A boss has shared his 'coffee cup test' which he uses to decide who to hire and who not to take on. He uses the unconventional method to fully understand what type of person his interviewee is.
Trent Innes, chief executive of software company Compono, says those who fail his test would even be blacklisted from the firm for any future positions. The Manchester Evening News reports Trent gave more information and explained his reasoning on business podcast The Venture.
The former managing director of tech company Xero Australia 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. 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?"
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Trent told host and fellow CEO Lambros Photios that this simple test can tell him whether the candidate will be the right fit for his workplace, reports ChronicleLive. He added: "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'."
Attitude can play a significant part in a hiring manager's decision process even outside the main interview itself, according to another boss who recently shared the reason why they rejected someone before the interview had even begun. Posting the story on Reddit's Life Pro Tips forum, the manager explained that the way the candidate treated the company's 'receptionist' meant he had no chance of getting hired.
The boss wrote: "Today, a candidate blew his interview in the first five 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," they revealed.
"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. Be nice to everyone in the building," they advised.
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