about the world of Thales in just two minutes.

Danone has a 97-year history, but its workforce barely qualifies as middle age: 88 percent of its nearly 100,000 employees worldwide are under the age of 50, the company reported in a recent filing. The company is in the midst of a turnaround led by newish CEO Emmanuel Faber, 52, a rock climber who also draws praise from Nobel laureates like Muhammad Yunus for his social activity in the corporate world. He’s executing a plan to help Danone achieve “strong, profitable and sustainable growth” by 2020. One way it stays competitive: constant learning. Some 86 percent of employees received training last year, a four-point spike from the prior year, Danone reported.

The world's leading insurance company is undergoing a complete digital revolution. And it shows! Mooc, Cooc, reverse mentoring, serious games, hackathon… such is the array on offer to enable its 150,000 employees to meet the challenge of the switch to digital. A new corporate culture is also being introduced, featuring coworking, an LGBT Charter and a Cancer@Work program. Another innovative project is #ExperienceFactory, enabling employees to immerse themselves in a start-up. Together, these initiatives have helped the company reach pole position in the eCAC40 ranking of Les Echos newspaper and a place in the Top 50 of digital companies, as ranked by consultants BCG, but, first and foremost, they have made it the most popular employer in the insurance industry.

Another colossus of the banking sector. With 189,000 employees worldwide, BNP Paribas is the second largest French bank. It is also renowned for having been the official partner of the French Open tennis tournament… for 43 years! And this is what applicants are looking for, namely a big family in which they can pursue their careers, maybe for life, but also innovate. Because this touch of authenticity does not prevent it from investing in new technologies, in particular in FinTech and Blockchain. It now has incubators for start-ups based in both Paris and Massy, with the aim of hunting down the promising new companies of the future.

A start-up atmosphere guaranteed. Cheerful and friendly offices, a games room and an average age of 32! Criteo ("I predict" in ancient Greek) is the most American of French start-ups. At the end of 2013, this flagship of the French Internet was listed on the Nasdaq, the New York technology stock market. To rival Google and Facebook in the race for talent, the online advertising specialist has pulled out all the stops, with a hackathon, a PowerUp platform to turn ideas into projects and a home Airbnb. Criteo also promises international careers. The lucky few selected for the “Go Beijing” program, for example, head to China for 1 to 4 months. And it works! Barely 11 years after it was founded, Criteo boasts a turnover of over €1 billion, has a staff of 2,000 and is still growing…

CEO Jacques-Antoine Granjon – “JAG” to close friends, as revealed by the magazine Capital – practically invented the business of the online sale of overstocked goods. Vente-privee.com is also one of the start-ups with the best working conditions, with its famous ultra-modern premises, filled with artwork, located in Saint-Denis. It's also one of the most successful French Internet companies. The website posted a turnover of €2.5 billion in 2015 and boasts 3,000 employees and 60 million members. The focus is now on international expansion. Having run into trouble in the USA, the company is now buying out a number of European businesses, including vente-exclusive.com in Benelux, e-boutic.ch in Switzerland, Privalia in Spain, in Mexico, Brazil and in Italy. So there are bound to be plenty of new opportunities in the future.

In-no-va-tion! Such is the watchword of the software publisher Dassault Systèmes. The latest of these innovations comes with the launch of its 3DEXPERIENCE platform that lets you design, create and build 3-D products. This technology was brought to life in the group’s 56 research and development laboratories. It is not surprising then that web developers, software architects and project managers are currently among the most sought-after profiles. And the group that employs 14,000 staff worldwide is not skimping on perks to attract talent, with extra days of paid leave, performance incentives, a profit-sharing scheme and even one of the most generous employee representative schemes in France.

Well-known to all engineers and future engineers, Alten is the European leader in engineering and technical consultancy. The company has around 18,000 engineers working in 20 countries in a range of fields (aeronautics, defense, automobile, energy, finance, telecommunications and multimedia). Alten is planning to recruit 3,000 employees this year, of which 2,500 will be engineers and 45% new graduates. These are highly sought-after talents, obliging Alten to pay special attention to its human resources management policy, which now features induction sessions, international career development and a corporate university named Amplify. The name says it all!

Deloitte is so in-demand as an employer that the company receives 1.9 million applications annually. One simple — but important — reason so many employees want to join? “Our people are challenged by interesting work,” it told LinkedIn. The 225,000-employee firm is known for its accounting, consulting and tax services. But its scope, coupled with its use of emerging technologies like data analytics and AI, has attracted many employees with STEM backgrounds. Deloitte invests heavily in its employees, offering various training as well as education reimbursement. It also encourages employees to give back: In the 2015 fiscal year, employees spent 340,000 hours on pro-bono assignments and more than 820,000 hours volunteering.

The “SG,” as it's fondly known to its customers, is one of France's leading banks. In spite of recent turbulent headlines, this 150-year-old financial institution is one of France's favorite CAC40 companies. A glance at the figures explains why: 148,000 employees worldwide, 15,000 permanent employment contracts offered last year (6,000 in France), 1,500 trainees and around 30 million customers. Currently undergoing a complete digital transformation, Société Générale is planning to invest €1.5 billion in digital technology by 2020. This also involves significant changes to working methods, including homeworking, but also more original experiments, such as putting an end to personal offices. In short, it's a small revolution in the traditional business of banking!

