Turns out that CBS’ “The Job” isn’t merely an “Apprentice” wannabe. At its core, Brenda Clevenger says, the new series is about helping deserving candidates land positions in this overcrowded job market.
But yes, it’s also a reality show, complete with challenges and a host (Lisa Ling).
Like the Eye’s “Undercover Boss,” each episode is self-contained. By the end of the hour, you’ll know whether Clevenger, a Kansas City freelance writer, blogger and marketer, got “The Job” — in this case, as an editorial fashion assistant at Cosmopolitan magazine — or if one of her four rivals did. (Her episode airs at 7 on Friday night.)
The show’s producers contacted Clevenger, 50, after running across her blog, Midlife Mona Lisa, and her resume. At first she thought it was a put-on.
But the position at Cosmo was not just made for TV, she says. She had to demonstrate that she was qualified (she stressed that she blogs about fashion, among other topics, but is not a designer).
“I was asked over and over again, ‘Will you move to New York’ (if you get the job)?” Clevenger says. “It was as real as it gets.”
She did give some thought to what it would mean to pick up her life here. Kansas City, after all, is “a very affordable part of the world.”
Truth is, she could have used the work, too. (Her episode was filmed last fall.) The show wants to “help people like me who’ve been in the job hunt for a couple of years and are not getting the answers they want.”
Clevenger has been self-employed for 20 years, “but with the economy I have been struggling, really only making half of what I need to make.” She depleted her savings. Meanwhile, local companies she applied to weren’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.
Another incentive: “I’ve read Cosmo my whole life” — she calls it “the bible for fierce women,” which is exactly the attitude of her blog. And if she worked at Cosmo, she’d also be working for Hearst, a leading magazine publisher.
There was no downside to doing the show, she figured. Even if she didn’t get the job, she’d be getting national exposure that might lead to something else.
Clevenger says she told producers, “If I don’t have to eat a worm and I don’t have to be a (witch), I’ll come and do it.”
Most of “The Job” was filmed in New York, but the show came to KC, too, to see Clevenger in action.
As for her TV rivals, they’re 20-somethings. Clevenger was “the oldest person by double. I was the mother. … I am representing midlife women, and that’s probably the biggest reason I did it.”
She recalls a phone interview with Cosmo in which she wondered aloud if she could really help the mag, which is aimed at women 18-34. She made the case that women are interested in serious topics, too — career, entrepreneurship, personal finance.
As opposed to yet another story on how to drive your man crazy in bed.
Did Clevenger land the dream gig? For that you’ll have to watch. Meanwhile, she is champing at the bit to start writing about her TV adventure on her blog.
“I’m so glad they reached down and picked me out of the universe for this one,” she says.
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