This will be a short rant.

You know how this week the remaining candidates kept banging on about how they "need" to be Sir Alan's apprentice? Did anyone else find that utterly ridiculous, or is it just me?

None of those people NEED the job! If these fools had not had the opportunity to appear on The Apprentice, what would they have done? Miraculously gone and found themselves a position similar to the one Suralan is offering, immediately, because of their urgent ''need''? Rather unlikely.

The candidates would all be in their old jobs living their normal lives according to their normal standard of living. They may WANT the job with Suralan, but they don't 'need' it. They'd just have to work their way up the ladder like everyone else to get to where they want to be, so how they have the audacity to whine about 'need' is beyond me.

End of rant. What say ye?

Agree, that annoyed me too. It's not like they're paupers anyway....!

They might have worded it badly - and I'm not keen on any of the remaining four, to be honest - but I'd be fuming if I was after a job and someone that wasn't 100% arsed was in there confusing matters

If I was going for a job and someone said that after her first interview she wasn't totally sure that the job was right for her or her for the job I would probably think to myself that meant I had a better chance of getting it. If later in the day she said, do you know, I've been thinking about this all day and I realise now that yes, this is right for me I'd think, I'd think, well make your mind up but I'm probably back to where we were before we started.

I would not tell the boss what she'd said a) because it has nothing to do with me and b) it is not good business practice as what does it say about me as a person - that if I can grass on an interviewee then I can do the same with people I work with, i.e. I am not a good team player or a person to be relied on.

I also would not say I NEED the job and she doesn't. Very poor interviewing form and although I didn't expect Lucinda to get the job, neither do I expect Alex to next week even if his team wins which seems highly unlikely in a pairing of people with zero dynamism, negative leadership ability and neither of them showing any signs yet of being willing or able to take the initiative.

Exactly, vidalia! Well said!

"Needing" a job is an automatic reason for not giving it to someone, I reckon.

Yes I think they've got it a bit wrong there.

I'm always keen to have people who genuinely want the job because something fires them up about it - needing the job is neither here not there.

We all look for new jobs because we need something whether it's a change, more money, career progression or just get out of where we are - no qualification at all IMO.

Maybe Alex just needs a job that has a basic pay structure rather than one that's commission only.

I wondered why after the interviews Alex was praised for taking a commission only job whereas Lucinda was deemed unemployable for being a contractor earning in excess of £100K.

I couldn't agree more, except that I like two of the last four and don't totally dislike the other two.

Simply from an HR point of view, someone who has been working as a contractor for a length of time is seen as someone who can't settle. Unfortunately, the evidence bears this out. I have known people who work as contractors who admit that this is the reason they do not want a permanent job and I have worked for companies that have employed former contractors on more than one occasion, only for them to walk after a few months. Employment agencies often find contractors now looking for permanent jobs, the most difficult candidates to secure an interview for.

A commission only job requires drive to be successful in - no sale, no pay. It's not something I would ever do myself. In the present climate, it's a tough situation to be in, particularly if you are looking for a mortgage or other large loan because commission only is treated like a bonus or overtime, ie non-guaranteed earnings. Some people thrive on it though. A friend's husband works on commission only and makes a great living. It takes a very good and motivated salesperson though.

Alex also said something along the lines that "he'd given up everything to be on the show".
What exactly did he give up? It's not like he jacked in his job, his family etc and travelled thousands of miles to be there.

At the start of the show, it says that they have all given up their jobs.

Distance-wise, with the exception of Jenny M, Alex is probably the one who has travelled furthest (not thousands of miles, granted).

A few of the fired candidates have said that Alex desperately misses his girlfriend.

I run a business and if I look for an employee, I'm not interested in people who need in my organisation. Saying you need the job is a sign of desparation, and desparate people are not the sorts I want to employ.

I would like someone who wants to work in my organisation out of choice.

If that is the case then he was lieing in the boardroom when he said he needed the job.

Well, certain things can happen that can make you re-evaluate exactly what you need in your life and what you need more than something else. Lucinda's thoughts and their fall-out may have been exactly the catalyst.

The vast majority of people work to live, they don't live to work, so finding someone who actually wants any job is extremely rare.

Most employers, even the most experienced, are blind to any such implications of desperation and are just flattered by the thought that they are needed.

By the way, desparation? Did you take the same English lessons as Lee?

I would also never employ anybody who needs to feel superior by pointing out other peoples mistakes.

You'd think so! Desperate is one of those words that I've habitually been spelling incorrectly for years!

It's exactly like that - he jacked in his job, and despite the opinions of what seems to be the majority on the forum, he was actually very successful.


Why? Surely needing a job and missing his girlfriend are two separate issues.

He gave up his job - if his application to be The Apprentice fails, then he clearly needs alternative employment. Should the need to make a living preclude him from missing his girlfriend?

My point isn't that he doesn't need a job. He obviously needs a job. He said he needs this particular job, which is in London away from his girlfriend.

He turned on Lucinda in the boardroom, like a snake. This was because she didn't need the job and that he did.

The question of need in this case was his argument against Lucinda in the boardroom and put across by him to Sir Alan as why he should make it to the final over her.

As it turns out it was a lie, he didn't need this job, he needed another one closer to home. He needed to be closer to his girlfriend, he didn't need to be Sir Alan's apprentice.

The point I would make is that he can't have needed the job that much, can he?

My step brother took a job that involved him moving to a whole other continent because he needed to do so in order to gain the experience required to progress his career. It was very hard for him as it meant spending months away from his fiancee, as well as being away from his family and friends.

So I'd say Alex, much like Lucinda, wanted the job but didn't actually need it, if the rumour is proved to be correct. Which would have been fine had he not made a point of berating Lucinda for exactly the same thing.

Whatever way you look at it, he has now set himself up to look like a right ass if this rumour is correct.

Well I'm sure we can all speculate on what is meant by whom, when saying this, that or the other.

I take your point that failure would mean he needs a job, but does his use of this rather than a mean he is lying - surely that's a bit strong?

At the moment, like the other three finalists, he is in no man's land. At the end of the series he may have triumphed or failed miserably. If the former he could presumably ask his girlfriend to join him down south - but until the ultimate decision his life is clearly unsettled, so yes in that context I can understand him saying he 'needs' the job.

Does he need it any more than Lee, Claire or Helene? Does he need it any more than Lucinda? Clearly not - but each candidate will judge their needs according their circumstances - and I fail to see how that can be considered lying.

Any job is a want, not a need. Everyone could have really low down jobs such as working in McDonalds or being a cleaner and still get by OK. Lucinda was honest about it.

I take it you're not a school head, then?

By the way, do you mean other people's mistakes?

Before I comment further - just what is the rumour?

That he misses his girlfriend?

I'm not being obtuse - I'm simply puzzled.

Alex isn't my favourite candidate of the series - I reserve that for Raef and Lucinda - but I cannot for the life of me understand how he's come to induce feelings of such extreme dislike.