If you were Sir Alan Sugar which candidate would you employ? and which candidate would you fire?


I would be happy to employ Lucinda, Clair, and to a lesser extent Lee. Lucinda would make a great manager, She is good at building teams and maintaining good relations. Clair is a great sales person and a great presenter. Lee is the definition of rough but with some work I can see him being an asset.

I would have to fire Alex and Helene. The reasons are simple Alex doesn't have much experience and isn't as good as he likes to believe. Helene doesn't do much and it would be pointless to employ her.

That so much depends on what he wants them to do.

Having just watched series one it has become abundantly clear that he doesn't seem to have any idea himself!

He is forever making comments (this series as well) along the lines of: "I have trouble seeing where you'd fit into my organisation".

WTF?

They have a competion for a job and he doesn't know what it is?

Then at the interviews he still didn't seem to know what he wanted from them.

If it is true, as I've heard, that none of the winners stayed with him very long (which would be bourne out by the fact that he still wants an apprentice), that would bear out the impression that he doesn't know what to do with the winner.

Unfortunately without that knowledge it's impossible to answer the question.

I'd employ any of them if I had the right niche for them but none of them (at that price) for non specific duties.

Well if he does find his real apprentice then that would be the end of the series.

Or maybe it isn't real and just good TV?

Well, if it isn't real, what does he do with the people who win the series and are subsequently employed?

I think it would be better TV if they actually gave us an idea of what the apprentice role actually is.

An apprentice is someone taken on and trained until eventually s/he can do the same job as the person to whom they were apprenticed.

This would imply that AS was looking for someone who would end up as his IC2 and able to run the business in his absence.

And yet in series 1 there was universal horror when it appeared that was what Paul T expected from the job.

Would be a shame if, from the POV of the candidates, it was all a big con.

Well on the basis that they are already asking for people to take part in the next series. then it would suggest he is not looking for a true apprentice.

Yes, that had occured to me.

Presumably the applicants bare that in mind.

Lucinda, she's proved to be the all rounder so far and she has kept her head.

I can't help but think in the end it will be Alex who wins as he seems to be an ideal candidate for Sir Alan to mould into someone who he would want in his empire.

And presumably they also take into account the fact that the salary hasn't changed in 4 years?

He is not looking for a true apprentice. It's just good TV.

Do we know that?

All I've heard them say is 'a six figure salary'.

£1000.00, anyone?

Lee - for his enthusiasm, positivity and willingness to graft.

Claire - for her ability to assess the business need and get on with it

Helene - for her common sense and on her record of annual promotions in a politically charged environmental (which corporations are at senior level in my experience)

Alex - for his sales record.

I would probably hire Claire- she seems to be quite good at selling (if that's what she needs to do), or she seems to be able to take advice.

I think Alex and Helene definitely need firing because they never seem to do anything

It now boils down to two things really.

1, Who can handle the presure of the interviews?

I beleave Helene could be the strongest as she is more open but I beleave she does not have much of a good word for the others.

Lucinda & Alex will do fine but not sure about Lee & Claire.

Lee as we have not seen under presure in the boardroom & how will Claire cope in a one to one tense interview?

2, Who whats to win the show & who wants the job?

I feel Lucinda & Helene & maybe Lee but not sure on the other two.

I run my own business, a used car showroom and if I had the choice of hiring one of the remaining five I would definately take on Claire.

Based on what I've seen in the series so far she would definately make the strongest candidate for me.

Lee is perhaps the weakest. He comes across as a bit of a chancer. Not particularly articulate. Not a great motivator of people.

Alex is a snake in the grass. Cares only for himself and would not think about the better interests of my business.

Lucinda would be the last on my list. She might be able to manage others but would be very difficult to manage. Unless she gets her own way, and does exactly what she thinks is right she would be too negative for my organisation.

Helene hasn't sold herself very well through the 10 weeks.

Claire is great at sales, works tirelessly and has a 'persuasive' nature that would work well within my business.

Personally, I'd employ Lucinda to run a team. For work that requires more individual strength and the 'get out and do this', I don't think any of the candidates are suitable. I want to say Lee but I'd have to take him through simple English and eloquence classes first.

With the greatest of respect you are talking about a car showroom which I guess Sir Alan has more of an important post to fill & I do not think Claire would want to sell cars anyway.

But the other candidates have heaped enormous praise on Lee's motivational skills.

It would be very interesting to see what the takes of other people who run their own businesses would be based on that business.

I assume it would vary considerably.

Lucinda has the strongest management skills and soft skills of the bunch, and so would probably do best if I were interviewing her for a position within my company, given its 'corporate' nature.

But SrAlan's businesses are very different to the environment I work in, and it seems that he values sales-y types who will take on a more city-boy / cracking-skulls / clamber-over-each-other work ethic. So, Lucinda wouldn't fit into that environment in the slightest.

I think Claire stands the best chance. Good sales skills; good presentation skills; very driven; very vocal; very keen to learn. Sounds like she'll fit in perfectly.

i have actually slowly become a lucinda fan but i agree im not sure if she is sutiable for sir alan.
Claire is probably the strongest candidate but i doubt i could work with her!

Who would I employ?

No one. Why? They may be great people but not what am looking for-which is honesty, respect, integrity and well rounded characters-Not perfection. Their business acumen will fall into place when identified.

Babeth

He should hire Helene. She's 'feisty', but would essentially do what he told her to without much backchat, and from his past winners that's what he's after. Why else would you hire Simon over Kristina, or Michelle over Ruth if it wasn't that you want someone who you can control? By that logic I'd also hire Alex.

Also, which of the candidates would WANT the job - I bet poor old Tim, who applied for a job with the bloke who owns Amstrad wot does those computer thingies NEVER expected to be heading up the re-invention of a beauty product that crashed the first time it was taken to market.

At least The Donald asks whether you want to head up the development of a new golf course or a 5 star hotel complex!

I would employ both Alex and Lee, as my man servants.

She wouldn't just be selling, I'd put her in charge of our relationship with suppliers. I'm sure Claire wouldn't accept a post at my place and I certainly couldn't pay her a wage anywhere close to her current salary, but the question is who I would employ so I answered it as best I could in terms of who I would employ.

I'm sure Sir Alan could find a more important role to fill but based on reports of what previous winners have been doing I'm not sure that is what they'd be given.

I'm sure there are others who would love to employ him. Above all else he's just too loud and his language too abusive for me to take him seriously.

I know what you mean but I wonder how much that's to do with the very artificial and highly stressed nature of the environment in which he find himself.

I would imagine he could control himself in other circumstances.