Unemployment X-Factor

Last month I did a post, So You Think You Can Be The Next Top Accounting Star, that sarcastically probed the limits of reality television and career inspired television.

On my list of "career types" I added "unemployed" as the final item on the list.

And after I wrote it, I thought - you know, a reality show around unemployment didn't seem all that crazy. This month (September 2011) the statistics for August 2011 reported a steady 9.1% unemployment rate.

This percentage doesn't even account for seasonal unemployment, discouraged unemployed not seeking jobs, or underemployment.

With that in mind, a reality show resolving around unemployment could hit close to home for many people.

Today, I've been imagining what that would look like in an "X-Factor" sort of way. What if, people were divided into four categories with coaches like they are in the X-Factor.

Perhaps the coaches could range from a variety of sources, everything from big-time CEOs (Meg Whitman, Phil Knight) to inspirational how-to guys (Stephen Covey, Malcolm Gladwell).

After a series of interviews, the judges can look for people who have that something extra special, and then divide them up in teams by category (maybe gender and age as the x-factor does - I envision a "young college graduates without experience" and a team of "40+ men with experience" or something like that). These groups would then be mentored and developed by the judges, ultimately resulting in some type of prize winner - perhaps an option of jobs, or an incredible job assignment aligned with the contestants abilities.

I don't know exactly how all the details would work out, but I think there's a place for heart strings, competition, and marketing that could be something, strangely inspirational and entertaining.