This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 16th July 2016.
The Job Interview: Tuesday, Channel 4
The Secret Life of
Brothers and Sisters: Wednesday, Channel 4
Before
I wade into The Job Interview, I
should first offer a disclaimer. As an arty media wastrel, I’ve never actually
had a proper job interview. I didn’t get where I am today without the twin benefits
of blackmail and competition tickets.
But
surely the process isn’t as needlessly contrived as shown in this new
observational documentary series? Do employers really subject candidates to
semi-elaborate role play exercises? If so, I’m amazed anyone has a job at all.
Filmed
using fixed-rig cameras, the programme follows actual job-seekers prostrating themselves
before genuine employers. The stakes are real. It encourages us to squirm in
the company of nerve-wracked candidates as they struggle to sell themselves. We
also get to see interviewers collapsing into giggles once certain candidates
have left the room. That must do wonders for the latter’s self-esteem.
And
yet despite all that, it’s a surprisingly benign voyeuristic exercise. Sure, it’s
basically the annual gruelling interview episode from The Apprentice – the one we all enjoy the most – stretched out to a
series, but the key difference is that, unlike most Apprentice candidates, the participants are recognisably human. The
programme doesn’t mock them. On the contrary, it invites our sympathy.
The
first episode also functioned as a sly commentary on this great nation’s class
divide. The companies looking for new recruits were a van leasing company and a
luxury weddings and events venue. The former was run by an affable pair of
ordinary managers, while the latter was overseen by a sitcom-posh mother and
daughter duo named Philippa and Bertie. Snooty and brusque, Philippa was like
Anne Robinson fused with a cheese grater.
Meanwhile,
at the van company, we rooted for candidates such as a single mum experiencing
her first interview in twelve years. Getting the job meant the world to her, as
she wanted to make her loved ones proud.
We
also wallowed in the inherent pathos of a man in his fifties who was recently
made redundant after 26 years at a brush-making factory. Seeing as the
programme focused on their stories, they were obviously the final contenders.
She got the job, but the employers were so impressed by his character, they
asked him in again to see if he could fill another role.
Would
he have achieved this happy outcome if the cameras weren’t present? I just
don’t know any more. Either way, it was rather heart-warming.
Like
the similarly benign First Dates,
it’s a good-natured study of everyday folk enduring high-pressure situations.
As with First Dates, however, their
reasons for inviting added pressure by allowing themselves to be filmed is a
matter for their psychiatrists.
There
was more human anthropology in The
Secret Life of Brothers and Sisters, in which behavioural scientists
observed various young siblings on their first family camping holiday.
80%
of us have siblings. It’s potentially the longest relationship of our lives.
You can’t choose your brothers and sisters, so you’d better get along with
them. Otherwise, watch out.
Thankfully,
there was no screaming enmity on this harmonious campsite. We were introduced
instead to some cute kids who clearly loved each other. Anyone hoping for Lord of the Flies horror would’ve been
sorely disappointed.
Although
it could never be mistaken for an important anthropological study, the
programme did manage to provide some pleasant insight into the dynamics between
kids embarking on life’s unknown voyage.
One
day they’ll be trembling at job interviews. Or writing TV reviews. It’s a
gamble.
