What is the 'coffee cup' test used by bosses during interviews?

The boss said that a vast majority of interviewees willingly undertake the coffee cup challenge. (Representational)

An Australian boss, the former managing director for Xero Australia, has unveiled an unconventional "coffee cup" test that has left job seekers both intrigued and reflective. This test, which centres around a seemingly mundane task, aims to reveal the core values and attitudes of applicants.

In a resurfaced 2019 interview, Trent Innes disclosed that his decision to hire hinges on an act as simple as returning an empty cup to the kitchen, uncovering an insightful dimension of job interviews.

“I will always take you for a walk down to one of our kitchens and somehow you always end up walking away with a drink,” Innes said in a podcast, New York Post reported.

Innes's approach may be summarized by a single question: “Then we take the drink back, have our interview, and one of the things I’m always looking for at the end of the interview is, does the person doing the interview want to take that empty cup back to the kitchen?”

"You can develop skills, you can gain knowledge and experience, but it really does come down to attitude," he emphasized. By observing whether an interviewee willingly offers to return their coffee cup, Innes believes he gains insight into an individual's sense of ownership, a trait he views as crucial for fostering a culture of responsibility in his company.

Innes also noted that the vast majority of interviewees willingly undertake the coffee cup challenge. Yet, this test isn't the only innovative approach to recruiting and evaluating candidates.

Victoria Devine, an author and money columnist, shared her unique tactic of screening applicants by including specific instructions within job advertisements. Those who failed to follow these directions were promptly excluded from consideration, providing a streamlined process that saved time.

Additionally, an anecdote shared on Reddit in 2020 offers another example of a less-than-conventional interview technique – the "receptionist test." In this case, a candidate's dismissive behaviour toward the receptionist led to an abrupt end to the interview.

“Today, a candidate blew his interview in the first 5 minutes after he entered the building. He was dismissive to the receptionist. No eye contact, no interest in speaking with her. What the candidate did not realize was that the ‘receptionist’ was actually the hiring manager. She called him back to the conference room and explained how every single person on our team is valuable and worthy of respect,” the Reddit user wrote.

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“Due to his interaction with the ‘receptionist’, the hiring manager did not feel he was a good fit. Thank you for your time but the interview is over,” the post concluded.