You’re fired! Well, not you personally. We’re talking about 15 of the 16 new hopeful candidates competing for a £250,000 investment from Sir Alan Sugar. If, like 4.6 million other Britons, you tuned in on 6th January for the launch of The Apprentice 2022, you may be interested in reviewing the lessons Sir Alan has taught us to date about how to be successful at interview and in the workplace, as follows:
- Don’t be overconfident
Knowing your strengths is one thing; issuing wild exaggerations of the ‘I’m the best … in Europe’ variety is quite another. So be confident, promote (and back up) your strengths and accomplishments, but steer well clear of arrogance and hyperbole.
- Be a team player
Flexing your leadership muscles isn’t always the best option. Play your designated role within the team to increase the chances of successfully reaching your goal. A good team player can lead when required but ultimately puts the team’s objectives above their own.
- Pull your weight
Lurking in the background and hoping not to be noticed or blamed for potential mistakes is a risky approach. To stay in the game, get involved in all the tasks, take on some risk and responsibility, and be accountable.
- Be likeable
It’s hard to fire someone you like and have built a relationship with, and who is popular among their team mates. So be friendly, helpful and interested in other people at all levels of seniority.
- Speak up
Contribute your opinion while there’s still a chance to influence the outcome of a task but, if you can’t convince the other team members to adopt your idea, admit defeat and continue to be a supportive, active team player.
- Don’t forget the task at hand
Keep the team objective at the forefront of your mind. Don’t get side-tracked by less important elements of the task or the temptation of self-promotion.
- Don’t lie
There’s a fine line between putting a gloss on the truth to promote yourself to land an interview and telling blatant lies. Avoid the latter because you will get found out and promptly discarded from the selection process.
- Treat mistakes and setbacks as learning opportunities
Making mistakes isn’t a problem; it’s how you deal with them that makes a difference. So reflect (but don’t dwell) on the experience, and move on, glad to have had the learning opportunity.
And that, as they say, is a wrap! Please get in touch if you think we’ve overlooked any important interview/work lessons from the list, or to discuss how we can help you navigate your way to your dream job and hearing those most beautiful words – ‘You’re hired!’
