Helping people get their dream jobs

May Trabaho Ka! hosts Paolo Abrera and Mariz Umali are killing two birds with one stone. They are earning their keep as hosts of the Q-11 reality program while feeding their souls by giving jobs to the most qualified.

The past two years, they have cheered on aspiring dance instructors, cooks, sing-along masters, comedians, fashion designers, theater actors, bread specialists, etc. They have seen the fire in their eyes, the hope on their faces. And while Paolo and Mariz  wish all of them can get that coveted job in the end, they know only one will qualify after hurdling all those challenges a potential employer throws at them.

“It’s so refreshing to see people go after their dreams,” Paolo relates.

Mariz looks at it in another way: ”Seeing so many people eager to join the show to get the job they want makes me appreciate my work more. Now, I love it so much more.”

Not everyone who approaches them for a job are unemployed, she notes. Others are just unhappy over their present work and want greener pastures. So they examine their resumes and draw a short list of candidates they can field in the show (which airs Sunday nights at 8).

Some of the chosen ones have lived up to their promise of excellence. The show is particularly proud of this guy who was hired as chef at Gerry’s Grill. When Paolo and Mariz bumped into him again, he was already calling the shots as marketing manager.

Other companies hire not just one but two or even the entire batch of candidates May Trabaho Ka! features on the show. The producer of the independent film Xenoa for instance, thought all six candidates in the show deserve to be cast in the production. Thus, all six aspirants got a call slip to report on the set ASAP.

But stories of victory abound (the show has provided 32 jobs for 53 deserving applicants), those of loss are inevitable in a program like this. Not everybody wins. And those who don’t qualify sometimes cry on Mariz’s shoulders.

She  comforts them, telling them it’s not the end of the world. And it’s the employer who has the final say.

But while Mariz gets to become a shoulder to cry on after the dust has settled, Paolo does his best to maintain his distance from the contestants. Objectivity, he says, is essential.

Glenn Ala, Q-11 News and Public Affairs program manager, agrees. “We chose Paolo and Mariz because of their credibility,” he says. Chemistry between the two also figured strongly in the equation. After all, what’s a show if the hosts can’t laugh together, and give way to the other on cam?

By this time, Paolo and Mariz have grown so accustomed to the show they can actually predict who among the sea of applicants will emerge victorious. Talent and skills are essential, they chorus. But at the end of the day, what matters most is something intangible: Attitude. Without the right outlook, even the most talented candidate will fall flat on his face.

One applicant, for instance, had everything going for her: Looks, talent, intelligent. Except for one thing: She always came late. Hers was an attitude problem. As expected, she didn’t make the grade.

Passion and resilience, adds Paolo, are the keys to success in the show, and in the job as well. One applicant didn’t have the college degree to match the job at hand, but he shone above all the others who came academically equipped. His secret: He loved the job so much he excelled in every task thrown his way. His passion won the day for him.

You can’t downplay the value of resilience, too. One applicant failed to make it the first time. But this didn’t stop him from coming back with a vengeance one fine day.

The stories of loss and victory continue as the show enters its second year next month. More lives will change as more hopefuls take a crack at their dream jobs. And, as May Trabaho Ka! lifts more burdens and opens more doors of opportunity, perhaps Juan de la Cruz can sleep a little better, knowing that his dream job may just be around the corner, waiting for him.