Job Fair (The Office)

Infobox Television episode
Title =Job Fair
Series =The Office


Caption =Pam at Dunder Mifflin's job fair booth.
Season =4
Episode =13
Airdate =May 8, 2008NBC Press Release (May 2, 2008) [http://www.celebrityspider.com/news/may08/article050208-5.html "The Office" "Job Fair" Next Week on NBC] Celebrity Spider, Retrieved June 23, 2008]
Production =04017
Writer =Lee Eisenberg
Gene Stupnitsky
Director =Tucker Gates
Guests =Trevor Einhorn
Episode list =List of The Office (U.S. TV series) episodes
Season list =
Prev =Did I Stutter?
Next =Goodbye, Toby"Job Fair" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series "The Office", and the show's sixty-fifth episode overall. Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Tucker Gates, the episode first aired in the United States on May 8, 2008 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The episode featured Trevor Einhorn as a guest star.

In the episode, Michael and a few employees go to a high school's job fair to find a summer intern for Dunder Mifflin. However, very few students seem interested in the internship. Meanwhile, Jim attempts to make an important sale by golfing with a potential client. At first the client claims to be not interested in talking about business, but after much negotiation, Jim lands the sale. Back at the office, Dwight is left in charge. Everyone leaves except his ex-girlfriend Angela, leading to an awkward day.

Plot

After Ryan Howard (B.J. Novak) gives Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) a warning about his job performance, Jim tries to land his biggest client ever. He takes the potential client golfing, bringing along co-workers Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) and Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner). When Jim tries to talk business, the client reveals that he is not interested in switching paper suppliers. But after much persistence and negotiation, Jim lands the account.
Michael Scott (Steve Carell), Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer), Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) and Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) set up a booth at a local job fair to find a student for Dunder Mifflin’s summer internship. This proves unsuccessful, as Michael drives away the only interested student, Justin (Trevor Einhorn). Pam ventures to a booth advertising graphic design, where she discovers that she has yet to learn many graphic design programs. The man working at the booth recommends she goes to either Philadelphia or New York City to learn about the graphic design technology.

Meanwhile, Michael has left Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) in charge of the office, but none of the employees obey his wishes. When most of the employees leave in the middle of the day, Dwight is left alone except for ex-girlfriend Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey), causing the two to interact awkwardly for the rest of the day. When Jim and Pam meet up again in the office, they share a long, passionate kiss having accomplished both of their goals (Jim making the sale and Pam finding out the next step for her future in graphic design).

Production

This episode was the third episode of the series directed by Tucker Gates. Gates had previously directed the third season episodes "Branch Closing" and "Women's Appreciation". "Job Fair" was written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg.TV.com (May 9, 2008) [http://www.tv.com/the-office/job-fair/episode/1195308/summary.html "Job Fair"] TV.com, Retrieved June 22, 2008]

In order to create the blisters that Andy had on his hands during the episode, the make-up crew had to use Ben Nye sunburn colors, RCMA scar making material, and acetone. The process took twenty to thirty minutes, in which the sunburn colors were applied first and the scar making material was applied last.Eisenberg, Lee (May 13, 2008) [http://www.officetally.com/lee-eisenberg-answers-job-fair-questions/2/ Lee Eisenberg answers "Job Fair" questions] OfficeTally.com, Retrieved June 22, 2008] Angela Kinsey was pregnant during shooting. Her character wasn't pregnant, so items (such as a copy machine) were placed between her stomach and the camera to hide her pregnancy. Writer Lee Eisenberg recalled that during editing "I asked if we had any wider shots. Both Gene (Stupnitsky) and Dave Rogers (the editor) reminded me that we were shooting around Angela's enormous belly".Eisenberg, Lee (May 13, 2008) [http://www.officetally.com/lee-eisenberg-answers-job-fair-questions/2/ Lee Eisenberg answers ‘Job Fair’ questions] OfficeTally.com, Retrieved June 22, 2008] Kinsey later gave birth on May 3, five days before the episode premiered.Zap2It (May 5, 2008) [http://www.zap2it.com/celebrities/news/zap-angelakinseybabygirl,0,1949432.story?track=rss "The Office's" Angela Kinsey Gives Birth] Zap2It.com, Retrieved June 23, 2008]

Reception

"Job Fair" received 3.6/9 in the ages 18–49 demographic in the Nielsen Ratings. This means that 3.6 percent of all households with an 18 to 49 year old living in it watched the episode, and nine percent had their televisions tuned to the channel at any point. The episode was watched by 7.22 million viewers.Seidman, Robert (May 9, 2008) [http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/05/09/nielsen-ratings-may-8-2008-trouble-in-shonda-land/3695#more-3695 Nielsen Ratings May 8, 2008: Trouble in Shonda-land?] TVbytheNumbers.com, Retrieved June 22, 2008]

Reviews for this episode were mixed. Travis Fickett, of IGN, criticized parts of the episode, saying that the situation between Dwight and Angela was "played out so minimalist that virtually nothing develops" and even though Michael "gets up and makes an ass of himself" the resolution "isn't much of a pay-off". Fickett did say that although "this may not be the funniest episode, it shows how the series is capable of subtlety and depth."Fickett, Travis (May 9, 2008) [http://tv.ign.com/articles/872/872868p1.html "The Office": "Job Fair" Review] IGN, Retrieved June 22, 2008] BuddyTV's Oscar Dahl thought that "Job Fair" "had some nice moments, but it was a bit lacking in the comedy department".Dahl, Oscar (May 8, 2008) [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-office/the-office-job-fair-recap-19232.aspx "The Office": "Job Fair" Recap] BuddyTV.com, Retrieved June 22, 2008] Jay Black, from TV Squad, wrote that Andy "stole the show".Black, Jay (May 9, 2008) [http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/09/the-office-job-fair/ "The Office": "Job Fair" - VIDEO] TVSquad.com, Retrieved June 23, 2008]

References

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/episodes/season4/4017/ "Job Fair"] at NBC.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031452/ "Job Fair"] , at the Internet Movie Database