The little known coffee test that boss uses in interviews.

Interviews can be a daunting prospect, as candidates have a finite period of time to win over employers.

But no matter how long you have spent researching the company, nothing can prepare you for this sneaky interview trick bosses are using. 

Your future and progression in your career field could all boil down to – no pun intended – a cup of coffee.

Xero Australia boss, Trent Innes, says the technique helps gauge employee’s ‘attitude’ and ‘ownership’ as he watches what they do with an empty coffee cup.

Speaking to business podcast, The Ventures, he said: ‘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’.’

According to the tech boss, the coffee method is based on the ‘culture’ of the workplace and he says it does the trick as the office kitchen is gleaming.

He adds: ‘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 really take on everything that they should be doing.’ 

The tech boss revealed that he would immediately blacklist anyone from the company who did not pass the all-important coffee cup test

Drastically, Mr Innes claims he wouldn’t hire anyone who failed his ‘coffee cup test’, because he believes it tells more about a person than any question could.

In fact, he says that anyone who failed under his watch would be immediately blacklisted from the company, according to the Mirror. 

So, no need to prepare your notes for the next interview, just make sure you throw your coffee cup away. 

Aside from impressing employers with your tidiness, you should be prepared to answer common and curveball questions. 

A career coach, Sam DeMase, shared to TikTok ways you can answer the dreaded ‘Tell me about yourself’ question.

She insisted on using her foolproof ‘W-A-T’ method, which involves stating what you do, your achievements and tying them into the role you’re interviewing for.

In another TikTok video, the founder of Smart Women Society revealed seven questions you should ask at the end of your interview to help you secure your dream job.

The top questions you should ask being: ‘what a typical day in the job’ looks like, as well as questioning the potential growth you may have within the company. 

She explained it’s good to ask ‘what the company’s goals are’ in the next few years and advised asking the interviewer what their favourite part about working there is. 

A further question to stand out in interviews and wow bosses is: ‘What are the key indicators of success at this role?’, 

The other questions include: ‘Can you tell me a little bit more about the company culture and ‘What are the next steps in the process?’