Boss uses sneaky coffee trick in interviews - would you pass it?

Interviews can be a daunting prospect, as candidates hope they have done enough to secure the job - but for one boss, there's one test he uses involving coffee that helps him decide who is perfect for the role.

Xero Australia managing director Trent Innes, says the trick helps to give an insight into a potential employee's "attitude" and "ownership" as he watches what they do with an empty coffee cup once the interview has ended.

"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," he told Venture Podcast with Lambros Photios in 2019.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

"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'.

This test helps to ensure that the prospective employee is a good fit with the workplace culture in the company that values a "sense of ownership."

"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.

"Attitude and ownership scale, especially in a really fast growing environment like we've been going through and still at this stage as well. We want to make sure we've got people who have a real, strong ownership and a growth mindset.

'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."

There you have it - so next time you're offered a beverage at an interview, maybe think about Innes's test and impress potential employers by returning the empty cup.

Elsewhere other tips to do at the end of an interview include, asking questions, thanking the interviewer by name and sending a thank you note.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.