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

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

I went through the same struggles as many recruiters: job postings that get no applications, candidates who don't respond, constant pressure to "hit the numbers."

It was while looking for solutions that I discovered inbound recruiting.

I started creating content, telling the stories of our professions, deploying it through our employees...

And then everything changed: more applications, better profiles, engaged managers, better conversion rates, fewer probation period terminations, and an employer image that finally felt alive.

These results literally changed my professional life.

So I wanted to share this with other companies.

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

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

A strong employer brand can't be decreed, it has to be lived.

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

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

Externally, it's about transparency: showing the reality of daily life, the successes as well as the challenges.

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

That's the real value of employee advocacy strategies.

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

An ambassador is above all someone who believes in what they experience.

It's not a spokesperson who gets briefed, it's an employee who is listened to, trained, and valued.

Companies that succeed in employee advocacy understand that you need to hand over control: provide 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, business leaders complain a lot about recruitment and retention difficulties. If you had to summarize the biggest HR challenge you see in the field, what would it be?

The biggest challenge is attention.

Candidates are solicited from all sides, and so are employees.

Attracting talent is no longer about "posting a job ad" — it's about knowing how to capture attention, earn it, and keep it.

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

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

The main pitfall is digitizing without rethinking the purpose.

Many companies add tools without revisiting their practices: they end up scaling bad habits instead of improving the experience.

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

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

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In 5 years, in your opinion, what human competency or soft skill will be absolutely essential for success 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, professions too.

But a curious person will never be left behind: they'll search, test, ask questions... and always keep progressing.

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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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