Hiring Is Job 1

Previews for this season of NBC’s The Apprentice proclaim that “there’s nothing more American than a second chance.” And no one knows that better than host and mentor Donald Trump.

No one understands second chances like Trump does. He’s has had his share of success, failure, financial troubles, legal troubles, and a tabloid-caliber personal life.

But by signing onto the show when it premiered in 2004, the real estate mogul who was as famous for his bankruptcies as for his developments, got a second chance with the court of public opinion. His no-nonsense approach to business won him many fans and he saw his brand expand even more with a bottled water product, a clothing line carried by Macy’s, and other opportunities.

But like most pop culture phenomena, by the show’s third season viewers got tired of watching the show’s challenges. They didn’t feel that they could relate to what they were seeing and many left the show.

What helped save it was the driving force behind the most successful reality show in history—Mark Burnett. A savvy business-minded producer, Burnett tweaked the concept and managed to get celebs to sign on for a chance to get fired—for a cause. Winners got giant checks for their charities, and some got a second chance at a career and branding power themselves, like first Celebrity Apprentice winner Piers Morgan, who will soon take over Larry King’s slot on CNN, and recent winner Bret Michaels who battled a potentially lethal brain hemorrhage to claim the title. Joan Rivers, the second celeb season winner didn’t need any help when it came to her image.

But in the midst of shooting back-to-back star-studded seasons, a remarkable thing happened: the recession hit with full force. All of the sudden, the show that may have seemed out of touch after its debut, was actually in a position to change someone’s life. And as most second-generation products go, it came with a better mission: help an unemployed contestant win a job, an extraordinary opportunity given the grim statistics that for every five jobless Americans, only one will be rehired.

And never has the show’s tagline been so true. For the next 13 weeks, this will be the ultimate job interview for every candidate. Because while they’re vying for a chance to apprentice with Trump, the rest of the nation—and countless CEOs, CFOs, and small-business owners—is tuning in to judge their performance, and hireability.