Outgoing students are used to doing a lot of job interviews. An interview Thursday was on a different scale.

Scouring the country for contestants on NBC’s “The Apprentice,” show officials interviewed dozens dreaming of hearing “You’re hired” from billionaire entrepreneur Donald Trump at the Carlson School of Management.

Dressed in jeans and a blouse, University alumna Stacy Rider came ready to discuss commercial property and her business experiences.

Around her, other interviewees chatted and waited. Some tapped their feet nervously and others even slept.

“The Apprentice” squares off people vying to work for Trump. The winner of the competition will receive a position in the Trump Organization and a $250,000 salary.

Last season, the show pitted a team of college graduates against a team without college degrees, which NBC dubbed “book smarts” versus “street smarts.”

Contestants live in a New York apartment between competitions that test their business-savvy skills and ability to work under pressure.

Approximately 70 people showed up to audition at the Carlson School, said Jen Glebmann, director of outreach and special events for the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.

Recent Carlson School graduate Mary Coleman said she wanted to try out because she thought it would be an interesting experience and she wanted to see what would happen.

“I’m out here just for the hell of it,” said Coleman, who graduated from the Carlson School in May.

Rider graduated from the Carlson School with a master’s of business administration in 2004, the same degree many contestants have on the show.

She is now a mother of two and runs three different businesses with her husband. They own a real estate company, in which Rider is a real estate agent and her husband is a loan originator.

The couple also owns rental property in Minneapolis and St Paul. Their third business is a creative service business that has worked with American Express and Sharpie Permanent Markers, she said.

Rider waited an hour and a half before show officials invited her in for the interview.

“They just asked to tell a little about yourself and why you would be good on the show,” Rider said.

When Rider tried to shake one of the interviewers’ hands, she said, the interviewer declined and said that too many people have been sick lately.

As of Monday, Rider had not heard back from anyone since her interview.

The show also held a second tryout at a local car dealership Saturday.