www.inc.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.129.54  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

logo
 * Newsletters
 * Subscribe
 * * Login
 * navigation

logo
Combined Shape

STARTUP

 * Best Industries
 * Funding
 * Incubators
 * Business Plans
 * Naming
 * Home-Based Business
 * The UPS Store

GROW

 * Strategy
 * Operations
 * Sales
 * Marketing
 * Customer Service
 * Franchises
 * Build

LEAD

 * Conscious Leadership
 * Taking Care
 * Female Founders
 * Best in Business
 * Best Workplaces
 * Company Culture
 * Public Speaking
 * Hiring
 * HR/Benefits
 * Productivity
 * All the Hats

TECHNOLOGY

 * Digital Transformation
 * Artificial Intelligence
 * Bringing Innovation to Market
 * Cloud Computing
 * Social Media
 * Security
 * Data Detectives

INNOVATE

 * Creativity
 * Invent
 * Design
 * Pivot

MONEY

 * Private Equity 50
 * Exit Interview
 * Personal Capital
 * Bootstrapping
 * Crowdfunding
 * Venture Capital
 * Borrowing
 * Business Models
 * Personal Finance

EVENTS

 * Upcoming Events
 * Inc. 5000 Vision Conference
 * Become a Sponsor

BRANDVIEW

 * Cox Business
 * Deloitte
 * Intel
 * PPG
 * The UPS Store
 * Principal
 * Verizon Business
 * Whoop
 * Branded Content

INC. 5000

 * The 2021 US List
 * Inc. 5000 Regionals
 * Apply Inc. 5000 US

SUBSCRIBE

SUBSCRIBE

 * Watch
 * Guides

Follow:
 * Group 5
 * Group 3
 * Fill 1
 * Group 3
 * Group 3

SUBSCRIBE

 * About
 * Staff
 * Columnists
 * Help Center

Follow:
 * Group 5
 * Group 3
 * Fill 1
 * Group 3
 * Group 3

Top Stories
Top Videos
Lead

8 Employee Well-Being Factors to Keep Tabs On

Owner's Manual

How to Instantly Become More Helpful, Thoughtful, and Kind, Backed by Science




Digital Transformation

How This NYC Startup Uses Tech to Bring Dry Cleaning into the Digital Age

Money

A New Proposal From the SEC Is Likely to Slow Down the SPAC Trend (Even More)

Bringing Innovation to Market

How Chief Became One of the First Women-Led Billion-Dollar Success Stories
During the Pandemic



logo
 * Newsletters
 * Subscribe
 * * Login
 * navigation

logo
Combined Shape

STARTUP

 * Best Industries
 * Funding
 * Incubators
 * Business Plans
 * Naming
 * Home-Based Business
 * The UPS Store

GROW

 * Strategy
 * Operations
 * Sales
 * Marketing
 * Customer Service
 * Franchises
 * Build

LEAD

 * Conscious Leadership
 * Taking Care
 * Female Founders
 * Best in Business
 * Best Workplaces
 * Company Culture
 * Public Speaking
 * Hiring
 * HR/Benefits
 * Productivity
 * All the Hats

TECHNOLOGY

 * Digital Transformation
 * Artificial Intelligence
 * Bringing Innovation to Market
 * Cloud Computing
 * Social Media
 * Security
 * Data Detectives

INNOVATE

 * Creativity
 * Invent
 * Design
 * Pivot

MONEY

 * Private Equity 50
 * Exit Interview
 * Personal Capital
 * Bootstrapping
 * Crowdfunding
 * Venture Capital
 * Borrowing
 * Business Models
 * Personal Finance

EVENTS

 * Upcoming Events
 * Inc. 5000 Vision Conference
 * Become a Sponsor

BRANDVIEW

 * Cox Business
 * Deloitte
 * Intel
 * PPG
 * The UPS Store
 * Principal
 * Verizon Business
 * Whoop
 * Branded Content

INC. 5000

 * The 2021 US List
 * Inc. 5000 Regionals
 * Apply Inc. 5000 US

SUBSCRIBE

SUBSCRIBE

 * Watch
 * Guides

Follow:
 * Group 5
 * Group 3
 * Fill 1
 * Group 3
 * Group 3

SUBSCRIBE

 * About
 * Staff
 * Columnists
 * Help Center

Follow:
 * Group 5
 * Group 3
 * Fill 1
 * Group 3
 * Group 3

Hiring


THOMAS EDISON'S WEIRD JOB INTERVIEW TRICK IS ACTUALLY BACKED BY MODERN SCIENCE


EDISON'S BIZARRE SOUP-BASED TECHNIQUE FOR SCREENING JOB CANDIDATES ILLUSTRATES
AN ESSENTIAL TRUTH ABOUT EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWING.

