Hello candidates and welcome to the penultimate boardroom!

I'll start with asking you how you feel the interviews went?

Good evening, Lord Sugar!

I felt that they went very well when I was doing them, but having looked at everyone else's they seem to have done well as well. I really have no idea how the tide is going to turn this time.

Hello!

The interviews were great, they all went smoothly and I wish my 3 finalists the best of luck!

Hello Lord Sugar.

I think the interviews went as well as they could for me. And it does seem they did go well for everyone else, so today should be interesting.

I'll start with a positive, which of the interviews would you consider to have been your best?

Good evening Lord Sugar.

I felt the interviews went well in that I managed to answer them all in a detailed, clear way, giving lots of evidence and examples and dismissed any potential hesitations one may have in letting me get through to the next round. So I believe they went well.

I really liked the interview with Carlisle. I had always admired David and thought he was spot-on in everything he asked, and in this interview he really was. He also gave me a chance to explain myself in all aspects.

I felt like Carlisle's went the best, because he asked me a lot of questions and when I gave him the most well-rounded answers I could, he seemed to be satisfied with what I said most of the time. He was the only interviewer who I actually felt I could glean something from, with the others I really couldn't tell how they were reacting to my answers.

I feel my interview with David (Carlisle) went the best because he asked me lots of questions which were about different facets of the process, and I believe I answered them well and showed evidence which shows that I have not only learned from any mistakes, improved on weaknesses but also that I have got a diverse range of skills. I believe the interview showed me as a well-rounded candidate the most. I also feel he believed I turned around any potential shortcomings I may have.

I felt that Jakk's was quite difficult. It was very short, and I felt like he was challenging me about certain parts of the process more than merely asking. I wouldn't say I was exactly intimidated because I'm quite difficult to intimidate, especially on a forum, but I felt a little bit uncomfortable, and we had a technical issue as well, which didn't help. However, I felt that I answered his questions quite well, and hopefully set aside any doubt he or you may have.

I felt that it was difficult in a way to talk about other candidate's shortcomings in Katie's interview as I would rather talk about my own skills and why I would be the best candidate than pointing out their flaws especially in which candidate would be the weakest question. But I still feel the interview went well in selling myself, showing a bit of insight in things I may have done wrong, while still being honest as possible in my answers.

No the rest of the interviews were also decent. There was one where we had to rush because I had another interview in the next hour, but it was still thorough and the timing was not an issue. So yeah, I believe that they all went well, and I hope that I proved myself worthy in all 4 of them because I was as honest and transparent as I could be. I also made sure to be straight to the point and spared them the irrelevant details. I learned that precision is key in interviews.

Naruto, are you still here? Would be interested to hear your views on the interviews as well...

Anyway, I have some specific questions for each of you now.

Shadi, I think you defended yourself well against a couple of concerns I had against you but do you think everything you said was completely truthful? For example, you mentioned that everyone has always been completely behind your ideas but from my understanding of Task 4, Roxie was less enthused about your film idea and tried to change it in many ways, which you resisted. In hindsight, is it entirely true to say everyone has always been completely behind your ideas, or is it more a case of you being a domineering personality who makes sure their ideas gets chosen?

George, it was quite noticeable that all of the other candidates names you as the weakest remaining in Katie's interview. What are your thoughts on this matter? Surely there must be some truth behind it considering it was a unanimous opinion amongst your fellow candidates?

Naruto, I get that you're not into 'writing essays' and that's not all what DSA is about, but many of the interviewers commented on how you seemed to put less effort in and gave less detailed responses than your fellow candidates. Especially when your interview is put aside the other candidates it does appear this way. Do you think this way you came across in the interviews is reflective of you as a candidate?

Roxie, on the other hand your responses were incredibly long and detailed. I get that you have a lot to say for yourself and really wanted to prove why you deserve a spot in the final but a couple of interviewers mentioned that you said more than you need to and you could have expressed the points you were making in far fewer words. Do you think you run the risk of being verbose, which can in turn be off putting?

