The Apprentice > You’re Hired! View more

The Apprentice > You’re Hired!

Well it’s back! On BBC1, at 9pm on Wednesday, the mother of all interview processes, 12 long weeks of blogging, bust ups and balls up. Yes you guessed it…The Apprentice!

Let’s face it, the programme is easy entertainment - watching a candidate’s demise as their bolshie and often deluded overconfidence, falls apart in the board room overseen by Lord Sugar, who as we all know does not suffer fools gladly.

As much as the process centers on being a TV show, there is a serious part to the programme, as someone will ultimately secure a deal which will radically change their lives. Whilst keeping The Apprentice in mind as TV show satire, there are lessons to be learnt that will either doom or elevate candidates within the interview process stage.

Every year candidates fail at interviews for various reasons, such as being unprepared, not planning ahead or not having a strategy. They come over as ‘know it all’s’, lying on their CVs and making outlandish claims that they can’t back up. They are not team players, they come across as being rude and they don’t clearly state why they should be Lord Sugar’s Apprentice.

If you are currently seeking employment and you have interviews on the horizon, it is worth remembering these pitfalls as they still undoubtedly apply in reality.

Hiring managers, through my experience, want candidates who are prepared and have researched the post for which they are applying. They also want candidates engaging and showing passion for joining the business and to take supporting information to interviews with them. Having an updated CV, being truthful regarding their experience, concise at interview stating points, exampling them and demonstrating the outcomes, is a sure way to win the interview and succeed.

As a paradox, if you think my claims are untrue, I will gladly wage that candidates on the Apprentice who display these traits, will go furthest in the process. If these virtues are good enough for Lord Sugar, who has amassed a business empire and has an estimated fortune of £1.5 billion, I believe it is pretty sound advice!

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