Job hunting can feel like a full-time position in itself, from searching up roles to filling out countless applications.
Then there’s the nerve-wracking wait to see if you’ve impressed bosses enough to make it through the interview stage.
And if you have, it’s a double-edged sword as the next phase of research and preparation begins.
As if first impressions weren’t stressful enough, candidates at one interview were put up to a secret task that determined whether they were given the position or not.
If you thought having a great resume, loads of experience and being qualified for the job was enough to get you the role… guess not if this Reddit story is anything to go by.
Job interviews are a major source of stress (Narisari Nami/Getty Images)
One user has said his old boss used to have a ‘salt and pepper’ test that he would spring on candidates without their knowledge.
The thought of eating lunch in front of someone else mid-interview is terrifying enough if you ask me.
You’d be forgiven for thinking how you treat the staff might be something interviewees are focusing on in this scenario.
But no – this test is far more ridiculous and nonsensical.
The Reddit user claimed the boss felt this test helped show a person’s character.
On a post, the social media user wrote: “A company I used to work for does all-day interviews with multiple people, and one of them is always a lunch interview.
“I heard about a guy who would base his entire decision on one thing – whether or not the person he was interviewing tried their food before reaching for salt, pepper, hot sauce, etc.
Do you think before you salt? (Webphotographeer/Getty Images)
“If you didn’t try your food first, you didn’t get a pass from him.”
It seems it doesn’t matter if you know you like your dish an extra bit salty or flaming hot, if you add before you fail, simple as.
The Reddit user added they were glad they didn’t have to interview him because they definitely would fail based on how much pepper they add to their food.
It’s not the only sneaky task bosses have failed candidates for over the years.
Businessman Trent Innes, who works as the chief growth officer at SiteMinder and was the former managing director of accounting platform Xeno, explained the coffee cup test he uses.
Speaking on the business podcast The Venture, 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?”
And the crux of the test is, if you don’t take the cup back to kitchen, then you’re not the right fit for the company.
