CEO Uses A 'Breakfast Test’ In Job Interviews And Avoids Hiring Candidates That Fail
This simple personality test reveals a lot about a candidate's true characters.
Olena Yakobchuk | Shutterstock Some hiring managers have taken to utilizing unconventional tests during job interviews. There's the "wobbly chair test" — a candidate is given a purposefully wobbly chair and must speak up and ask for a new one to pass — and the "coffee test" — only those who wash their own coffee mug after the interview succeed.
One former CEO shared a test of his own that reveals the kind of person a candidate is and how they handle dilemmas.
The CEO uses a 'breakfast test' in job interviews and avoids hiring candidates who fail.
Walt Bettinger was the CEO of Charles Schwab Corporation, a financial services company with a market cap of $143.22 billion, from 2008 to 2024.
In a 2016 interview with the New York Times, Bettinger revealed one of his top hiring tricks. It doesn't reveal a candidate's work ethic or organizational skills, but can be very telling about their personality.
“I’m most concerned with the kind of person they are, their character," he said of job candidates. "I’ll ask questions like, 'Tell me about the greatest successes in your life. What I’m looking for is whether their view of the world really revolves around others or whether it revolves around them."
Bettinger uses the breakfast test to get a better understanding of a candidate’s character.
“One thing I’ll do sometimes is to meet someone for breakfast for the interview. I’ll get there early, pull the manager of the restaurant aside, and say, ‘I want you to mess up the order of the person who’s going to be joining me. It’ll be OK, and I’ll give a good tip, but mess up their order,’” he explained.
His motives come from a wise place. He wants to see how a candidate responds to a simple mistake and how they treat the server.
“That will help me understand how they deal with adversity," he said. "Are they upset, are they frustrated or are they understanding? Life is like that, and business is like that. It’s just another way to get a look inside their heart rather than their head."
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“We’re all going to make mistakes," he continued. "The question is how are we going to recover when we make them, and are we going to be respectful to others when they make them?”
The way a person treats their restaurant server is often a strong indicator of their character.
This test reveals how a candidate behaves while interacting with someone they perceive as having less power.
As a CEO, you want to ensure that your team members are not only efficient workers, but that they are also kind and respectful to others regardless of their status.
After all, according to Pew Research Center, 64% of workers report that the treatment their colleagues demonstrate toward them is one of the main reasons they enjoy their jobs.
In any workplace, conflicts and mistakes are bound to rise. Having compassion and addressing these issues calmly provides the opportunity for effective solutions and a positive and collaborative work environment.
So if you really want to know the type of people you’re working with, steal a move from Bettinger’s playbook and take them out for breakfast!
Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.