Safran is recruiting: Boosted by the success of its engines, the equipment supplier has announced 6,000 new jobs for 2016, following 7,700 in 2015, of which 2,500 were based in France. The recently released LEAP propulsion engine is already a bestseller ($140 billion of orders placed), promising to revolutionize airplane engines over the forthcoming years. Technological performance is at the forefront, with production of parts with composite materials woven in 3-D. Safran is encouraging more women to join its workforce as part of the “Elles bougent” association; its 70,000 employees also welcome 3,000 trainees and 3,000 students each year to encourage vocations.

This French video game publisher is behind Rayman, Just Dance and the Raving Rabbids. Yet the best-known game is surely Assassin's Creed, which is even set for film adaptation at the end of 2016. Ubisoft boasts solid economic health, with record profits last year of €129 million (up 14% in one year). The Division is the group's new cash machine, with 9.5 million online players. Ubisoft's 10,000 employees take great pleasure in the work atmosphere, which is characterized by fun, of course.

Branches scattered throughout France, even in the most remote areas to be close to its customers: This is what characterizes Crédit Agricole. With 10,000 employees, 31,500 administrators and 50 million customers (of which 8.2 million are shareholders), this is the largest mutual bank in Europe. Just because it is a local bank does not stop it from progressing down the digital road, as evidenced by the “Hack The Office” tools: 48 hours to create the Smart Assistant of the future. A sort of Jarvis, Iron Man's personal assistant, to automate tasks and plan for future collaborative tools. This is set to revolutionize the working methods of one of the sector's leading recruiters.

Why is it called Galeries Lafayette? Well, because it all started in the Rue Lafayette in Paris, where two shopkeepers from Alsace opened a shop selling the latest fashion over 120 years ago. In 1912, the store opened in Boulevard Haussmann, next to the equally renowned Printemps store. The group now boasts 15,000 employees and stores such as BHV Marais, Louis Pion, Royal Quartz and Didier Guérin. With its website and 280 sales points, over 1 million visitors are welcomed each day. Its flagship values include: “a passion for customers, daring to innovate and striving for excellence.” So as not to miss out on the e-commerce turning point, Galeries Lafayette has just inaugurated an incubator for start-ups dedicated to trade and fashion. 

With 23 subsidiaries and 10,000 employees in 130 different countries, it is hard to believe that the European leader in beauty care emerged from a small Paris beauty parlor founded in 1954 by Jacques Courtin-Clarins. At that time, scars from burns and breast cancer were treated by means of a massage technique using compressed air. Yet in addition, this was where the Aminsvite slimming cream was invented, which led to the brand's renown. Its research teams were also the first to prove the effects of pollution on skin. The group has since diversified and now also markets the brands My Blend, Thierry Mugler and Azzaro Parfums. They're now all set to attract male customers… a clever move!

The Temple of Paris shopping, the Maison Printemps was founded in 1865 and still has its flagship boutique in a masterpiece of decorative art in the Boulevard Haussmann in Paris. This was where the very first end-of-season sales were launched. These days, elegant sales assistants, dressed entirely in black, are ready to serve you in corners dedicated to luxury brands from all over the world. And it works! Each year, Printemps welcomes 50 million visitors in its 16 stores in France, with sales totaling €1.3 billion. This savoir-faire attracts around 2,000 applicants per year on its employment portal.

The famous G.O. (Gentils Organisateurs) have forged its reputation! Granted iconic status by the French film Les Bronzés, the "Nice Organizers," together with the "Nice Employees" (Gentils Employés), now total over 20,000 worldwide on hand to entertain holidaymakers. Club Med invented holiday villages in the 1950s and there are now over 70 worldwide, although the group also rents out villas and luxury chalets. It has offices in Paris, Lyon, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Shanghai. In fact, since 2015, Club Med has no longer been flying the French flag, as it was taken over by the Chinese conglomerate, Fosun.

The company is headed by the youngest CEO in the CAC40, 44-year-old Alexandre Ricard, the grandson of the founder. It is also No. 2 worldwide in the wines and spirits industry. So what is the recipe for success for this family business? A unique cocktail with five ingredients: a portfolio of world renowned brands, including Absolute vodka; an entrepreneurial spirit; a cult of convivialité; worldwide ambition; and, for the perfect mix, the key ingredient: 18,000 employees, who are encouraged to be daring, creative, passionate and committed. For example, younger employees can join the “Youth Action Council,” a think-tank of professionals under 30s to make suggestions to top management.

Each year, the theme park – which is Europe's leading tourist destination – recruits around 8,000 employees ( 20% with permanent contracts) in 500 positions that are far more varied than you would think. They are engineers, technicians, landscape gardeners, marketing managers, security guards and waiters, to name but a few. These "cast members," as they are known in the "Magic Kingdom," work on the stage, behind the scenes, in the gardens, hotels, restaurants or at the cash desk. All recruitments are border-free, especially "as visitors come from all over the world!" In total, over 20 languages are spoken and employees come from over 100 nationalities.