As the week draws to a close and the weekend beckons, an extra delight is to be enjoyed in the form of The Apprentice final on Sunday night. Although whinging about the bickering and bitching that kicked off the series, I have now become a severe Apprentice addict.

This has led me to adopt strangely irrational behaviour such as staying up till the small hours to catch it on iPlayer after missing the episode, so as not to have the result spoiled at work the following morning. Not to mention the incident that blew my diet out of the water- having not shopped and The Apprentice about to start, I just had to order a pizza so as not to miss this week’s cringey interview session.

Yes, sad I know, but the draw of Sir Alan’s amusing remarks has been just too good to miss. I still think my favourite has to be ‘I know the words to candle in the wind but that don’t make me Elton John’.

Wednesday’s interview episode was filled to the brim with painfully awkward moments as the candidates squirmed in front of some very tough interviewers. So as well as having a very high entertainment factor, there is also a few good lessons to be learned about how best to conduct yourself  in a high pressure interview- something which some of the candidates could have done with a crash course on.

1)      Don’t lie on your CV.
Lorraine learned this the hard way as she tried to talk her way out of her botched employment dates by suggesting a mere ‘misprint.’  Whether it is a small white lie or a blatant porky- you will be found out. Even if you’re luckier than Lorraine and don’t get called up on it at interview, it could lead to your dismissal if you provide false information on your CV or application.

2)      Remember it’s an interview not a comedy club.
Poor James suffered a rough time on The Apprentice. A likeable chap who might be a great work colleague, lightening up your day with his wise cracks; but at interview it was his comic nature that let him down. Take your interview seriously, you might make a humorous comment here and there but acting like you’re Jimmy Carr live at the Apollo isn’t going to win the interviewer over. You need to be serious and know where to draw the line, and if you are given an opportunity to talk about yourself, clear concise and focused answers will evoke professionalism, rather than wise cracks that skirt around the issues at hand.

3)      Keep your cool, even if the questions get tough.
Yasmina didn’t have quite the ‘enjoyable time’ that she claimed to her fellow contestants. She became flustered and defensive when the interviewer probed into the public accounts for her business. You might be asked some really tough questions that you don’t really want to answer, and some interviewer’s will deliberately attempt to provoke a reaction out of you. The best thing you can do is to keep your cool. Don’t get flustered, and don’t get angry. Be prepared to answer the unexpected, and keep a clear and focused head. Take your time to answer the tough questions; don’t instantly lose your cool.

4)      Don’t be too rehearsed- let your personality out.
You can’t help but feel sorry for Kate- berated for being, well... perfect! Her well executed answers and ice cool demeanour led the interviewers to call her ‘robotic’ and lacking personality. When in an interview situation you need to create a balance between answering the questions to the best of your ability but letting the interviewer see a bit of your personality come across. Don’t reel off answers like you’ve rehearsed them religiously for hours. Loosen up, be confident, but be yourself- if an employer can’t see any personality or warmth from a candidate it might well put them off, even if you’re the perfect package!

5)      Curb your attitude.
Deborah’s mouth and fiery attitude got her into trouble on more than one occasion, and although necessary in the cutthroat business world, her interview would have benefitted by showing a softer side. The last thing you want to do is offend the interviewer, by being bolshie, brash and argumentative. If the interviewer makes a comment on your CV or a remark about your personality, accept the comment and move on. Don’t jump down the interviewer’s throat and expect them to shower you with job offers.

Interviews are tough at the best of times, and high pressure interviews in which the interviewer adopts deliberate tactics to provoke a response or to unsettle you can be pretty rough. The best way to survive the ordeal is to keep calm, keep focused and remember that these are purposely executed to see how you react in uncomfortable situations. So learn from the mistakes of Sir Alan’s finest and make sure you don’t end up in the boardroom for the wrong reasons!