We often think that a job interview is decided before even walking through the door: perfectly mastered CV, company studied down to the smallest detail, prepared answers to trick questions… But have you thought about what happens after the classic questions? Because once the interview is over, the recruiter can still try to find out who you really are.
A coffee offered at the end of the meeting, a discussion in a hallway, a few minutes of walking or an impromptu lunch… These seemingly innocuous moments can allow you to see what happens when you no longer have prepared answers. And this method is not new. Steve Jobs already used it at Apple with his famous “beer test”.
After a traditional interview, the Apple co-founder could ask the candidate to go out for a drink and take a walk with him. The opportunity to ask much less conventional questions, like: “What did you do last summer?” or “When was the last time you accomplished something?”, he himself reported.
The objective? Get out of the very formatted framework of the interview to observe personality, curiosity, energy and way of communicating. In short, this famous interpersonal skills which does not appear on any CV.
Job interview: prepare, yes, recite, no!
Of course, the fundamentals remain essential. Before an interview, it is better to know the company, reread the offer carefully, think about your experiences and prepare some concrete examples. The STAR method, often used to structure your answers (around the Situation, the Task to be accomplished, the Actions you have carried out and the Results obtained), can help you not get stuck when faced with a question.
Practical preparation also counts. The CIDJ advises, for example, to anticipate your journey, prepare your documents and arrive a few minutes early. Enough to avoid unnecessary stress before the interview even begins.
But be careful not to learn everything by heart. By repeating the same answers, you risk giving the impression of reciting a text rather than dialoguing with your interlocutor.
And it’s precisely when the script disappears that some recruiters seek to see how you really operate.
Steve Jobs’ “beer test”: when interpersonal skills take over
With his famous test, Steve Jobs was not only looking to find out if a candidate had the right skills. He also wanted to see if he wanted to chat with him. Was the conversation natural? Did the person know how to bounce back? Was she able to talk enthusiastically about what she loved? Was she listening to her interlocutor?
For Steve Jobs, this human dimension was essential. He explained in particular that he was looking for “first category players”, that is to say people capable of working well with others.
Today, the principle still exists in different forms. A coffee, lunch or even a few minutes of informal conversation can become a way for a recruiter to observe a candidate’s behavior in a less codified context.
How to prepare for a “hidden test” without playing a role?
Impossible, obviously, to prepare for every unexpected question. And that’s probably not the point. The idea is rather to prepare yourself to talk about yourself in ways other than your CV.
For example, you can think about a few anecdotes: a project that you are particularly proud of, a difficulty that you managed to overcome, an activity that fascinates you or even something that you recently learned.
On the big day, however, there is no point in trying to present the image of the perfect candidate. Natural conversation, real listening and sincere responses will often be more convincing than a learned speech.
Because behind Steve Jobs’ “beer test”, a simple idea remains: an interview is not only used to check what you can do, but also to understand who you might want to work with.