Boss uses coffee test in every interview and won't employ those who fail

Job interviews can be insanely nerve-wracking - from the fevered nights of preparation, crippling self-doubt and sweaty anxiety on the day itself.

If this wasn't enough, companies have been known to set up all kinds of traps to catch candidates unawares - and now you have one more to worry about.

If you have good manners, you should be fine. The test is pretty simple -and it involves a coffee cup.

Trent Innes is a former managing director of accounting platform Xero and current chief growth officer of hotel commerce platform, SiteMinder.

Basically, he's probably interviewed a fair few candidates, and they've all been subjected to his coffee cup test.

Speaking to business podcast The Ventures, he said: "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.

X/@trentinnes

"Then we take that 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, and the attitude that we talk a lot about is the concept of 'wash your coffee cup.'"

According to the boss, it's all about the 'culture' of a workplace and he says his tactic seems to do the trick as the office kitchen is always tidy.

He goes on: "If you come into the office one day inside Xero, you'll see the kitchens are almost always clean and sparkling and it's very much off that concept of wash your coffee cup.

"It's really just making sure that they're actually going to fit into the culture inside Xero, and really take on everything that they should be doing."

While we're at it, here's some more job interview advice - make sure you're lovely to absolutely everyone you meet in the office.

Pixabay/freephotocc

Taking to Reddit, an employee explained: "Today, a candidate blew his interview in the first 5 minutes after he entered the building.

"He was dismissive to the receptionist. She greeted him and he barely made eye contact. She tried to engage him in conversation. Again, no eye contact, no interest in speaking with her.

"What the candidate did not realise 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.

"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.

"Be nice to everyone in the building."

Topics: Food And Drink, Jobs, Hacks, Business

Simon Fearn

Simon is a sub-editor at LADbible. He studied journalism at City, University of London, and has written for Digital Spy, The Stage and The Drinks Business. He's a big fan of low budget horror films, regular caffeine hits and extended arguments about Oxford commas. You can contact Simon at [email protected].

@smffearn