Yes I do believe that my team mates like and backed my ideas in the tasks where my ideas were chosen. In task 4, when I Wrote my script, everyone including Roxie said that they liked my script and wanted us to go with it. They said it in words, and in action, as no one suggested a different script that we go with. Roxie only voiced her opinions about the ending, genre, and industry. She wanted to change some parts about the plot, and she wanted to tweak the genre to a historical piece, but she was on board with the script as a whole, and so was George and most importantly Zak, during his first night as Project Manager. So I never really went forth with an idea that my team didn't support. The arguments concerning surrounded details, not the main general idea, which was the script. And the details were really a result of team discussion, and many parts of script were altered and I didn't mind, but a few aspects (such as the ending) were red-lines to me because as I had mentioned, this is a book in process.

I won't deny that I was a little bit shocked by that, but I think that Roxie was absolutely right in saying in Katie's interview that at this point we're all so strong that we are just basing it on minor details in order to answer a question like that. For Naruto, I would say that he doesn't really have much to go on in rating me as the weakest given that we have only worked together on one task (and I appreciate that that may make me come across a little hypocritical as I rated him as the weakest as well, but I said that because I have worked with Roxie and Shadi on the majority of the tasks and they are both extremely strong, and I did say that I may feel differently had I worked with Naruto a little more). Roxie and Shadi had their reasons for saying that, but they have also both been very positive about me, both when talking to me on tasks and at other points during the interviews. I can't completely negate the fact that I was unanimously recognised as weakest, but I do think at this point we are all looking for scapegoats, and given the fact that I have a 0-2 as Project Manager I would naturally be the obvious choice for people to point the finger at, completely ignoring the fact that the winning Project Manager is not necessarily the more capable candidate (Stacey beat Naruto, for instance, and that wasn't the only time that something like that happened in this process).

So yes, I was very truthful in every answer I gave, and if there is any thing that you felt wasn't so, please let me know and I will explain.

I do not think that it ever has been about quantity with myself, I feel it should not matter how much I write or do not write but rather the content of what I have said and I do feel that there was a lot to talk about in terms of my performance in this process because I have been involved in lots of different sections (as I outlined in my CV), I have learned a lot and I do have a lot of different skills (team work, creativity, passion, going out of my comfort zone on numerous occasions etc). As I said before my approach has always been about going above and beyond and about dedication, handling 3 or 4 sections nearly every task. I have been involved in a lot and thus I do have a lot to say about myself.

I do agree in a way that I should condense my answers and I will take that on board Lord Sugar. Actually in a way I also feel the length of my answers demonstrate the breadth of my abilities.

I agree with you that you're all strong and there's not much between you, but even so surely these 'minor points' that the other candidates picked up on mean you're less deserving of a final spot than the others? I your you're point about your PM losses and I won't go too much into that as I don't think it truly reflects you as a candidate, but they did make other quite valid points about you as a candidate...

You know, if I'm being completely honest I probably have made more outright mistakes on task than the other candidates. If that makes me the weakest candidate, then I guess I can't argue with that, and if that is what counts against me then I can't help that unfortunately. However, I feel that I also have a lot of strengths, and I would be able to counter any points about the odd mistake that I have made with more notable points about things that I have done that show what a hard worker I am and how committed I am to this. Personally I don't think that individual mistakes sum up how strong someone is in the grand scheme of things, especially if they have only happened on odd occasions (and they have); I think it's more important, when hiring someone for a job or going into business with someone, to look at their strengths, how hard they work and whether they are someone that you can work with. But everyone has different criteria.

Aside from the interviews you were also asked to produce a CV for Tyjet's interview. How did you find the process of writing the CV in comparison to the interviews?

Also for Roxie and Naruto, whilst what you wrote was good it was noted by both me and Tyjet that it appeared to us more to be a cover letter than a CV. Do you not think at this crucial point in the competition you should have researched more thoroughly what would have been expected in this CV? Would it not have been better to have sent a properly structured CV alongside your 'cover letter'?