They are some of the most nerve-racking and anxiety-inducing encounters of our lives – and the ones we tend to blank from our memories afterwards. But what goes on behind the closed doors of job interviews is to be very publicly exposed in a new series by Channel 4.
The Job Interview is the latest fixed-rig show commissioned by the channel, following on from the successes of One Born Every Minute, 24 Hours in A&E and First Dates. Each episode will track two employers as they interview candidates for a range of jobs, from a vet receptionist to customer service for low-cost van hire and a fashion PR – then decide who to hire.
Despite being described as a cross between The Apprentice and First Dates, however, the show’s creators said The Job Interview was also “a leap of faith”. “This programme is the first documentary series of its type that has not been cast,” said co-creator Simon Dickson. “We had no control over who the candidates were and who we would film. These were real advertisements, placed in real job websites and dealt with by an independent recruiter. The shortlisting was done by the bosses themselves, so from a television point of view it was a lucky dip.”
Dickson said that individuals on most fixed-rig shows are cast because they “would work well telling their story on TV”, and admitted he was worried they might find themselves stuck with a dull bunch of interviewees. It had, in the end, worked in their favour.
“It has been an extraordinary process to watch, as your programme is being made by people who are not television producers. It’s been a tiny bit frightening relinquishing control … The people ended up being interesting and diverse and different, but we didn’t chose them.”
Channel 4 said it had been thinking for years about ways to make a show that would open up the workplace – where people spend the majority of their lives – but had struggled to come up with a successful format. However, the setup of First Dates, which captures an intimate moment but in an environment created for the show, convinced them it was possible to authentically capture the “nerve-racking anxiety” of job interviews. As such, each meeting takes place in the same office room in Westminster, which is fitted with discreet cameras.
“I think they’ve been very brave letting us film,” said Dickson. “Job interviews are stressful, and I won’t deny that putting cameras on that process will have done nothing to put the candidates at ease. But once the process is underway, the interviews were so bona fide that people had a tendency to forget cameras were there.”
Rod Lloyd, the boss of Low Cost Vans, a small company in Neath, south Wales, who features in the first episode, admitted he had initially turned down the show “because I didn’t want my business to be seen as a clown school” but was eventually won over by the producers.
The 10 jobs that made the show’s final cut are scattered around the country, mainly small- and medium-sized companies with salaries ranging from £15,000 to £45,000.
Lorraine Charker-Phillips, who co-created The Job Interview, said what struck them most during filming was how much these jobs, across all fields, meant to the applicants. “People really genuinely wanted the jobs,” she said. “That was the thing that moved all of us the most.”
“It didn’t matter what the role was or who the employer was: across the board, the nerves, the anxiety was the same.”
Both Dickson and Charker-Phillips said the desperation of the interviewees and their investment in the jobs also spoke to the difficult economic climate and tough nature of the UK job market. Low Cost Vans, for starters, received 90 applicants for one customer services role.
Madonna Benjamin, who commissioned the show for Channel 4, said this had also been a motivating factor in wanting to shine a light on this arena and possibly help people by revealing the pitfalls so many people make in job interviews.
“It’s a series about self-worth, in a way,” added Dickson. “We’ve got bosses who are forthright, who say the unsayable, but also really care. Then on the other side of the table, you’ve got somebody who really wants the job. When those two come together, you get something quite special.”
•The Job Interview starts on 12 July at 9pm on Channel 4.
