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Volta Executive

Executive talk · grande école

Understand the market, hunt down your opportunities

The Arts et Métiers Paris Engineers Career Programme, in three sessions: recruitment market intelligence, positioning, direct search. What a headhunter sees of the market every day, put in the hands of engineers.

The case in 30 seconds

  • 3

    sessions, from the market to direct search

  • 76%

    of companies hire their managers through their network (Apec 2025)

  • 41%

    of managers hired were already known or recommended (Apec 2025)

01 · The case in 30 seconds

The assignment brief

A grande école,three sessions

The talk as it was built, session by session.

Assignment briefArts et Métiers Paris × Volta Executive
Schools
Arts et Métiers Paris
Programme
Engineers Career Programme
Format
Three sessions : market intelligence, positioning, direct search
Speaker
Florian Beurtey, founder of Volta Executive
Common thread
Understand the market · know yourself · hunt down your opportunities
Themes
Hidden market, scarce profiles, market data, 2026 manager package

The programme, session by session

  1. Session 1Recruitment market intelligenceManagerial hiring dynamics and sectors under pressure
  2. Session 2Positioning and differentiationYour positioning as a manager or expert, your value levers
  3. Session 3Direct search strategyTap the hidden market, position yourself as a scarce profile

Three sessions in sequence: understand the market, know yourself, hunt down your opportunities.

02 · The challenge

The finding

Managerial hiringis decided outside job adverts

What engineers often find out too late: a manager is hired first through their network. The Apec figures show it.

  1. Network first

    76% of companies use their network to hire a manager, and 41% of managers hired were already known or recommended (Apec 2025).

  2. Managers courted from every side

    The best managers are following several recruitment processes in parallel. Standing out takes a clear positioning.

  3. Create your place

    Engineers are no longer looking for a job: they are learning to create their place, by tapping the hidden market and unpublished roles.

Mechanical engineering workshop
Engineering and workshop · illustrative photo

03 · The assignment

The three sessions

A structurein three sessions

Market intelligence, positioning, direct search: three sessions in sequence, from the market seen from above to the personal approach.

  1. Recruitment market intelligence

    Session 1 · understand the market

    Completed

    The scope

    • Decode the dynamics of managerial hiring
    • Identify the sectors under pressure in 2026
    • Growth sectors and scarce profiles
    • How packages in industry and energy evolve, from 2025 to 2030

  2. Positioning and differentiation

    Session 2 · know yourself

    Completed

    The scope

    • Define your positioning as a manager or expert
    • Identify your added-value levers
    • Your levers for differentiation and negotiation

  3. Direct search strategy

    Session 3 · hunt down your opportunities

    Completed

    The scope

    • Tap the hidden market and reach unpublished roles
    • Position yourself as a scarce profile, not as a candidate
    • The network of referrers and executive LinkedIn

04 · The result

What engineers take away

Stop looking for a job,create your place

The message of these three sessions, as it was delivered: students no longer look for a job, they learn to create their place.

The hidden market

Unpublished roles, network of referrers, direct search: where managerial hiring is decided.

Data, not opinions

Each session draws on market figures, Apec 2025 foremost.

The 2026 manager package

Understand what a scarce profile is worth and which levers a package is negotiated on.

05 · The method

The Volta Executive method

What we teach,we practise on every assignment

A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard, the mapping of the search ecosystem, a shortlist within 10 days, a hire within 3 weeks. The 3 weeks run from scoping to the chosen candidate with the offer accepted, when the five key success factors are in place. The candidate’s notice period, often three months for a manager in post, comes on top.

  1. Day 1

    A 1-hour scoping session and a scorecard

    One hour with the future manager, not just HR. We come out with the three results expected at twelve months, the real budget including variable pay, and a scorecard ranking each skill: essential, necessary, useful, bonus.

  2. Days 1 to 3

    Map the search ecosystem

    The companies, sites and roles where the profile really exists: competitors, suppliers, customers, neighbouring sectors doing the same job under another name. We know how many people fit the scorecard before writing the first message.

  3. Within 10 days

    A shortlist within 10 days

    Three to five candidates approached directly, met, assessed against the scorecard by an engineer, presented with their motivations and real salary expectations. Not a pile of CVs.

  4. Within 3 weeks

    A hire within 3 weeks by direct search

    Two interview rounds at most, with the direct manager. The package and the counter-offer are prepared before the final interview: the offer goes out within 24 hours and the chosen candidate says yes.

The same view of the market

The dynamics and the sectors under pressure presented at Arts et Métiers are those Volta Executive maps before every search.

Direct search, from both sides

Session 3 shows engineers how to tap the hidden market; Volta Executive's search goes there to look for scarce profiles.

First confidential conversation

A talkfor your managers and engineers?

A structured talk, market intelligence, manager positioning: a tailored programme for your teams. Thirty minutes to talk it through, no commitment.

Our full track record

Reply within 48 hours · shortlist within 10 days · hire within 3 weeks

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