Work/Life Lessons from the Candidates of The Apprentice...

Well, it’s back: The Apprentice. Which truly means it’s Autumn, and that I’ll be glued to the tv on Wednesday evenings.
I’ve got such a love/hate relationship with the show. I love watching it, but I hate some of the traits it shows up in the candidates.
Of course it’s all entertainment, and we know these people would never make the series if they weren’t larger-than-life characters, but sometimes you just want to cover your eyes and live in denial that people could be so rude/loud/incapable/selfish/bullish (delete as appropriate).
Editing plays a part too, but some of the scenes are just ridiculous. Like the man who told Lord Sugar no one had volunteered to be PM and he had expected more confidence… When he hadn’t put himself forward either.
Or the project managers who seem unable to hear the voices of anyone else in the room.
Or the man who applied to a show under LORD SUGAR admitting he couldn’t sell face-to-face. Of course, plenty get by in business without this skill – he ran an online business, for example – but past seasons of The Apprentice make it clear how much value Lord Sugar places on these ‘traditional’ skills.
Or the weekly scenes we all know are coming where candidates turn into children as soon as they’re seated in the boardroom. The holes people dig for themselves are unbelievable, and I’m often left unsure how grown adults can be so bullish about something even when they’ve been completely proven wrong.
By acting on a rule of ‘do the opposite of what happens in The Apprentice’, I’ve taken a few key work (and life lessons) from sparkling Apprentice candidates past and present:
  • Don’t keep digging when you’re already halfway to Australia
  • Admit if you’ve done something wrong. Especially if it’s a 100% fact, such as ‘you sold nothing’
  • Work together. Gaining the respect of those you work with is a way to let everyone’s strengths shine through, and means you get a chance to step forward when a task comes up you know you’d be good at
  • Respect the advice of those with more experience. If you’re not willing to learn, how will you ever progress?
  • Don’t be petty. Don’t change your story halfway through because you can see something’s not going your way
  • And don’t complain about traits or actions of others that you’re displaying yourself. Before saying someone is too loud, or not taking other people’s ideas into account, or not pulling their weight, take a little look in the mirror and check you’re not another version of that person you can’t stand working with


Are you a fan of The Apprentice? Who are your favourites (and least favourites) so far?

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