Job interviews are an unavoidable part of professional life, often fraught with discomfort.
They certainly don’t represent a typical social interaction, do they?
From making a stellar first impression to asking the right follow-up questions, there’s a lot to keep in mind during these meetings.
However, some employers employ clever strategies to streamline their selection process.
One well-known method is the coffee cup test, which evaluates whether a candidate will clean their mug after its use.
The idea of acing an interview only to be disqualified by an unnoticed test is quite daunting.
This concept intrigued many, prompting discussions on Reddit about hidden interview tests.
In the R/AskReddit forum, someone asked: “Managers of Reddit, do you have special ‘tests’ for interviewees that you put them through without their knowing?”
Numerous responses were received, but one particularly unsavory account stood out.
A manager shared a straightforward test that most candidates didn’t pass.
They recounted: “I used to work in a cafe. The work was simple. I asked applicants to butter a couple of slices of bread and put a slice of cheese on it to make a sandwich. Those who failed to wash their hands first; failed.”
Curious about the results, a Redditor asked, “What was the pass rate?”
Another user expressed concern, saying, “I am scared to know,” to which the original poster replied with a dismal figure: “About 30 percent.”
This suggests that 70 percent of applicants at the cafe didn’t wash their hands before preparing food. Alarming, isn’t it?
Regardless of one’s previous experience in hospitality, it’s clear that hygiene is a critical aspect of the role.
Another contributor to the Reddit thread mentioned a different tactic used by a boss to test candidates.
This one was more intense than the sandwich scenario.
They described: “I interviewed with a company recently who told me about their process for interviewing sales engineers.
“They would go about the normal interview, but that evening, they would all go out for drinks and try to pump the recruits full of alcohol.
“It was meant to be fun, but also a test of whether the person can either know their limits and politely decline, or hold their own after a lot of drinks.”
The Redditor noted: “Apparently, drinking is a big part of sales.”