The Brutal Hunt for Low-Paid Work: 'It's Like The Hunger Games'
Securing low-paid employment in the UK has transformed into a daunting and often absurd ordeal for young jobseekers, with recruitment processes demanding excessive effort for roles offering just above minimum wage. As unemployment rates climb to their highest in nearly five years, reaching 5.2% overall and 14% for those aged 18-24, the competition for entry-level positions has intensified dramatically. This surge in joblessness has emboldened employers to implement rigorous screening methods, leaving candidates feeling exploited and disillusioned.
Gruelling Interview Tactics and Unrealistic Demands
Take Zahra, a 20-year-old from Preston, who found herself constructing a tower from marshmallows and spaghetti during a group interview for a crew member position at Wingstop, a chicken shop chain paying £10.80 per hour. Alongside 30 other candidates, she endured anagrams, quizzes, and ranking exercises, all after submitting a lengthy online application. "What am I actually doing here? This doesn't relate to the job at all," she recalls thinking. Despite the effort, she received a brief rejection email, labelling the experience a "waste of time."
Similarly, Eve, a 19-year-old from London, faced a nerve-racking group interview for a sales assistant role at an Inditex brand, where she had to introduce strangers, design outfits for celebrities like Lady Gaga, and solve shop scenarios in front of 20 peers. "It's like The Hunger Games, but you're all trying to get a job in a shop where you're going to be folding clothes all day, for just over minimum wage," she remarks, highlighting the mismatch between the arduous process and the mundane nature of the work.
Exploitative Practices and Legal Grey Areas
Beyond bizarre tasks, jobseekers report unpaid trial shifts and misleading job adverts. Maya, a 22-year-old neuroscience graduate, was asked to work a four-hour unpaid shift at a tuition centre and later paid £30 for travel to a "marketing specialist" role that involved door-to-door sales, with pay below minimum wage. "They were taking advantage of people," she asserts. Grace, 20, spent 10 hours on recruitment for an admin assistant role, including rebuilding an Excel database she believes the organisation used regardless of her hiring outcome.
Martin Warnes, managing director of Reed.co.uk, explains that rising costs like the minimum wage and national insurance have led businesses to "de-risk the recruitment process" through extensive pre-employment screening. However, this shifts the burden onto jobseekers, creating a "mismatch in terms of the effort of the application process v the pay rate." Alice Martin of the Work Foundation adds that with fewer jobs available, employers hold more power, often using group interviews for efficiency, even if tasks lack relevance.
Employer Responses and Job Market Realities
When contacted, companies defended their methods. A Zara spokesperson stated their process is "open, inclusive and accessible," using activities to assess communication and teamwork. Wingstop cited assessment centres as common in hospitality to evaluate creativity and service-mindedness. TK Maxx denied using store-based work in interviews, claiming the described practices do not reflect their norms. Despite these assurances, candidates like Zahra, who eventually found a supermarket job after a brief interview, remain cynical. "I just hope the job market gets better by the time I've graduated," she says, reflecting a widespread sentiment among young people navigating an increasingly hostile employment landscape.
