The Apprentice 18.0: Answering Selection Questions

10 years ago, my blogs about the (UK series of) The Apprentice drove huge amounts of traffic to my website. I also had a few message exchanges with candidates.

But I stopped. I no longer wanted to watch:

1. Evidence that intelligent adults can't accurately carry out simple addition, multiplication, or division
2. Examples of crass insensitivity and dis-respect
3. Bickering, fighting, blaming everyone else, and lame excuses
4. Success as a result of others' failures or, worse, of putting others down
5. Constant focus on weaknesses and failings

And yes, I know a lot of the fault is with the nature of popular TV and the editing choices (candidates beware!).

But, I'm back.

My audience now is different, and my life is different. And my daughter is taking GCSE Business Studies, loves the show, and has astute opinions about what she sees.

So, I plan to do a short piece after each episode, with one lesson for professional business-people. I'll try to avoid the need to know the show. And I certainly won't be sharing my family's opinions about the candidates!

So, in the run up to the first episode (2 Feb), I've been reading about the candidates.

In particular, I've been looking at the interview/application questions they've answered. These are pretty typical of the sort of questions a candidate for a managerial or professional job will get, either:

• in an application pack, or
• at an interview

Here are my thoughts on how we should tackle the questions they answered:

What's your biggest business success to date?

The first thing a recruitment interviewer wants to know about, is what you can do. They want to know your skills and your experience. And they want hard evidence to back up your assertions about yourself. Let's face it: you're hardly an impartial commentator!

This question is your chance to provide that. It's an easy question, and an example of appreciative inquiry. At an interview, they can probe into what you are good at.

What's your biggest business fail?

This question is not about your failure. But this doesn't mean you can answer it with a trite 'I don't fail' sort of answer. No one would believe that!

It's actually about your character. The interviewer wants to know how you respeond to failure. And it's also a way to showcase what you have learned from your less-than-ideal experiences.

Tell us something about yourself

I could write a lot about this, but the truth is... I already have. And then, I made a video. It may seem the hardest question, but there is a way to make your answer to this your best differentiator. Because most candidates will answer this wrongly.

Watch: How to Answer the Question 'Tell Me About Yourself?' in a Job Interview

Why do you deserve Lord Sugar’s investment?

There are two ways to interpret this question:

1. Why do you deserve Lord Sugar’s investment
2. Why do you deserve Lord Sugar’s investment

Have a guess which one is more important!

This is not so much about you. It's about your understanding of your potential employer and what they want and need. Then, you can match something you offer, to that requirement.

Exercise for Students

Read the responses from each of the candidates. How well have they done? Did they folow the guidance I offer? And did any do better, by giving answers that improve on my guidance.

One last thing

Don't we all love the interview episode? Well, anyone preparing for a job interview or investment pitch should read:

The Apprentice interviewers reveal how they prepare to put the candidates through their paces. Four interviewers share the secrets of the all-important Interviews Episode.

To all 18 candidates:

Amina Khan , Dr Asif Munaf , Florence Edwards , Foluso Falade , Jack Davies , Maura Rath , Noor Bouziane, Oliver Medforth , Onyeka Nweze LLB, MSc, ACG , Paul Bowen , Dr. Paul Midha , Phil Turner , Rachel Woolford , Raj Chohan , Samantha Saadet , Steve Darken , Tre Lowe , Virdavinder Singh G.

Good luck!