'Coffee cup' test manager uses for interviews - and rejects anyone who fails

13.01.2023 - 21:31 / dailyrecord.co.uk

Trying to make a good first impression during a job interview can be very difficult.

Nerves can often get the better of us, and it doesn't help that apparently hiring managers know if you're the right fit within the first 15 seconds of the interaction.

But according to one boss at an accountancy software firm, you can tell a lot about a person's attitude after they complete a small "coffee cup" test - and he doesn't hire anyone who fails.

The Mirror reports that Trent Innes believes the test is more effective than any interview question is when it comes to finding out about a person.

He also says that anyone who fails is an immediate no-hire - and is even blacklisted from the company.

Trent, who works at Xero Australia, shared his little trick while speaking on the business podcast The Venture with entrepreneur Lambros Photios.

He explained : "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?

"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'."

He says the trick is very effective, and the office kitchens are always in a very clean condition.

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