A must-see show for job seekers

The TV landscape is defined by a host of reality shows that caters from the most fascinating – Extreme Makeover, StarStruck: The Next Level and Pinoy Pop Superstar – to the most endearing – Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Pop Star Kids, Love Life and Day-Off.

These shows are but some of the contributions of the latest addition to the league of free channels, QTV 11 – which, by the way, has recently celebrated its first anniversary.

But one interesting program that has risen above the others is the reality show of Pinoys who have gone through job hunting.

It’s called May Trabaho Ka! (MTK!), hosted by Paolo Abrera and Mariz Umali every Sunday night on QTV 11.

MTK! has offered – and continues to offer – a variety of jobs – from the most fascinating (zoo keeper, hairdresser) to the most cherished ones (showbiz reporter, sauté cook, TV host). Every episode teems with segments ranging from interesting to exciting, and borders on the funny, what with challenges that require ballroom dancing with Odette Khan, doing Madam Auring’s makeup or rappelling down the GMA Network building.

It’s like StarStruck and Takeshi’s Castle combined.

Applicants compete for the coveted job. In the process, they undergo several tasks that will gauge their skills to perform the job that is up for grabs.

The contestant with the least impressive performance is elbowed out of competition – not by text votes, nor votes from fellow applicants, but by the prospective employer.

The applicant who gets eliminated formally bows out of the game with his certificate being fed to the paper shredder.

This ritual has become the show’s trademark and it has never failed to quicken the pulse of even the most passive contender.

That MTK! has married entertainment into reality and necessity is an understatement. May Trabaho Ka! has left its mark on the reality show landscape with its brand of novelty.

"We are different from other reality shows because ours has a long-term reward, which is a job," explains executive producer Lee Joseph Castel.

"We fuse entertainment and necessity. Challenges we have for applicants are rarely similar, because we offer a different job every series, and we base our tasks on the demands of the job. We don’t follow a tried-and-tested formula. We don’t have a formula," Castel adds.

Aubrey Carampel, the bubbly-tsikadora at the Kapuso fence, bested a seasoned bunch of contenders to emerge as MTK’s first winner for the GMA 7’s Entertainment Correspondent Series.

The petite former call center agent did not expect to romp off with the coveted job, noting that she was competing with a group of contestants who are not exactly a newbie in the buzz of biz talk.

Carampel stood toe-to-toe with showbiz-oriented applicants such as Joseph Reyes (Ang TV fame), Shermaine Santiago (Master Showman) and Mary Grace Santos (Best Friends).

"MTK really changed my life. What was once a dream is now a reality I’m living," Carampel states.

Emzie Madrigal was Carampel’s batchmate in MTK’s search for entertainment correspondent. She made it to the Top 20 but failed to advance as the competition progressed. But Madrigal is not easily downed. So she tried again.

Madrigal, with her warm smile and personality, charmed her way into the hearts of touring foreigners and park visitors of Enchanted Kingdom en route to winning the theme park’s search for park relations officer in 2005.

"I’m not here for the exposure, I’m here for the job," Madrigal stresses, quashing doubts that she might be doing the job for TV exposure.

Now, Emzie is on her second year with Enchanted Kingdom and remains one of the park’s favorite PROs.

Gerry’s Grill sauté cook Bert Yap bagged the job he’s enjoying now through MTK!.

 It was a series of tough acts before Bert got the job. He literally had to roam the streets of Tagaytay and give a sampling of his cuisine to the locals. He had to cook sinigang minus the dish’s important ingredient – sampaloc. And the ultimate test was to match the taste of Gerry’s Grill’s famous chicken kebab without the cookbook.

 "Now with a more stable job, the thought of raising my family is not as shaky as it used to seem," Bert sighs with a smile.

 Sapulso’s Valerie Tan used to be the average QTV viewer. But it all changed when she came forward and heeded MTK!’s call for a female host.

 Today, she’s one of those viewers regularly watch especially during the late Monday night telecast of Sapulso, a late-night news magazine program.

In its one year of existence, May Trabaho Ka! has given over 30 applicants their respective dream jobs. It will continue to field interesting series of job hunts and application processes.

 "You can expect more interesting stories and creative challenges in our second year. If plans go well, we might even go overseas with one of our searches," says Neil Gumban, MTK!’s program manager.