Profile
Catherine Liebault was hired in 1999 by fast, a recruitment consultancy specialising in the financial sector, as a recruitment consultant. Before being appointed director in 2004, she focussed on developing French-speaking clients. Catherine Liebault has academic qualifications in finance and accounting, and a diploma in Human Resources.
What is the right way to find for a job?
Before making any contact, first take a look at yourself and assess your skills. It’s a good idea to take stock of yourself, searching out your strengths and weaknesses. It’s equally important to be clear about what exactly you are looking for, and in which sector. Once this has been done, my advice is to carry out a detailed survey of the market in Luxembourg. Before sending in your application, find out about the person you are sending it to and also take time to call companies to make sure you send it to the right people. If an application reaches the wrong department, three times out of four, no one will look at it. One other point – under no circumstances send out mass mailings of your CV. You have to target your recipients, particularly in Luxembourg where the market is so small that CVs that have already done the rounds forty times are spotted very quickly. After all that, the candidate is ready to send his or her CV.
What advice would you give someone looking for a job at this time of year, just a month before the end of the summer holiday period?
First, I’d advise him or her to take another look at the situation. If a job seeker has not had a reply even though he or she has sent out forty applications, he or she must be ready to think again. And at this time of year, I advise applicants to be especially patient as very often, recruiters are on holiday and they will need to wait a few weeks before they even get a reply. Everything moves much more slowly in July and August. And I repeat, check out the state of the market.
What is the difference between a good CV and a poor CV?
A CV must be make sense. When you look at someone’s CV, what you’re interested in is seeing the candidate’s career development; it must have overall consistency. If someone changes their job, it must be because it offers better career prospects, allows the person to move up the ladder and is part of a consistent pattern. CV structure should not be overlooked either. Lots of candidates spend too little time on the presentation of their CV. If it is badly structured no one looks at it. I advise putting together a conventional CV – don’t try to be different. It’s usually best not to use too much colour. And it’s important to leave spaces and create distinct paragraphs. If there are two pages to the CV, as is usual in Luxembourg, don’t forget to highlight your skills on the first page. You must know how to make the most of yourself.
On the question of photos, I don’t necessarily recommend this in the financial sector. With photos, I think it depends on the sector you’re hoping to enter. If it’s a sales position, then why not, if it’s a good photo and the candidate looks good. But if you are applying for a back office job, there’s really no need for a photo.
Where are the job opportunities in Luxembourg at present?
Right now, investment funds.
What are the most sought after profiles just now?
Accountants, fund accountants
Are you looking for lots of new graduates?
We don’t recruit many young graduates. Companies don’t use recruitment consultancies to fill junior positions, so we recruit experienced people in the main. But if a young graduate applied for one of our advertised posts or wanted to work in the sector, he or she would need at least two languages and a diploma related to the finance sector.