Trouver un job au Moyen Âge et dans l'Antiquité ?

Resumes and cover letters are tedious processes that often lack sincerity, with candidates relying on generic templates found online.

A student seeking a warehouse position must write an artificially enthusiastic cover letter about uninteresting work.

How did the job market function before the 20th century and what commonalities exist with current methods?

Understanding the evolution of recruitment processes through history to better contextualize modern practices.

• In Greek, work is designated 'ponos' (pain, physical labor) • In Latin, it's 'labor' (toil, physically arduous work) • Philosophers like Aristotle viewed manual work as degrading and contrary to virtue

Antiquity had an essentially agricultural economy where 75 to 80% of the active population worked in livestock farming, agriculture, and fishing. Roman tombstones record approximately 500 different trades: sailors, merchants, blacksmiths, potters, masons, etc.

• Recruitment occurred by word of mouth in forums and the agora • Employers hired day laborers according to immediate needs • Free men and women worked alongside slaves, particularly for seasonal work

Slaves performed much of the work, especially on large estates and villas, but employers often preferred hiring free seasonal workers because agriculture is cyclical.

Under the Empire, the Roman army was a major recruiter with 300 to 350,000 soldiers tasked with protecting 60 to 80 million people over an area fifteen times the size of France.

• Mandatory commitment for 16 to 30 years (not a day or season) • Benefits: career, travel, prestige, regular salary, and possible war booty • Theoretical requirements: be a free man, adult, and measure at least 1.67 m

• Review board organized by the provincial governor with his officers and secretaries • Public physical examination to assess musculature and build, capable of carrying 20 kilos of equipment • Verification that candidates could write, read, and count • Preference given to sons of soldiers familiar with the trade and discipline

Of 300 candidates, approximately 5 or 6 were retained, making it an extremely selective process.

Medieval society was organized into three estates: those who fight (nobility), those who pray (clergy), and those who labor (commoners). The third estate bore the brunt of the work.

• A person's trade largely depended on that of their parents • This practice persists in modern family names: Le Charpentier, Charron • Family identity was often synonymous with a specific trade • Large families had to diversify: a blacksmith with six sons couldn't apprentice them all

• Apprenticeship with a craftsman was the standard recruitment method • Often with a relative who owned a local shop or workshop • Reputation (fama) was the primary tool: being 'famous' or 'ill-famed' • Parents and masters mutually selected each other based on reputation

Compensation could be negotiated based on work days, output quantity, profit share, inheritance, or room and board (equivalent to meal vouchers).

After 1347-1348, the Black Death decimated one-third of Europe's population, creating strong labor demand. Skilled sectors experienced rising wage tension.

From the 13th century onward, major European kingdoms set maximum wages (not minimum), the inverse of modern minimum wage.

• Guilds appeared to protect trade interests: weavers, bargemen, drapers • Employers and commissioners had to negotiate directly with guilds • Membership in a recognized guild increased fama

Medieval fama functioned like modern Google reviews and ratings for finding a craftsman or service.

The first civil service examinations for imperial officials date back to the 3rd century and reached their zenith between the 10th and 13th centuries, a system called the mandarinate.

• Mastery of calligraphy • Knowledge of classical authors like Confucius • Theoretical rather than practical testing

Any man without a criminal record could theoretically apply; the system was meant to favor pure merit.

• The exam was so selective that substantial cultural and financial capital was required to pass • Adequate preparation required time and resources • Nepotism and social reproduction dominated • True dynasties of civil servants controlled the bureaucracy • Genuine social advancement through pure merit was quite rare

On December 14, 1482, Leonardo da Vinci, age 30, wrote to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, to leave Florence. It was the very first modern resume.

• Description of his training and skills • Enumeration of his capabilities: architecture, sculpture, painting • Focus on military engineering talents addressing Italian needs • Description of his creations: portable bridges, cannons, war machines

Leonardo didn't forget to offer a free demonstration of his talents and even proposed a trial to convince.

• He got the position and remained in Milan for 17 years • Demonstrated that a cover letter could be effective when well written • Remained an exception; individual correspondence became common much later

In 1631, Paris faced a major problem of begging and vagrancy.

• Founded the Gazette, France's first true newspaper in 1631 • Created the bureau d'adresses, a recruitment agency to centralize job offers and requests • Merged the bureau and newspaper in 1633 with La Feuille du bureau d'adresses et de rencontres • Created the first employment and services job posting newspaper

In 1633, King Louis XIII ordered all unemployed people to register at the bureau d'adresses, thus inventing the equivalent of France's modern employment agency.

For written job offers to work, readers were needed. At that time, most of the population couldn't read.

• The Industrial Revolution and mechanization exploded labor demands • Emergence of placement bureaus and recruitment offices (equivalent to temp agencies) • Anyone could apply, including women and children • Working conditions were often abominable for children

• Mandatory education in 1870 created a reading population • Employers could address millions of young people directly • No need for intermediaries or placement bureaus anymore

Job postings published in newspapers enabled direct applications, finally fulfilling the idea born under Louis XIII.

• The British were 50 years ahead: the Times published job postings since 1820 • Offers for coachmen, valets, and chambermaids with remote or direct applications • Le Figaro began in 1874 by discussing English ads

• Companies went beyond simple job postings • Emergence of 'réclames': advertising massive hiring campaigns • Exactly like modern internet recruitment banners

Le Figaro, remaining elite, published mainly offers for 'high society': governesses, cooks, secretaries, drivers, valets, tutors, head butlers.

• Emergence of human resources departments • Appearance of headhunting firms • Creation of internship bureaus • Standardization of the modern resume in the 1950s

The Internet drastically changed the modern recruitment process.