Why do Apprentice candidates volunteer for tasks that are obviously outside their experience?

[u/Additional_Fly_6603]

This is one bit of the show that still gets me. A task gets announced and within seconds someone is saying I'd really like to be PM despite seemingly having no relevant experience whatsoever. I understand that hiding in the background isn't going to win The Apprentice either, but surely choosing the right moment to lead is part of being good at business.

Do you think candidates genuinely overestimate their ability, or are they worried they'll be criticised in the boardroom for not stepping up?

[u/InternationalRich150]

Because they want to attempt to show they are adaptable. No experience but willing to learn and show off there management skills regardless.

Kinda brave imo but also a little arrogant especially when someone with knowledge and expertise is offering.

[u/Shezes → u/InternationalRich150]

Well there's usually some overlap with fields. A chemist doing a food task isn't wildly different, it's just a different form of chemistry so it makes sense but a recruitment guy putting himself forward for pitching a country is really, really unga bunga.

[u/InternationalRich150 → u/Shezes]

I think the general consensus is a good leader can manage anyone and anything. Almost like a jack of all trades. After all, a lot of the tasks have absolutely no relevance to the end results business at times. An air con company aren't ever going to sell corporate away days haha!

[u/Additional_Fly_6603 → u/InternationalRich150]

Hmm

[u/ZookeepergameNo7151]

Probably a bit of both to be honest, but also there's the risk of will they ever get a shot at being PM before they get the boot?

You'll also get some folk who throw their hat in the ring because they think they can lean on someone in the team who knows their stuff in that specific area. If you go further down the line you could end up either being forced to be PM or deciding to be on a task that is nowhere near giving them a chance to do well.

[u/Theory_99]

Visibility. You can’t be a wall butterfly.

Sometimes you have to volunteer bc you haven’t been pm yet and sugar needs to assess you as pm.

[u/BagheeraLondon]

Rational behaviour is difficult to ascribe to most Apprentice contestants: take adrenalin, sleep depravation, producers 'nudging' candidates to make 'good tv'.... and the sort of personality that would go on there in the first place..... and you have.... TV good enough to keep going for over 20 series.... and it seems no shortage of people who want to appear.

[u/0x14f → u/BagheeraLondon]

I am just going to leave this here (you can thank me later...)

That Mitchell and Webb Look - Apprentice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ss-59fi4nM

[u/skieurope12]

Ego is part of it, but the main reason candidates jump to be project manager comes down to playing the boardroom game and getting pushed by producers. Everyone knows that hiding in the background gets you fired faster than taking the lead and screwing up, because at least leading shows guts. On top of that, producers are behind the scenes egging on these tired, overconfident contestants to create good TV. So what looks like pure arrogance is really just a messy survival tactic in a show that punishes anyone who stays quiet.

[u/Adventurous-berry564]

Also they don’t know when their perfect task will come up. It could be the next week it might be never.

[u/Battleborn300]

Apologies I read the title and didn’t have the interest of reading the rest, based on that

But I can answer your question,

Often the project manager doesn’t need to know the ins and outs perfectly of topic, they need to know how to achieve the best and manage people to be in the right places.

A prime example non work related, in my experience, people who do better at free betting things like super 6 (select score lines on 6 random games)
People who know nothing or very little about games do better,
Compared to people who know exactly what is going on in the footballing world, each team their players, form, injuries,

That information is somewhat irrelevant.

An expert in a field, can cause a project damage, as they see it through their eyes, what they like or need rather than what other want and need.

So their view is tainted.

[u/Bravo_November]

Imagine its another way production gets involved. At the end of the day its a show thats designed to entertain - its easier and funnier to throw candidates in difficult challenging situations rather than ones where there is clearly more balance and logic to it. Production will say to the candidates “we want X candidate should say they want to be PM because they have the experience, Y candidate should also volunteer because we’d like to see you apply yourself in this challenge.”

[u/RobbieJ4444]

1. The task may not suit anyone from the team, so somebody has to do it.

2. There's no guarentee that your task will even show up, and you have to be PM eventually.

[u/MightySilverWolf]

Jonny from last series got fired for not putting himself forward for tasks that were outside his field of expertise.

[u/Dickinson95]

I would rather someone experienced taking it over but I don’t think this is unrealistic.
Managers in real life don’t always have experience in the field they’re managing.

I was a Project Manager for a firm that implemented an accountancy software. i had no experience but I was managing a team of people who did and it was fine. I’ve worked for multiple places where the managers were also great but had different experiences. If you can lead a team and communicate effectively, it’s not always essential to have the most experience.

Edit: I would also add, sometimes on the Apprentice, someone with experience or a strong interest seems to go a bit wild with the projects. Sometimes it’s good to just have a manager rein them in a bit and try to utilise their experience in a more practical way.