 * Shape
 * 
 * 

By Jessica Stillman, Contributor, Inc.com@EntryLevelRebel
Image: Getty Images. Illustration: Inc. Magazine


Regular readers of my column will know that last week I wrote about a weird (but
apparently researched-backed) nap hack famed inventor Thomas Edison used to come
up with new ideas. That means this week the gods of internet tracking have
showered me with a million more articles about Thomas Edison. 

Most of them were bland and useless, but one title stuck out: "Why Thomas Edison
Required Job Applicants to Eat Soup in Front of Him." Wait, I thought, that's
totally nuts. The guy must have been even more bonkers than his weird nap habits
suggest. Then, of course, I clicked. 


HOW THOMAS EDISON SCREENED JOB CANDIDATES 

The Medium post by Andrew Martin explains that Edison had a very specific and
peculiar way of interviewing research assistants for his labs. He'd
invite candidates out for a meal and then order soup for the table. 

"The reason for this soup test was that the famous inventor wanted to see if the
applicants added salt and pepper before tasting what was in their bowl, or if
they waited until they tasted it before proceeding with the seasoning," Martin
explains. "Edison immediately rejected the premature seasoners, as he reasoned
he didn't want employees who relied on assumptions. In his opinion, those who
were content to abide by preconceived notions had no place in his business,
because the absence of curiosity and willingness to ask questions were
antithetical to innovation."




WAS EDISON JUST BONKERS? 

This trick would not be at all practical in today's business environment. Using
restaurant meals to screen candidates doesn't exactly scale (and plenty of
today's candidates would have an allergy or dietary restriction that precluded
whatever soup you ordered). But even more fundamentally the idea just sounds
crazy. Is there anything besides nutty professor idiosyncrasy behind Edison's
soup-based interviewing technique? 



While using soup alone to assess job applicants is clearly not a great idea,
reading about Edison's unusual approach to hiring did remind me of a body of
research on job interviews that actually suggests Edison's idea isn't as crazy
as it first sounds. 

First off, it's important to know that study after study shows that interviews
as they're usually conducted are pretty close to useless. Asking people
questions (even expert-recommended behavioral or hypothetical questions) tends
to advantage slick talkers over the actually competent (though there are some
tricks to minimize this effect). Interviewers are also notoriously swayed by
biases and irrelevant details of self-presentation. 

What does modern science suggest instead? Perhaps not so surprisingly, just
testing candidates on the actual skills and competencies required to do the job.
A trial assignment, sample work project, or domain specific test far outperforms
just talking with candidates about their previous work experience, character,
and goals. 


SHOW, DON'T TELL

In short, actions speak much louder than words. Which means maybe Edison's weird
soup test wasn't so crazy after all. When someone seasons their food is a
real-world behavioral indicator of how they think through problems and, as such,
is more likely to reveal something true about their mindset than abstract
discussions. 

The takeaway here isn't that you need to take potential new hires out to lunch
(unless you're hungry or obsessed with table manners). The point is that Edison
was right about a fundamental truth of interviewing. If you want to really
understand who candidates are and what they can do, design ways to observe them
solving relevant problems. You'll always get a better sense of a person from
what they do than from what they say. 


Jan 12, 2022
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of
Inc.com.



INC. TOP ARTICLES
PLAY Video Settings Full Screen About Connatix V156852 Read More Read More Read
More Read More Read More Read More
How Chief Became One of the First Women-Led Billion-Dollar Success Stories
During the Pandemic
Read More
How Chief Became One of the First Women‑Led Billion‑Dollar Success Stories
During the Pandemic 1/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the ad Visit Advertiser
websiteGO TO PAGE



Sponsored Business Content


 * Privacy policy
 * Notice of collection
 * do not sell my data
 * Ad vendor policy
 * terms of use
 * Advertise
 * help Center
 * sitemap

COPYRIGHT 2022 MANSUETO VENTURES



search by queryly Advanced Search

#session_pageviews_1

#capture_slider_active

#capture_lightbox_active



WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

To deliver the best possible experience, we and our partners use techniques such
as cookies to store and/or access information on a device and provide
personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and
product development. Precise geolocation and information about device
characteristics can be used. Personal data such as network address and browsing
activity may be processed.

You may click to consent to the processing described above or review options and
make granular choices. Some processing may not require your consent, but you
have a right to object. Your preferences will apply to this site only. You may
change your mind at any time by visiting our privacy policy.


review options accept & continue