Jobs wanted to break the trend of candidates giving prepared answers.
Steve Jobs apparently had a “beer test” that he would use during interviews with potential new employees.
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Slightly opposed to the idea that job interviews should be fairly formal affairs, the late Apple CEO wanted to counter the tendency for people to approach interviews with pre-planned and scripted answers.
A key question for Jobs when interviewing someone was, “Would I have a beer with this person? Would I talk to him or her in a calm manner while walking?”
So, he did just that.
AS reports that Jobs would take the interviewee out of the office, walk with them and take them out for a drink to decide whether or not they were someone he could be seen working with.
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This would help the prospective employee open up and relax, removing them from the rigid environment of a one-on-one interview in the office.
Steve Jobs took a more casual approach to job interviews
AS reports that Jobs will ask them questions ranging from traditional interview questions such as, “When was the last time you accomplished something?” to a simple and more casual, “What did you do last summer?”
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There were rarely right or wrong answers to these questions, with Jobs simply trying to get to know them a little better and decide if they would be a good person to work for.
But make no mistake, he was still only looking for the best of the best. Jobs openly talked about always looking for “A-Players” for roles. It was his term for those he considered the top of their game – the crème de la crème.
He previously explained: “I’ve found that when you get enough A-players together, when you go through the incredible work of finding those A-players, they really like working with each other.
“Because they’ve never had the chance to do it before.”
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Well, given Apple’s place in the world and our lives today, it seems that his interview process and “beer test” were quite successful.
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