A former Managing Director revealed how one test told him all he needed to know
A man who was once the managing director of a well-known technology company has shared a ‘coffee cup test’ that he used in interviews.
We all know how nerve-wracking a job interview can be, but there’s nothing worse than being thrown a curveball in the middle of questions.
After doing your own preparation and figuring out what you’re going to wear, you actually have to sit down for the interview and come across as a good candidate.
It’s a daunting task, but imagine being hyper-analysed by those hiring you.
We’re not talking about them picking up on your salary expectations, or questions about company benefits, but your general behaviour.
But according to the former Managing Director of Xero Australia, Trent Innes, there’s one thing that he does will all candidates and keeps an eye on.
The current Chief Growth Officer at SiteMinder once shared how one test helped him determine if someone would be fit for a role.
It isn’t just for a specific role either, this works for everything.
In an appearance on business podcast The Ventures back in 2019, he explained that he would take candidates down to one of their kitchens before an interview, and they would normally end up getting a drink.
He went on: “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 highlighted.
Innes said that it’s all about creating a culture at the company, and it even results in a tidy communal kitchen. Win-win.
“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,” Innes went on.
He added that it’s a way to make sure you’ll ‘fit into the culture inside Xero.’
Innes also took part in another interview with Rebel Playbook, explaining that there are only ‘two rules inside the organisation.’
“Number one, you can’t eat lunch at your desk,” he said, adding: “It actually gets people to mingle in common areas and you actually get cross- collaboration.”
The former Xero MD said he was a ‘big believer’ in that, meaning that open spaces were a must, and that collaboration was a big focus for him.
“And number two is you have to wash your own coffee cup,” he reiteratied.
