Adeline, you're far from unnoticed on social media. Your videos are a hit on TikTok, where you have over 158,000 followers and millions of views. How did it all start?
After my Master in Management (PGE) programme and my degree in international marketing at SKEMA, I was keen to work in the luxury industry. I started my career in product marketing for watches at Van Cleef & Arpels, in Geneva, but I was bored in that city (laughs)! Gradually, I wanted to change industries and go into sports. I spent incredible years at the Puma Group and Reebok, in Germany.
They are really great brands, which I highly recommend to the younger generation. I was a global senior product line manager, in charge of women's footwear at Puma. Afterward, I stayed in the industry to go to Reebok, as a senior product manager footwear. Everything was going well for me, I felt good in my position and felt that nothing could happen to me. Then, in 2020, Covid arrived! During the takeover of Reebok, I was laid off for economic reasons. That year, I decided to start creating content on TikTok. Overnight, after my first video (which was far from perfect), I gained 100 followers.
In your videos, you humorously address various topics such as transphobia, recruitment, job interviews, toxic management, and even maternity in the company. From where do you get your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from both my 14 years of corporate experience and rich discussions with my followers. Many write to me and ask me to discuss one topic or another. I do a lot of video calls with them, they tell me their stories, their setbacks. The character of the detestable HR person that I play in my videos allows me to address these issues lightly but makes people think. I also like to talk about GenZ, their expectations on telecommuting, flexible hours, the four-day week, managerial kindness, etc. This generation has a lot to teach us. I have fun comparing them to the boomers. It was actually GenZ that gave me the right strategy to get started on LinkedIn. In 15 days, I already have over 10,000 followers!
You will soon publish a book on toxic management through the Hachette Pratique publishing group. How can one recognise a toxic manager?
Indeed, in April, I have the honor of publishing this book. I am currently working on its title with my publisher! I interviewed, a bit like a journalist (it's a bit pompous to say that), several managers and their teams. When you go to see a toxic manager and inform him that there is a problem with his team, he tells you it's not coming from him but from the others! I would say that two of a manager's main flaws are ego and the desire to harm/enslave those under their responsibility. If a manager takes the spotlight instead of his team, he hasn't understood anything!
Does your character of the condescending and callous HR officer attract some enmity among the HR community?
The impact of my videos even earned me an unexpected encounter with HR professionals in Paris. One day, while I was up in the capital for a shoot, I had a coffee on a terrace and people came up to me. They were people working in the human resources sector. They asked me if I had a problem with HR (laughs)!
You were a student on the Lille campus of SKEMA, in the PGE programme. At that time, were you the life of the class? What memories do you have of the school?
Not at all, I was very reserved and introverted! What's funny is that several of my classmates from SKEMA recognised my face in my videos! They discovered a facet of the character they did not know. Today, we maintain good contact and the alumni network is very vast.
I have excellent memories of SKEMA; at the time, I was part of the association that links French and international students. I liked this multicultural aspect and staying with the international students. Thanks to SKEMA, I was able to do a six-month academic exchange in Japan, at Hiroshima University, which was incredible. SKEMA has opened the doors to an international career for me. I am always pleased to see that SKEMA is very well positioned in the rankings!
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