[Spotlight] Interview with Charlène Hemery, Founder of Talent Catcher

You went from internal HR to entrepreneur in HR marketing. What made you want to create Talent Catcher and specialize in inbound recruiting?

I experienced the same struggles as many recruiters: job offers that don't receive applications, candidates who don't respond, constant pressure to "hit volume numbers".

It's by looking for solutions that I discovered inbound recruiting.

I started creating content, telling our stories about jobs, rolling it out to our employees…

And everything changed: more applications, better profiles, engaged managers, better conversion, fewer trial period breakups and finally a vibrant employer image.

These results literally changed my professional life.

So I wanted to share that with other companies.

That's how Talent Catcher was born: to share a method that naturally attracts good candidates — without spending your days chasing bad ones.

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You often talk about the importance of employer brand. How can a company build a strong and credible employer image, both internally with its employees and externally with candidates?

A strong employer brand isn't decreed, it's lived.

Internally, it all starts with consistency: what the company promises externally must be felt internally.

Concretely, this comes through embodied values, managers trained in communication, and genuine listening to employees.

Externally, it's a matter of transparency: showing the reality of daily life, successes and challenges alike.

The companies that attract the most are those that own who they are, without overplaying it.

That's the whole point of employee advocacy strategies.

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You highlight employee advocacy. In your view, what makes an employee become a true ambassador for their company? And how can companies encourage that without it being "forced"?

An ambassador is above all someone who believes in what they're experiencing.

It's not a spokesperson you brief, it's an employee you listen to, train and value.

Companies that succeed in employee advocacy have understood that you need to let go: offer a framework, tools, trust… but let people speak in their own words.

When it's sincere, it shows, and that's precisely what creates virality.

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Today, leaders often complain about recruitment and retention difficulties. If you had to sum up the biggest HR challenge you see in the field, what would it be?

The biggest challenge is attention.

Candidates are being solicited from all directions, as are employees.

Attracting is no longer "posting a job offer", it's knowing how to capture attention, deserve it and keep it.

And for that, you have to learn to communicate differently: with authenticity, pedagogy and consistency.

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At Wobee, we believe that technology can help better engage teams. On your end, what are the most common pitfalls you see when a company wants to digitalize its HR communication or recruitment processes?

The main pitfall is digitizing without rethinking the purpose.

Many companies add tools without reviewing their practices: they end up scaling the bad habit, instead of improving the experience.

Technology should serve the relationship, not the other way around.

A good HR tool is one that simplifies life for recruiters and strengthens the human connection — not one that replaces it.

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In 5 years, in your view, what human skill or soft skill will be absolutely essential to succeed in business, whether for a candidate or a manager?

Curiosity (but I think it already is!).

It's the skill that allows you to learn, adapt, collaborate and innovate.

Tools change, jobs change too.

But someone who is curious will never be left behind: they will search, test, ask questions… and always progress.

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Finally, if you had to give one concrete piece of advice to a business leader or HR team to attract and retain the right people, what would it be?

Start by telling your story.

The companies that inspire are not those that communicate the most, but those that communicate with meaning.

Show what you do, why you do it, and above all who does it.

Beyond the Why (the mission, your purpose), candidates especially buy into the Who: the people behind the brand, the ones they'll work alongside every day.

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