When you think about the qualifications required for certain jobs, what first comes to mind are probably the standard resume builders — experience, education etc. But when someone applies for a position at Chick-fil-A, the company is looking for a lot more.
From cooks to coporate executives, Chick-fil-A says all employee must have two specific traits in order to get hired: integrity and compassion.
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How do you identify integrity and compassion?
That’s a pretty admirable strategy — or at least an admirable goal — to ensure that your employees are good people and actually care about the customers and co-workers they’re interacting with every day.
But how do you identify these qualities in a job interview? It’s takes a little creativity.
According to Business Insider, Kevin Moss, who’s been a Chick-fil-A manager for 20 years, says he has one simple trick to help him figure out whether a job candidate would be a good fit for the company.
When someone comes in for an interview, Moss leaves a piece of trash, like a wrapper, on the floor of the restaurant where it’s easy to see.
Then he waits.
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When the candidate arrives, Moss watches to see if they pick up the trash, push it aside or just ignore it completely.
You can probably guess how the candidate is evaluated. If they pick up the trash, they pass — a sign they care about both those around them and the environment.
If the candidate kicks the trash away or ignores it, Moss confronts them about the decision to get a better sense of the situation.
‘You can teach anyone to put chicken on a sandwich, but you can’t teach them to care about it,’ Moss says.
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