We’ve all been waiting for it; Wednesday nights are no longer. What are we talking about? The much awaited sixth series of The Apprentice is in full swing. It’s not just the thought of hearing Lord Sugar say his notorious catchphrase ‘You’re fired’ that makes us give up every Wednesday to watch it, nor the back stabbing that so often takes place, but that it is so relevant to the work we do for our clients and the industry that we work in.
The whole process is one big training exercise for the candidates and a lengthy interview process, and we get to see it firsthand. Some of them will flourish and some as we have already witnessed will fail miserably. Most candidates get one chance, or maybe a couple depending on the interview process, to prove to an organisation that they are the right person for the job. The employer has to make a decision pretty quickly on the suitability of the candidate – do they have the right skill set, and will they fit in to the culture of the business? The hopefuls on The Apprentice get several weeks to prove themselves, and Lord Sugar gets an equal amount of time to find the right fit for his empire.
Both candidates and businesses stand to learn a lot about the interview processes, how to improve negotiating skills with the boss, what not to do in an interview and how to effectively work with fellow colleagues are all skills we see demonstrated on the programme. Employers may learn that a candidate who wins substantial new business may help sales figures but alienating the rest of the team may not mean the candidate is right for the organisation.
So as the next couple months see one candidate make it as an employee of Lord Sugar, we will be concentrating on the various tasks that are thrown at the candidates, to not only test their ability but provide them with the skills and knowledge they will need to work for one of the top dogs in the corporate world. Will it be a successful interview process for the new recruit, what will they learn and how long will they stay with Lord Sugar? Only time will tell.
