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Volta Executive

Executive talk · 2025-2026

Read the market, trigger opportunities

The 2026 market, positioning, the hidden market, package negotiation: four parts delivered at ISTP and Mines Saint-Étienne, with data from Apec and Syntec.

The case in 30 seconds

  • 200+

    managers and professionals trained, ISTP and Mines

  • 76%

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

  • 43%

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

  • 41%

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

01 · The case in 30 seconds

The assignment brief

Four parts,from the market to the package

The talk as it was delivered, part by part.

Assignment briefISTP · Mines Saint-Étienne × Volta Executive
Schools
ISTP and Mines Saint-Étienne
Year
2025-2026
Speaker
Florian Beurtey, founder of Volta Executive (Mines Saint-Étienne, AgroParisTech)
Format
Four parts : 2026 recruitment market, manager positioning, hidden market, package negotiation
Tools
DISC and MBTI, STAR method, Boolean search and Google X-Ray, six negotiation levers
Audience
More than 200 managers and professionals trained

The talk, part by part

  1. Part IThe 2026 recruitment marketThe context, the sectors that are hiring, salaries for roles in short supply
  2. Part IIManagerial positioningStand out to prevail
  3. Part IIIThe managerial hiring paradoxVisible market, hidden market, how a recruiter searches
  4. Part IVNegotiating your packageSix manager levers

Sources for part I: Apec Q1 2026, Robert Walters, Michael Page, Syntec-Ingénierie.

02 · The challenge

The 2026 market

A market that is hiring,rules that have changed

300,000 to 320,000 manager hires (Apec, Q1 2026), 51% of mid-sized and large companies planning to hire, a strong recovery in aerospace, defence, nuclear and renewables. But the way people get hired has changed.

  1. Before: wait

    People waited for a vacancy, applied in bulk and relied on their degree.

  2. Now: target

    People target and make direct contact, position themselves strategically, and showcase their vision.

  3. What companies expect

    Aligned, motivated, autonomous profiles, able to pitch their career plan, with a proactive stance, skilled in AI and digital transformation.

Engineering school lecture theatre
Engineering training · illustrative photo

03 · The assignment

The four parts

From the marketto negotiation

Four parts, each with its own tools, that can be used straight away.

  1. The 2026 recruitment market

    Part I

    Completed

    The scope

    • The 2026 context: manager hiring volumes, recovering sectors
    • The sectors that are hiring: energy and transition, industry and defence, pharma and health, data, cyber and AI
    • A field study of salaries for roles in short supply in industry and energy, by years of experience

  2. Managerial positioning

    Part II · stand out to prevail

    Completed

    The scope

    • Six reference points: MBTI and DISC, values, needs, organisation, jobs, ikigai
    • The four DISC profiles (dominant, influential, steady, conscientious) and the jobs suited to each
    • Which structure to choose: start-up, SME and mid-cap, large group, consulting and engineering, purpose-driven company
    • Needs that change with life stages: exploration, building, stabilisation, transmission

  3. The great paradox of managerial hiring

    Part III · the hidden market

    Completed

    The scope

    • The visible market (job ads, careers sites, LinkedIn postings, forums) versus the hidden market (referrals, headhunters, direct approaches, networks)
    • How a recruiter really searches: keywords, Boolean filters, validation in a few seconds
    • Google X-Ray search: site:, intitle:, inurl:, OR, exact match
    • Selling yourself in an interview with the STAR method: situation, task, action, result

  4. Negotiating your package

    Part IV · six manager levers

    Completed

    The scope

    • Prepare: know your market value, set your range, prepare for objections
    • Play offers against each other with a credible plan B, and whoever asks the questions leads
    • Anchoring bias: the first figure frames the whole discussion
    • Talk value, not money, and negotiate beyond salary: remote working, training, bonuses, leave, job title

04 · The result

What managers take away

Position yourselfrather than wait

A manager who knows how to position themselves gets hired. A manager who waits gets forgotten.

The common thread

The real lever for a manager who progresses is knowing how to articulate their added value.

Florian BeurteyFounder of Volta Executive, speaker

Harder to poach

“A manager who knows their value levers and the conditions in which they thrive performs better, and harder to poach. »

Tools, not advice

DISC, STAR method, Boolean search, Google X-Ray, six negotiation levers: each part has its own tools.

Value before seniority

“Your salary should reflect your value, not your length of service. »

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.

How a recruiter really searches

Keywords, Boolean filters, Google X-Ray: the tools shown at ISTP are those used to map every search.

The hidden market, from the headhunter's side

Referrals, direct approaches, activated networks: that is where Volta Executive goes to look for the profiles that job ads do not find.

First confidential conversation

An executive talktailored to your organisation

Market intelligence, manager positioning, package negotiation, direct search: immediately actionable. 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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