Claude Littner knows a thing or two about job interviews. As Lord Sugar’s right-hand man on The Apprentice, he’s famous for his face-to-face confrontations with the candidates. He rips apart their trumped-up CVs and casts withering stares as they try to bluster their way through a question they have no hope of answering well. 

Of course, it’s not just his appearances on the BBC show that make Littner a man worth listening to when it comes to getting a job: his record in business is exemplary, having chaired and run several companies. He was also chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for a time and is a visiting professor at the Claude Littner Business School, part of the University of West London.

As you might expect from the no-nonsense style Littner displays on the show, his first piece of advice is straight to the point: your CV needs to look good and be free of errors. This applies to those school application forms that require you to plug the information into predefined boxes as much as to those that ask you to upload a CV. 

“It may sound completely obvious but the amount of CVs I see that are badly put together or have lots of spelling mistakes in…you wouldn’t expect it to happen but it does,” he says. “So it’s really important to make sure it all hangs together and that everything you’ve done is in chronological order.”

On this last point, Littner advises that if there are any gaps - such as a year out travelling - you should be honest about it and see it as a chance to sell yourself.

“You don’t want to be too cheesy but just reference it and say it helped broaden your horizons or gave you experience of other cultures, and say why this is something that is perhaps useful for this job,” he says. 

However, he advises against going overboard about your extracurricular activities. “Hobbies and interests are useful as they can show what kind of person you are but don’t over-egg it - half a day’s charity work does not make you Mother Teresa,” he says. 

Covering letter

Most applications for teaching will also ask for a covering letter of some description. Littner has some thoughts on these, too. 

“You should use the covering letter as a way to show that you have a particular interest in that school or the local area, perhaps explaining that you know about an issue they face,” he says. “It’s all about helping to give someone reading your application a connection to you, so they get a sense of who you are and that you’re really interested in the job that’s being advertised.”

He warns against lying or faking it in your covering letter, though, as this rarely ends well.

“If it’s only just dawned on you that you want to be a teacher, don’t lie by saying you’ve always wanted to be a teacher since you were five, as that sort of thing gets found out pretty quickly. I see lots of applications like that and you can always tell those that mean it and those that are just trying it on,” he argues. 

Given all this, and how tough the job market is, Littner says that if you are invited for an interview, you should gather confidence from it, as that, in itself, is no mean feat.

“There is so much competition for everything now, so getting an interview is a great achievement in itself,” he explains. 

With that in mind, Littner urges candidates to make sure that they don’t do anything that could harm their chances before the interview gets under way.

“Get there on time, be presentable, shake hands, make eye contact, be friendly, but don’t starting cracking jokes or putting your feet on the table - and don’t be monosyllabic either,” he advises. “Be yourself, basically, but you on a really good day.”

Littner says that if you are unsure exactly what tone to strike, it’s a good idea to take your cue from the person interviewing you and how they act when you arrive.

“If they settle you down, offer you coffee, and the overall style is one that relaxes you, then you should try and be friendly and open back. But you can’t be too relaxed, because it may be their style to disarm you,” he warns.  

Ultimately, though, Littner says the key thing is to be yourself: “If you are a friendly kind of person then there is no point pretending you are not - you may be what they’re after and so you have to be yourself.”

Preparation is vital

In terms of the interview itself, Littner say it’s vital to do as much preparation as possible. If you work to ensure that nothing can catch you out on the day, you are more likely to come across as engaged and eager.

“Find out a bit about the school, its history, the headteacher, any local issues, how did the last Ofsted inspection go? Knowing these things will help you show the interviewer you have a genuine interest in the role,” he explains. 

However, once again, Littner believes that honesty is the best policy if you are really stumped by something you’re asked.

“If someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer, just say so, or say you’ll have to think about it and come back to it,” he says. “That is much better than trying to answer a question and then you end up looking foolish. It could be tempting, particularly if you are young and really want a job, to try to pretend you know everything, but even if you answer the first question, a follow-up one may catch you out and then you’re in really deep water.”

This also applies to the part of the interview when you’re asked if you have any questions, which Littner thinks should be treated as another key way to sell yourself to those hiring.

“Don’t try to think on your feet but have some prepared questions about things you actually want to know,” he advises. 

“These shouldn’t be about holidays or pay rises but about the culture of the school, or what the career advancement opportunities are like, so you show you are interested in the job and that you want to be there for the long term.”

Sometimes, of course, like the boardroom showdowns in The Apprentice, you may face a panel of interviewers, which Littner admits can be daunting. 

“It is harder because the questions come from all angles, you can’t build a rapport so quickly and you have to keep trying to make eye contact with everyone,” he says. 

Littner’s advice is to make sure you pay attention to everyone on the panel as much as possible to leave each of them with a positive impression.

“What is important is that you don’t just look at one person but try to engage with the entire panel. Often, people become too fixated on the person in the middle, and so end up ignoring the others. The trouble with that is that, afterwards, the other people say ‘that person never even looked at me’,” he explains. 

Thank them for the opportunity

Finally, Littner says to make sure that you attach the same importance to the end of the interview as you do to the beginning. 

“Be polite, shake hands again, say ‘Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed’ and tell them you would really welcome the chance to work for them. It’s usually a good idea to drop them a note afterwards to say thank you again as well,” he says. “You want to leave them with a good, warm feeling about you. That way, even if you don’t get the job, you will have made a connection and you never know when that may come in handy again in the future.”

Do this and you’ll give yourself the best possible chance of success. But if it doesn’t work out, Littner urges you to take consolation from the fact that the hiring process, in any industry, is an “imperfect science”. No job interview is a waste of time, he says.

“You may be an amazing human being and a wonderful teacher but if you’re not what the school is looking for, or the chemistry isn’t right, then you’re not going to get the job,” he says. “That’s not your fault, you just can’t win them all. But even if you don’t get it, you have had more interview experience and that, in itself, is invaluable.”

Whether candidates on The Apprentice would agree after a mauling from Littner is another matter, but follow his advice and you should ensure that you don’t end up in a similar position yourself and, what’s more, you’ll give yourself the best possible chance of landing that dream role.

Dan Watson is a freelance writer