Handling the ups and downs of competition, as well as the ability to spot opportunities, has held the new world Scrabble champion in good stead in his career as a recruitment consultant.

This past weekend in the French city of Lille, Brett Smitheram, senior consultant at HR staffing specialist Macmillan Davies, defeated fellow Brit Mark Nyman with the word ‘braconid’, a parasitic wasp. That score of 176 points led him to be crowned Scrabble world champion.

Speaking to Recruiter about his victory, the new world champion revealed he started playing Scrabble competitively long before he got into recruitment from the age of 16. He said the ability to handle the ups and downs of competition, to spot opportunities and to present himself well, due to the fact he has done lots of media interviews, has really helped in his recruitment career. 

“Also, it doesn’t hurt to have the confidence that you really are the very best in the world at something,” he added.

Smitheram, who took part in his first adult tournament at the age of 17, and qualified for his first World Championship aged 20, says his eye for detail also generally means he is asked to check through any marketing his agency puts out. 

“My adverts tend to be pretty good… it also means I tend to have a fairly sharp eye for detail when CVs have mistakes!” he said.

• Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!