With the emergence of reality TV shows like Donald Trump's very popular "The Apprentice" and, more recently, Al Sharpton's "I Hate My Job," an interesting opportunity for college students to reflect on the challenges of the job market and what it takes to be successful in the highly competitive global market place has come.

Both "The Apprentice" and "I Hate My Job" have in common an extended interview process where job candidates compete for what might be considered an ideal and certainly lucrative job. Both shows have preliminary screening interviews in which thousands and sometimes nearly a million candidates stand in line for days to get through that initial screening. In both shows, finalists end up competing in carefully orchestrated work-assignments that allow the judges to determine who the best candidate is.

Reality TV programs like these certainly help to educate college students to the enormous competition that exists for exciting and potentially lucrative job opportunities. But here is where a reality check is necessary. As college students entering the job market, in what is still a slowly improving economy, you too will face keen competition, and you will discover that your competitors will go to any means, even doing things that are unethical, to get the prized position. Thus, you will have to be absolutely clear that unethical behavior before or during your interviews never makes you a winner.

Another aspect of the Trump and the Sharpton shows is that individuals are given an opportunity to test and demonstrate personality traits that are highly valued by employers. Here are some of those traits emerging as valuable on these reality TV shows.

■ Risk taking – Candidates are often expected to leave current jobs/relocate and separate temporarily from family to compete for these opportunities

■ Competitive – Candidates are expected to beat the competition no matter what it takes

■ Tenacity – Success only comes to those who are determined enough to fight for the opportunity and never give up

■ Confidence – You've really got to believe in yourself to even apply

■ Leadership – You must want to be in-charge and you've go to show your capacity to lead others

■ Interpersonal Competence – You've got to be good at judging and interacting with people, especially in gaining their acceptance

■ Intelligence – You need business savvy, innovative ideas and people, exposure to new consumer markets, good common sense and an intuitive sense of people you can count on

■ Discipline – You've got to know when to move forward and when to lay back; more importantly, you've got to know when to shut up

■ Focus – You've got to know where you are going and your past education and experiences ought to give some hint of where that is

That is my list of factors that the reality TV shows present as appealing to employers. The fun thing is that you may have a different list of factors that appeal to employers, factors that count. That probability is why some major universities are now assigning viewing programs like "The Apprentice" and "I Hate My Job" to students in management or in MBA programs.

The important reality check for college students is that every employer will have a set of "what counts" factors that you will be evaluated on in the interview process. You will be expected to know them and to demonstrate that you have what counts and are valuable to the organization interviewing you. While your interviews will probably not extend for 16 weeks, will certainly not be as glamorous, and will probably not land you on national TV, nevertheless, they will either put you in the running for a prized career opportunity that is likely to be more permanent or keep you waiting in the unemployment line.

Here's what you should know about reality TV: It is not real. It is carefully choreographed and filmed, and you see only what the producer wants you to see, and some of that is unreal. Do not make the mistake of mimicking what you see on TV as a way to behave in the interview and job-search process. Without question, you must prepare for the interview.

Your on-campus career center is an excellent resource to assist you in your preparation. Career centers regularly offer video mock interviews to allow you to see yourself as your interviewer would see you. These practice sessions may include a critique by an experienced staff member or even an employer, which is invaluable to your interview preparation. Your campus career center also periodically presents employer panels where employers emphasize the "what counts" factors for their organizations. Career centers also offer career courses on Professional Development and workshops on preparing for the job search. Some, like we do at the University of Cincinnati, now have new technologies such as RezFuzion, which allow you to sit at a kiosk and respond to a number of interview questions asked by an interviewer on the monitor, and see how you look and sound as you do this. With this state of the art interviewing technology, you can get more comfortable with the awkwardness of talking to a stranger, while you review your reactions and refine your interview questions that can help build confidence.

Except on reality TV, being over-confident, too risk oriented, or too argumentative can be the kiss of death. On reality TV, it appears to be okay to devour the competition through direct combat; this is hardly appropriate in the normal job search. Most of the time you may not even know who the competition is. During the campus interviews, you may be sitting across from a student who will interview for the same position, right after you. There is no place in the campus interview, or any other part of the job search process, where it is appropriate to do anything to undermine another applicant's interview or quest for employment.

One of the most distasteful aspects of the current two job-focused reality TV programs that I have witnessed thus far is their portrayal of women and minorities. I have been personally offended at the cat fighting, women selling sex to be successful emphasis, people of color selling each other out, and the lack of appreciation for diversity as a winning attribute in these shows. While some may say that these behaviors do exist in the work place, focusing on them sends the wrong message to aspiring graduates. These are traits to avoid as you climb the success ladder.

Doing a reality check on reality TV is critical for anyone who wants to succeed in today's job market. Certainly view the shows, enjoy the outrageous antics and pitfalls that these candidates must rise above, listen carefully to what success factors seems to count, but more importantly, think and reflect on how different reality TV is from the real world and don't make the mistake of mixing the two.

Linda Bates Parker is Director of the Career Services Center at University of Cincinnati.