Yumi Liberman, 24, found herself on a London stage in 2024, performing not as a musician, but as a job seeker. Alongside two friends, she pitched a business idea to a panel of judges and an audience of 300 people, hoping to land a role at the cosmetics giant L’Oreal. Reflecting on the experience, Liberman noted that the pressure felt similar to her days in competitive sports, yet she managed to enter a state of flow to deliver her presentation.
The team’s proposal for a haircare app earned them the UK title in L’Oreal’s international Brandstorm competition. While only the global winners typically secure automatic full-time roles, Liberman’s performance was strong enough to earn her a spot on the company’s marketing management traineeship. For Liberman, who lives with severe dyslexia, this competition-based path felt more accessible than traditional, assessment-heavy recruitment processes, allowing her to transition directly from university into her chosen field.
However, the broader trend of turning recruitment into high-stakes competitions is drawing scrutiny. While these events generate significant publicity for employers, they raise questions about fairness in a difficult economic climate. In the UK, youth unemployment currently sits at 16.2%, significantly higher than the 4.9% national average. While L’Oreal’s competition attracted 380,000 global applicants this year—a 58% increase from 240,000 in 2025—the vast majority of participants walk away with no job offer.
L’Oreal maintains that Brandstorm is an effective tool for reaching a diverse range of potential recruits who might otherwise overlook the company. Despite this, critics argue that such formats can be exclusionary. Katrina Collier, a recruiter trainer and author, warns that these processes risk creating economic discrimination. She notes that many candidates cannot afford to dedicate months of unpaid time to these challenges, potentially favoring those with financial support from their families.
The intensity of these competitions can also be off-putting for experienced professionals. Melissa Alcruz, who works in marketing for a New York real estate firm, recalled a previous internal promotion competition at MTV that she described as a “bake-off.” Candidates were required to pitch sponsorship and marketing campaigns to a panel of seven people. Although she won the role, Alcruz admitted the process was intimidating and criticized the expectation that employees complete substantial projects in their spare time on top of their existing full-time duties. Paramount Skydance Corporation, the current parent company of MTV, was contacted for comment.
From a talent acquisition perspective, Jamie Kohn, senior director at research firm Gartner, suggests that competition-based hiring is likely to persist because it simplifies the evaluation process for employers. However, she emphasizes that companies must be cautious about the demands placed on applicants and should prioritize providing constructive feedback to help candidates improve, regardless of the outcome.
Psychologist Amanda Potter expresses concern that these events inherently favor extroverts, potentially disadvantaging quieter personality types. She warns that such assessment methods could lead to organizations becoming homogeneous, populated primarily by highly competitive individuals, which might be detrimental to overall team dynamics. These concerns resonate with many young job seekers, including those in Liberman’s circle, who report that even highly educated individuals with impressive backgrounds are struggling to secure employment despite applying to over 1,000 jobs. The report also notes that it reminded me of when I used to do competitive sports growing up and the pressure would get heavy,” says Liberman, now 24. The report also notes that in the UK the unemployment rate for young adults is 16.2%,, external compared to the overall level of 4.9%. The report also notes that for example, unable to take part, is that leaving talented applicants who don’t have the bank of mum or dad. The report also notes that but she agrees that organisations need to be cautious about how much they ask of the jobseekers. The report also notes that or would certain types of people avoid these assessment methods?” she says, does this approach encourage all types of people to apply. The report also notes that competitive people who want to win, possibly to the detriment of others, this could result in an organisation [ending up] full of ambitious.
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