We can all learn a thing or two from reality shows. For example, The Bachelor teaches us how to date 25 potential love interests at once, and we have learned the joys of fist-pumping and GTL (Gym, Tan Laundry) from the cultured young cast of Jersey Shore. But MTV has recently turned a new leaf and created a reality show of value. Aptly titled Hired, the new show provides viewers (and job seekers) with useful information such as the do’s and don’ts of resume submission, interviewing, and a first-hand look at how employers approach the hiring process. The show chronicles companies as they set out to hire junior-level employees with each episode focusing on a different company and position.

In the debut episode, which aired last Monday, Los Angeles-based PR firm American Rebel PR sets out to hire a new Junior Account Executive with the primary job requirements being strong writing skills and an outgoing personality. Within one day of posting an online ad, over one thousand resumes are received and subsequently plowed through by the show’s “headhunter,” career coach Ryan Khan. Khan’s role in the show is to weed out unqualified applicants, conduct first-round interviews, and give candidates tips to better interview with the firm’s Founder/CEO, Chris Detert.

MTV Hired!

What the show offers viewers is a bird’s eye view of how employers often see job seekers:  fumbling for answers to questions, stoically engaged in conversation, and awkwardly seated across from the interviewer, thoroughly unprepared. While the show is geared towards a younger demographic, there are things that job seekers of all ages and experience levels can learn from Hired:

  • Be confident in your skills and experience, no matter how limited they may be. One of the applicants that made it through to the final round of interviews was a somewhat inexperienced candidate named Bailey who exuded a “quiet confidence.” Her confidence let her potential employer know that what she lacked in working experience, she made up for in skill-set. This was enough for Detert to call her back as part of the final group of three candidates. While she ultimately wasn’t offered the job, we saw the importance of exuding confidence, not arrogance.

  • Be prepared. This seems like an obvious one, and while college students are bombarded with career advice from counselors, many seemed to have scoffed at the importance of preparation. Do a background check on the company. More than one candidate showed up to the interview with a confused expression when the interviewer spoke about the details of the job and the company. One didn’t put together the “PR” in American Rebel PR with the “PR” in Public Relations. One candidate boasted about her prolific portfolio with great writing samples, then failed to produce it as she fumbled through her folder, realizing that she forgot to bring them with her. These seemingly small missteps play a huge factor in how the employer perceives candidates; Detert was visibly vexed and irritated that seemingly qualified candidates didn’t take a couple of minutes to check out the company’s website.

  • Personality is key. If you don’t have a personality, applying for a position in which the primary requirement is “outgoing personality” isn’t the best idea. One applicant on the Hired premier sat straight-faced through his first-round interview. The recruiter felt perhaps he was being shy, and urged him to smile when he met with Detert, to which the applicant said to the camera, “I thought I was smiling.” Having a winning personality can land you the job, even if your qualifications and experience don’t stand out. The candidate that was offered a job at the end of the show was chosen for his outgoing, upbeat personality, despite his less than impressive writing skills (which were actually the worst of the final three candidates). Detert said that he would have regretted not hiring the applicant because he believes he would be an asset to the company.

Hired doesn’t have a dramatic plotline like so many other reality shows on the air these days, and that’s because it doesn’t need to have one. The anxiety of being a young job seeker is dramatic enough- with thousands of applicants vying for a single position, the competition is genuine, not contrived. Although the advice rendered on the show is not anything we haven’t already heard, seeing ourselves and our behavior in an interview setting are tremendous assets to helping us refine our techniques and approaches to interviewing.

Hired airs daily on MTV at 6:30pm 


Melody YaGhoubi

  Melody Yaghoubi
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