Xendoo cofounders interview a prospective employee on the premiere of “The Job Interview.”
Credit: @thejobinterview
CNBC recently premiered a new reality show that is unlike any other in its space. Each episode of “The Job Interview” follows two representatives of an actual company as they search for an ideal candidate to invite to join their team.
The show follows employers as they go through the process of interviewing several candidates that have applied for the position. Viewers are able to learn what the employers are looking for in a candidate, which questions employers ask, and which critical faux pas cost interviewees that final approval from home without risking their own success. This show epitomizes the philosophy of learning from the mistakes of others.
The interviewers narrow the candidates down to their top two and then decide which individual is best suited for the position within their company. They call both of the candidates to deliver an unfortunate rejection to one and an exciting welcome to the other.
Each episode ends with photos of both candidates and a description of what they have been up to since the filming of the episode, showing how the hired person fits into his or her new job and informing viewers if the rejected applicant has found another job.
The “The Job Interview” premiered Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 10 PM ET/PT (Eastern Time/ Pacific Time). Two 30-minute episodes air every Wednesday. Six episodes of “The Job Interview” have already aired.
The first episode featured a Florida business based out of Fort Lauderdale. The company, Xendoo, an accounting firm that provides financial services to small businesses, filled an open position for a bookkeeper, paying a salary of $35,000 to $45,000 a year on the show.
This program, while entertaining, is useful to current university students thinking of future careers as well as recent graduates who are currently immersed in the job-search process. Those interested in professional careers should take note of how successful candidates speak, behave, and even dress.
There is no music or funky scenery in the show. It is just two interviewers in rolling chairs on one side of a desk and an interviewee in a rolling chair on the other side of a desk in a white-walled room for the majority of the show. Occasionally, they cut to the fishbowl in the waiting room. Also, when a candidate is filtered out of the selection, he or she has to walk down the hallway and take an elevator downstairs to exit the building, and the elevator always says, “Going down,” for humorous effect. Ironically, the viewers know that the candidate has failed to impress, but often, in the short interview, the candidate states that he or she feels confident.
There are some moments of relief, however. In some instances, the intimidating employers reveal that they are only human as well by showing their own weaknesses and errors. There have also been times when nervous employment-seekers rise above their anxieties and prove that they are capable of achievements even beyond their expectations for themselves. In the end, it is uplifting, because a qualified and hardworking person gets the job.
For its practicality, uniqueness, and relatability, this show gets a score of 3 out of 5 paws.
