Would you clean your coffee cup to get a job?

Several business-focused websites have reported on a supposedly innovative strategy for hiring workers. They've dubbed it the coffee test And it's put into practice during the preliminary interview process. It consists of offering the candidate a coffee—or a similar beverage—and, at the end of the conversation, observing what they do with the cup. If they forget and leave it dirty on the table, it's assumed they're not a good fit because it reveals a lack of willingness to work. It denotes a disregard for the work environment. However, if they offer to wash the cup, it demonstrates initiative and a good fit with the company culture. As is often the case, the method's scope has been exaggerated because the idea is that it simplifies the complex. It's presented as a very simple trick that reveals a supposed human understanding of a candidate. It detects what can't be verified in a resume. It's obvious that the idea is cynical and absurd, but it's also true that in the world of business and human resources, there are all kinds of individuals who have become fond of turning irrelevance into genius, especially if it allows them to speed up their work. These are ideas that replace objective criteria, which are not guaranteed to be accurate, with vague moral criteria. It's the world of shaman-like managers, who camouflage incompetence and error with the fallacy of intuition and a sixth sense. The clairvoyant boss who ends up knowing more about the candidate than the candidate themselves.

The origin of this hiring technique lies in a podcast interview with an Australian human resources manager, Trent Innes. He didn't present it as a hiring method. He was asked how he used it in job interviews to intuit whether candidates fit the company culture, and he gave the example of coffee as one of the aspects that could reflect the character of the person being evaluated. In no way did he sell it as a foolproof strategy or a decisive test in a hiring process. The idea is laughable because you automatically imagine one of those great imposters who, faced with the laziness that makes them want to work, are capable of scrubbing a cup until the enamel is worn off. Shyness and caution in a job interview often don't help when it comes to displaying your hygiene skills right away, like asking at reception where the kitchen sink is and searching for dish soap in the cupboard. On the other hand, boasting about your willingness to roll up your sleeves and grab a sponge can end up projecting an image of subservience and docility that prevents any possibility of future promotion. If you get the job, you run the risk of ending up scrubbing the entire office's mugs.

In a job interview, the best way to sabotage this strategy is to demonstrate your knowledge of the practice. When they ask if you want a coffee, just say: "It depends. If it's to make myself look like..." coffee test"Just tell me what you want me to do with the cup afterward: should I wash it, or is it enough for me to take it to the kitchen?" Demonstrates knowledge of the work environment, adaptability to unusual situations, communication skills, and a willingness to collaborate. This, provided the job offer is of interest. "Your job is rubbish! I hope the work is better..."