Large employers are increasingly turning to competition-based recruitment, presenting distinctive job options during a time of intense youth unemployment—yet questions linger about whether these opportunities are truly equitable or accessible to all candidates.
Recruitment Competitions Present Challenges for Young Applicants
In 2024, Yumi Liberman took the stage in London—not to perform music, but to pitch an innovative business idea with her team during the UK finals of Brandstorm, a worldwide challenge hosted by L’Oreal. The competition, which tasks young participants with creating and presenting new business proposals, pushed Liberman’s group into the national spotlight. Their concept—an app for haircare—secured their spot as UK champions and sent them to Paris for the international finals, where they finished in third place.
While only the highest-ranking team directly earned a full-time position at L’Oreal, Liberman’s outstanding showing resulted in her being accepted into the company’s marketing management traineeship, which guarantees a permanent role upon successful program completion. “The pressure would get heavy, but somehow you just get into flow mode,” Liberman reflected, likening the intense atmosphere to her prior experiences as a competitive athlete.
Brandstorm’s popularity has soared, pulling in 380,000 global entrants in 2024, up 58% from 240,000 the previous year in 2025. Despite this surge in interest, the overwhelming majority of participants do not receive awards or offers of employment.
Fairness and Accessibility of Hiring Contests Under Scrutiny
At a time when youth unemployment in the UK stands at 16.2%—over three times the general unemployment figure of 4.9%—these contests are among the few platforms available for young job seekers to distinguish themselves. According to L’Oreal, Brandstorm’s approach opens doors to candidates who might overlook standard application procedures, broadening their pool of potential employees.
Yet, doubts about the fairness of such processes persist. Melissa Alcruz, who works in marketing in New York, experienced this firsthand at MTV, where advancement was determined through a competitive “bake-off” in which staff presented sponsorship and marketing campaign proposals to a judging panel. Alcruz characterized the competition as “intimidating”, and even after her victory, she resented the demand to juggle substantial additional projects alongside her regular responsibilities.
Katrina Collier, a recruitment specialist, cautions that these models might contribute to “economic discrimination”. Collier emphasizes that devoting “possibly months” to unpaid competition tasks isn’t feasible for everyone, especially those facing financial hardship. “Does that mean only people from financially strong backgrounds proceed?” she points out, warning that the system could exclude talented individuals who cannot afford the time or resources required.
Concerns About Inclusion and Personality Diversity
Experts also point to other pitfalls. According to Jamie Kohn, research leader in talent acquisition at Gartner, competition-style recruiting is likely to persist, as many companies find it a more effective method for evaluating applicants than interviews. However, Kohn urges employers to be mindful of the time commitment and to offer constructive feedback for all participants, selected or not, so that everyone has a chance to improve.
Psychologist Dr. Amanda Potter highlights an additional worry: these competitive processes may favor extroverts, making introverted candidates less likely to take part. Potter wonders if this strategy breeds a workforce composed of “ambitious, competitive people who want to win, possibly to the detriment of others,” thereby reducing personality diversity in organizations.
For Liberman, whose significant dyslexia complicated standard assessments, the competition proved to be a more accessible route, helping her avoid prolonged unemployment after graduation. She points out that others—despite strong academic backgrounds—have not been as fortunate, with some friends submitting “over 1,000 jobs” applications and failing to receive job offers.
What Lies Ahead for Competition-Driven Recruitment
With companies devising innovative ways to attract young job seekers in the current challenging job market, competitions offer both promise and criticism. The stories of participants like Liberman reveal the advantages and inherent challenges of these hiring methods, underlining the importance of balancing selectivity and publicity with inclusivity and sustained support for all applicants.