Steve Jobs had a simple question he asked every job candidate and it had nothing to do with work

Steve Jobs had an unusual way of deciding whether someone should be hired at Apple. Instead of relying only on technical skills, formal interviews or résumé details, the Apple founder is said to have used what became known as the “beer test.” The idea was simple: if Jobs felt he would not enjoy having a casual conversation or grabbing a beer with a candidate, the person was unlikely to get the job, as highlighted in a Fortune report. Jobs believed personality, attitude and the ability to connect with people mattered just as much as professional qualifications when building teams at Apple.

What was Steve Jobs’ ‘beer test’

The “beer test” was not actually about alcohol. Instead, it was Jobs’ way of understanding whether a candidate could hold a natural conversation outside a formal interview setting. Reports say Jobs would sometimes take candidates on walks during interviews and ask unexpected personal questions instead of focusing only on technical topics.


One of the questions he reportedly liked asking was: “What did you do last summer?”. The purpose was not to find a correct answer but to see how naturally the person responded and whether the conversation felt comfortable and genuine.


At the end of the interaction, Jobs would reportedly ask himself: “Would I have a beer with this person? Would I talk to him or her in a relaxed way while taking a walk?”


If the answer was no, that often became a warning sign for him.

Steve Jobs said hiring was based on instinct

In a 2008 interview with Fortune, Jobs explained how seriously he took hiring decisions. “Finding the needles in the haystack,” Jobs said while describing the challenge of recruiting the right people. By that time, he said he had interviewed more than 5,000 candidates during his career.


Jobs also admitted that interview decisions often came down to instinct rather than just qualifications. “So in the end, it’s ultimately based on your gut,” he said. “How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they’re challenged?”


Other CEOs also use personality tests

Jobs was not the only business leader known for unusual interview methods. Many executives today use informal tests to understand a candidate’s personality and behaviour outside rehearsed interview answers. For example, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stresses on the importance of attitude. He once said that success early in a career often depends heavily on personality and behaviour.