This document describes the situation of a 25-year-old French woman, M., who is looking for her first job after completing a business administration degree and internship. She is worried about finding a job within 6 months as her parents can only support her apartment in Paris until October. While she has relevant experience, she feels companies often seek more experience than someone junior could realistically have. The document outlines her thoughts, feelings and insights into her job search experience and challenges facing recent graduates in a difficult economic environment.

1. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Stakeholders
M. is French 25 years old girl. She studied business administration with
major in Human Resources in one the top 10 French Business School.
She is at one month to finish her final grade internship as a junior
recruiter for a global media company and is now looking intensively for
her first job. She is postulating for Talent Management Analyst positions.

2. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Say
1. “I´m looking for a permanent full time job in relation with my academic formation which offers responsibilities and good perspective of
evolution as well as good a rewards package (salary, holidays)”
2. “I´m young and I don´t pay to much attention to work-life balance for the moment but I will not accept a job where junior are led to accept
to much.”
3. “Job offer for General Talent Management Analyst says: “junior with 2 yeas of experience”… During studies I have spent more than 18
month as an intern on similar positions but I remain to junior for the job I´m looking for”
4. “So, I´m also looking for a job as Recruiter Analyst, which I hope will help me to get quickly the job I´m really looking for”
5. “My objective is to find it in less than 6 month after the end of my internship… hopefully in 2 or 3 month in order to be able to keep my
apartment in Paris (Her parents do not live in Paris and will help her with apartment rent until end of October)”
6. “The easiest solution would be to accept another internship… but the problem is that I have only 4 month of Internship Agreement left.
Anyway I think I deserve to be paid as an analyst and not as a intern anymore”
7. “I could also apply for another master degree. But they are expensive and I have already a first loan to refund”
8. “All my friends are in a similar situation. Economic downturn makes things harder. Only the ones who have taken Audit or Finance as major
already found something”
9. “We have not get our first job and we are already labeled according to internship we have done… to get your first job in the financial sector
you should have had an internship in the sector”
10. “People try to find their first job mainly in Paris”
11. “Some are moving aboard but without any concrete job offer as if they don´t know what they want to do”
12. “Very few companies provide feedbacks and just send an automatic answer. Recruiting firm are more reactive and provide more
personalized answers”
13. “Nevertheless, I get the chance to have a couple of interviews and I feel better prepared for the next ones”

3. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Do
1. Has an updated resume highlighting recent achievements
2. Resume includes feedbacks and recommendations from friends or co-worker
3. Resume is available in French, Spanish and English
4. Different versions of the resume according to sectors or companies
5. Resume goes along with recommendations and cover letter
6. Application is done through webpages as Linkedin or Monster (Not directly through companies' WebPages because of long application
process)
7. These WebPages are visited daily
8. Application is also done through recruitment firms ´WebPages
9. Resume has been sent to all former co-workers in order to use their network
10. Co-worker from the current company have also a copy to the resume to share it with friends and network
11. Application are mainly done in Paris and in very few sectors of the economy
12. The number of applications per week is low due to holidays and volume of activity during july/august

4. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Think
1. Best way to find a job will be to be hired in the company were she is doing her internship but recruitment has been frozen for support
functions
2. She considers she has a competitive resume/experience due to internships she did but also international experience and her knowledge of
three languages
3. She entered a business school because of her good academic results and thinking about opportunities this kind of school offers not
because of a concrete professional project
4. Happy to have found her way in talent management
5. Her Business School is a good one and provides her with a generalist formation and a good understanding of a broad range of functions
within companies but perhaps this is not good enough to compete during downturn
6. She considers she lacks some technical and analytical skills to be hired as a HR generalist
7. She could have manage better her free time during business school to follow other class (social law) at the university in order to have a
more competitive and attractive profile
8. Disappointed by her Business School that does not perform any follow-up during internship
9. She knows she would have probably to review her expectation downwards in a couple of months if she does not find anything
10. She is making more efforts and looking more actively than other classmates to find a job, especially the ones with no financial issues or
living with their parents in Paris

5. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Feel
1. Worried about economic downturn
2. Lees pressure because her practice has been extended and turned into 1 month contract with a real salary and not internship
compensations
3. She can not making any project at short or medium term as everything is linked to job search
4. She feels supported by her parents even if they have limited resources in comparison to other classmates
5. Money is a real concern as the cost of living in Paris is high
6. Worried about living Paris where she has her friends
7. Convinced to have found her way in talent management
8. Upset by companies that are not always coherent requesting junior with more experience than a junior could have
9. Upset by companies that send automatic answer and do not sent al least a negative answer
10. There is some kind of competitions between classmates to be between the first who will find a job

6. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Insights
1. If acquiring education in a top ranked university allows improving employment prospects it is not an automatic guarantee to find a job
quickly
2. Network and social dimensions remain key enablers
3. Studies are not chosen thinking about future professional career
4. Companies are looking for highly competitive profiles that a junior is not always able to provide (mix of experience-analytical/general skills)
5. Studies and a few internships already labeled students and don´t give them opportunities to get into an other way
6. Studies offered a wide range of skills and experiences that can be missed by employer that are looking for very precise profiles
7. Candidates have more to offer than their resumes/interviews let show

7. Design Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and DefineDesign Thinking Action Lab- Empathize and Define
Problem Statement
1. Students need a way to show how they can differentiate themselves and add value in a wide range of jobs/organizations not directly linked
to their short experience because they have much more to share than what their resume/interview may show