'I performed on stage to get my first job' - the firms turning recruitment into competitions

Yumi Liberman was up on stage in front of a panel of judges and an audience of 300 people, and she had to perform.

But rather than singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument, she and two friends were in an auditorium in London in 2024 to pitch their business idea, hoping to secure a full-time job with cosmetics giant L'Oreal.

"It reminded me of when I used to do competitive sports growing up and the pressure would get heavy," says Liberman, now 24. "But somehow you just get into flow mode."

She and her friends had got through to the UK final of Brandstorm, an international competition run by the French company, where young adults outline their product and business ideas.

Their proposal for a haircare app saw them crowned UK winners and they went on to that year's global final in Paris where they came third.

While only members of the team that finished first automatically got full-time jobs, Liberman had so impressed senior figures at the company that she managed to secure a place on its marketing management traineeship, with a full-time position at the end.

Turning recruitment into X Factor-style competitions, with jobs as the prize, generates publicity and buzz for companies. But for the young people involved, is it exciting - or unfair?

In the current global economic environment, youth unemployment is higher than the national average in many countries, as companies are reluctant to take on new staff. In the UK the unemployment rate for young adults is 16.2%, , external compared to the overall level of 4.9%. , external