The reason why when interviewing Thomas Edison often required candidates to eat soup

Some people often ask unusual interview questions. Some use their own interview techniques. Some people check the status of your car. Others ask very aggressive questions, even questions that make you uncomfortable.

The decision to hire someone is both a decision and a science, and also a piece of art.

Take Thomas Edison for example. When interviewing candidates for research assistant positions, he always gave them a bowl of soup.

Picture 1 of The reason why when interviewing Thomas Edison often required candidates to eat soup
When interviewing candidates for assistant positions, Edison always gave them a bowl of soup.

Why?Because he wants to see if they add salt or pepper to the soup before tasting it or not.

Those who have added spice to the soup bowl will be removed . Edison wanted to work with people who did not act, not pretend, because pretenders were the ones who tended to kill innovation.

Many people use small tests as part of their evaluation process. For many years, I have used the 'strategy' that I call the 'receptionist check'. What candidates do while they wait in the hallway can tell you a lot about them. So, I always asked the receptionist how happy she was. I discovered what they did while they were waiting in the lobby and I knew how they treated people around them - people they didn't need to try to impress.

Picture 2 of The reason why when interviewing Thomas Edison often required candidates to eat soup
Edison wanted to see if they added salt or pepper to the soup before tasting it.

After all, a nice guy in the lobby might not be a good guy at work, but a fool in the hall would always be a fool at work.

Or you can use Chad Knaus version of yourself to 'check cars' (my citation notation). Chad - the leader of the team, has won the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the sixth time in the Chevrolet # 48 race. Each candidate has an emotional test before the interview.

'No good or bad results , ' Chad said. ' For example, whether an individual is introvert or extrovert, it does not affect their ability to do the job. Large groups are made up of all individual components. What the EI test does is help me be aware of how I can link these people better. "

After the interview, Chad sometimes accompanied the candidates to the parking lot to say goodbye . and check their car.

Picture 3 of The reason why when interviewing Thomas Edison often required candidates to eat soup
Sometimes the candidate will have to go through a tough "test" . checking cars.

'I don't care what kind of cars they drive , ' Chad said. 'Old, new, expensive, cheap, . no problems at all. But I'm interested in whether they take care of their car or not. If food wrapping paper is on a chair, if the car is not clean or well maintained . I think if you don't take good care of your belongings, you won't take good care of their work. me".

Chad's car inspection is an experiment to assess whether a candidate is suitable for the group or Hendrick's general culture.

Think about what is most important in your organization, creating your own way to test the organization's cultural relevance. Whatever you do, your goal is to know more about the candidate so you can make the best employment decision. Think of it as another way to find potential candidates, to show that they are the best fit for your position as well as your business.

These ideas are not all, you can create many other unique ideas to make better recruitment decisions for your business.