Channel 4 is set to air a new reality series, 'The Job Interview', which films real jobseekers as they undergo interviews for genuine vacancies. The show, described as 'First Dates for the job market', uses hidden fixed-rig cameras to capture the nerves, gaffes and triumphs of candidates vying for employment.
All interviewers are from real businesses with positions to fill, while applicants applied for the roles after seeing them advertised. The interviews take place at a specially created set in London, where cameras record the highs and lows of the job-seeking process in the current economic climate.
In the first episode, Low Cost Vans, a van hire company based in Neath, South Wales, seeks a customer service representative with a salary of £15,500 a year. After applicants responded to an advert placed by the production team, an independent recruitment specialist helped whittle down CVs, presenting managing director Rod Lloyd and HR manager Lorraine Kitchin with a shortlist of five candidates.
The candidates include Jody Richards, 34, a single mother who has been out of work for nine years, and Ian Nicholls, who was made redundant after 26 years at a factory. The show also features Amy Lester, 33, from Newbury, who is applying for an assistant manager role at a luxury wedding venue after an eight-year career break to raise her son.
Channel 4 admitted the format was a 'leap of faith' as they could not control who would apply or be selected, making it a 'lucky dip' for television. However, they struck gold with the Low Cost Vans candidates, who range from endearing to eccentric, with one candidate mistakenly calling the company 'Low Cost Loans' and another admitting she would find phone conversations 'boring'.
