Boss Uses Recruiter-Approved “Coffee Cup Test” in Every Interview — and Won’t Hire Those Who Fail

A surprising gesture during job interviews is catching the attention of hiring managers worldwide. It’s not about what candidates say or their skills, but a simple action that reveals much more.

In a competitive job market where resumes are often polished to perfection, some hiring managers are turning to unconventional methods to see beyond credentials. Trent Innes, a business executive based in Sydney, has introduced what he calls the “coffee cup test” into his interview process. The test is simple but revealing: it’s not about what kind of drink candidates choose, but what they do with their empty cup afterward.

Mr. Innes, who served as managing director of the accounting platform Xeno and now works as chief growth officer at SiteMinder, shared the practice on the business podcast The Ventures. During interviews, he takes candidates on a brief walk to the kitchen for a beverage—coffee, tea, or water.

“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?” he explained. For Mr. Innes, a candidate who leaves their cup behind signals a red flag, suggesting they may not be a good fit for the company culture.

This approach echoes a broader sentiment among top executives who emphasize the importance of attitude in professional success. Andy Jassy, the chief executive of Amazon, has said that an “embarrassing amount of how well you do, particularly in your twenties” depends on attitude.

Sarah Walker, Cisco’s U.K. CEO, recently told Fortune that positive attitudes and energy often outweigh formal skills or experience, especially for those early in their careers. She described it as “more about the person first and foremost than it is about skills or experience.”

Other leaders, including those at Pret and Kurt Geiger, have similarly stressed that being respectful and considerate to colleagues and supervisors is a decisive factor in hiring and promotion decisions. For Mr. Innes, the simple act of clearing a coffee cup reflects being “a team player, considerate, and caring about the small things,” qualities that are hard to teach but critical to workplace harmony.

Lewis Maleh, CEO of the executive recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, said he has witnessed various subtle tests like the coffee cup observation during his 20 years in recruiting. He believes such behavioral cues provide insights “you’d never catch in a formal Q&A.” Observing how candidates treat support staff or whether they clear their cups can reveal much about their emotional intelligence and cultural fit.

Mr. Maleh cautioned, however, against relying solely on such informal tests. “Not every great candidate will think to clear their cup, especially if they’re nervous or unfamiliar with your office,” he noted. He also acknowledged that cultural differences and prior workplace norms might influence candidates’ actions.

For Saira Demmer, CEO of San Francisco Recruitment, demonstrating this kind of attentiveness was more than symbolic. Early in her career, after offering to help clean up coffee cups left behind from a meeting, she said she secured a role over another candidate. “It was between me and another candidate,” she recalled. “I insisted on helping, and she fed back to the 2 MDs making the decision that she strongly felt I was the better fit for that reason.” Over the following four years, Ms. Demmer was promoted to CEO.

She described the coffee cup test as a practical measure of emotional intelligence, teamwork, and awareness of one’s surroundings. “These skills are critical to success and a very good guide as to how likely someone is to have a positive impact on others or not,” she said. In her view, company culture is “such a huge driver of business success” that leaders who pay attention to such details are making a wise investment.