Steve Jobs had genius 'beer test' method he used to interview people at Apple

Apple founder Steve Jobs reportedly used a genius ‘beer test’ when interviewing new candidates.

Jobs founded Apple back in 1976 alongside Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne and its since gone on to become one of the biggest companies in the world. 

When it came to interviewing candidates to join the tech giant, Jobs had a rather unusual system. 

Rather than bombard people with questions, he would implement what was known as ‘beer test’. 

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Apple co-founder Steve Jobs used the ‘beer test’ during interviews

Apple is responsible for some of the biggest and most groundbreaking tech products ever made, like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. 

Today, the company is worth a reported $3.48 trillion, which is likely set to rise in recent weeks with the launch of the new iPhone 17. 

Before his death in 2011, Apple founder Steve Jobs was said to have a pretty unusual, but ultimately effective, technique when it came to interviews. 

Most of us will admit that being interviewed for a job isn’t exactly fun. 

However, instead of sticking with the usual ‘what are your weaknesses?’ and vague questions about your CV, Jobs preferred to see a little personality from potential employees. 

He managed this by dropping the traditional job interview questions altogether and instead he would take candidates out for a walk followed by a beer to see if he felt they were a good fit for Apple.

Sounds pretty good to us – and let’s face it you learn a lot more about someone away from work anyway, right?

Once settled with a beer, Jobs would then begin asking the interviewee some questions but opted for more open-ended ones, like, ‘what did you do last summer?’ and ‘when was the last time you accomplished something?’

Finding the perfect fit was important to Jobs who was always on the hunt for ‘A-players’.

“I found that when you get enough A-players together, when you go through the incredible job of finding these A-players, they really like working with each other,” he previously said.

“Because they’ve never had the chance to do it before.”

Jobs was so dedicated to work he built an office in his yacht

For the late Apple founder, work was an important part of life, so much so that when he designed his 256-foot, $120 million superyacht Venus he made sure that it had a place for him to work without interruption. 

He used soundproofing and a smart layout to ensure his boat was both suitable for his family, and his work life. 

He placed the sleeping cabins for his teenage kids towards the front of the boat, while his personal cabin and workspace were tucked away in the back.

This meant the space between the work area and his family spaces could function as a buffer, so he could work away without interruption, even at sea.