Eight steps rattled off in one breath, only one retained: the card slipped into the folder teaches the France Travail (French public employment service) advisor to give them one at a time
A card placed on the desk, scanned by the France Travail (French public employment service) advisor before going through the monthly update, and the list of eight steps becomes a single step at a time, written down, with a date, instead of a flood of instructions there is no time to note.
This case is about Malo, 36, who has ADHD. He prepares his card himself. It is meant for the advisor at the agency, but also for the one who calls him back by phone or for the lead of a job-search workshop.
The moment as it happens
Tuesday, 10:20 a.m., local agency. The advisor has three windows open on the screen: Malo's file, a forklift driver job offer, the CV workshop calendar. He talks fast, kindly, and keeps going. Update the profile. Apply before Friday. Sign up for the workshop. Bring the training certificate. Answer the message in the personal account. Malo nods. By the fourth instruction, he only retains the last one and looks at the photocopier behind the desk.
Before the appointment, he slipped a card into the cardboard folder placed in front of him. The advisor scans it while the computer loads. He reads that Malo understands everything, but that a list given orally fades away, and that he loses the thread when the subject changes without warning. What works: a single priority, written down, with its date, and a recap by email on the way out.
The advisor pushes the screen aside and writes on a sheet: apply for the forklift job before Friday noon. The rest is noted in the file, for the following week. Malo leaves with a sheet and one task in mind. He sends his application on Thursday. Nobody chased him, and he did not have to admit he had not followed everything.
- You write it
- The QR is in place
- The reader scans
- Understood, without explaining again
Where to place the QR for this case
The advisor changes often: the one at the first appointment is not the one at the follow-up, nor the one at the workshop. The QR must therefore travel with Malo, not with the agency's computer file.
- Card slipped into the document folder brought to every appointment (ID, certificate, CV), laid open on the desk.
- Sticker on the back of the cover page of the notebook where Malo notes his search, which the advisor flips through on their own.
- Wallet-size card kept with the registration certificate, for the unplanned appointment or the group workshop.
- Link attached to the first contact email, when the meeting takes place by video or phone.
To avoid: the QR stuck on the back of the phone, kept in a pocket or turned face down during the meeting, and the online personal account, which the advisor does not consult in front of the job seeker. The card must be seen by the person who is speaking, at the moment they start speaking.
Ready-made text templates
The templates below serve as a starting point for the three sections of the profile. Rewrite them in your own words: the way you lose the thread, or what helps you stay on a task, is yours, and that detail is what makes the profile useful to the advisor.
For the "Introduction" section
"My name is Malo, I am 36 and I have ADHD. I quickly understand what is asked of me, but a list given orally fades away: out of four steps, I retain one. I am motivated and I am looking for a forklift driver job. Forgetting something is neither disinterest nor ill will."
For the "How to help" section
"Give me one priority at a time, with its date, in writing on paper or in an email sent right after. Tell me when the subject changes. Have me repeat the next step before the end of the appointment. A text message the day before a deadline helps me a lot."
For the "What to avoid" section
"Please avoid rattling off all the steps in one breath. Avoid saying 'it is in your personal account' without showing me where. Avoid taking my silence for agreement. Avoid commenting on a forgotten item as a lack of motivation in front of other job seekers."
Conditions covered by this case
ADHD is the main profile, with the anxiety that often goes with it: the fear of missing a deadline and having one's file removed. The same adjustments (one step at a time, a written recap) also help people with dyslexia or dyspraxia.
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