in a counselor’s office

Clotilde is a France Travail advisor, in an agency in the 5th arrondissement of Marseille, “I take care of the placement of a reinforced portfolio“, “these are people who need fairly intensive support to find a job“. Per day, it receives between 8 and 13 job seekers.

“People are always tense when they come to France Travail: no one is happy to be unemployed”

His first meeting that day was with Mr. B. As soon as he arrived in the counselor’s office, the man expressed his annoyance, “I’m not happy at all, Pôle emploi didn’t do anything for me”, “I called, I came, it all came to nothing“Calmly, Clotilde discusses with the user, to understand what happened,”I am disabled, I have disc disease“, “I’m looking for work, Pôle emploi contacted me, but the gentleman who received me, if you knew the way he spoke to me“. During the conversation, Clotilde learns that the state of health of her interlocutor is rapidly deteriorating. In addition, he also tells her that the police have withdrawn his driving license. The counselor takes note of all this information and patiently presents the procedure to follow to Mr. B, “you need a PPPE, it is a personalized project for access to employment and RSA beneficiaries who are in the fifth arrondissement must have special monitoring“.

At the end of the meeting, she promises him an explanatory email. Mr. B leaves without a job, but reassured. After he leaves, she returns to the interview, “in fact, people need to be respected and truly listened to“, “that’s why he still left happy“, “and now he has a contact, if he has a problem, he will call me“.

“I like this lady, she comes to get an ear, more than help”

Clotilde immediately follows up with a second meeting, this time with a certain Madame C. It was Madame C who asked to organize the meeting. A former butcher, she left her job after the assassination of her son, “I had stopped working when they killed my son in Marseille“, “he had lent money to friends, they stole €2,000 from him and they put a bullet in his head“. Mrs. C recounts her job search, the rejected offers, the health problems, “I can no longer stay like I was before, on my feet all day, I have to work in the morning or in the afternoon“, “I was offered a job in a butcher’s shop, but it was me who didn’t accept, it was 5 hours declared and everything else, under the table, was out of the question“.

At the end of the interview, Mrs. C mentions a job offer with a former employer. Surprised, the advisor asks him the reason for his visit, “it was in relation to my last son, he is about to turn 17, is it possible to register him with France Travail too?“.

Clotilde describes her professional daily life, which is sometimes difficult, “it’s not It’s not always easy to respond to the anxiety or stress of the person you’re dealing with.“, “you have to stay in the position of the advisor and not try to be Superman or Wonder Woman“.