1950s hiring manager used unusual jigsaw puzzles to select candidates — and it actually worked

Job-hunting candidates often prepare to answer common interview questions and follow etiquette to make a good impression. Despite that, they still do not land the job because several hiring managers employ hidden puzzles and tests to ensure they hire the best candidate. Similarly, u/CherrySlurpee asked managers on Reddit if they had a special test for hiring employees. Many people shared their stories, but one answer stood out the most.

"It was a famous urban legend that Henry Ford would use this test on people. Once he decided to hire someone, he would take them out for a nice dinner. If they put salt on their food before tasting it, he wouldn't hire them—or at least would think twice about it," the person shared. Their father also had a special test when selecting vendors, so they wondered if other managers had a similar approach. A manager, u/MrTurburdaugh, confessed that he put employees through a test, making them solve a jigsaw puzzle to learn more about their personality and see if they were a good fit for the role."

"I was a hiring manager for a small company you may have heard of, called IBM—or Intimidatingly Burly Men. It was my responsibility to enlist only the best candidates, so I was forced to come up with many subtle personality tests to determine the best person for the job," the manager explained. Women were not allowed to take most jobs at that time. He explained how jobs were handed out like candy after World War II, and "candy was handed out like jobs." He continued, "One of the first things I'd do with a new candidate is lay a salt lick and a lemon drop on the table in front of them. I would ask them which piece of candy they wanted." He pointed out that candy was a subtle metaphor for a job at that time.

"If the candidate reached for the salt lick, they were a go-getter who was willing to do anything to please me. If they reached for the lemon drop, they were a go-getter willing to make their intentions of being a hard and diligent worker known," the manager revealed. Next, he gave the candidates two jigsaw puzzles to solve. "My next test involved mixing very different jigsaw puzzles together on the table—one was a Bob Ross original that I cut up with an X-acto knife, and the other was a picture of me taken at the 1918 World Fair, where I am crying after having dropped my ice cream."

He continued, "If they refused and told me it was a pointless task, they were a go-getter who didn't waste their skills on frivolous time-sinks. If they spent the requisite ten hours putting together all forty-six thousand pieces, they were a go-getter willing to drop everything, especially their sanity, to get the job done."

The manager felt he ended up with the best minds in the world, so he was satisfied.

People expressed their thoughts on the method in the comments. u/Buddahrific wrote, "Here's a go-getter so eager to please his observational skills are compromised. Excellent candidate for a personal assistant to someone who likes to operate on both sides of the law." u/Informationator commented, "For the first puzzle, I'd have told you that your request was a complete waste of time. For the second puzzle, I would diligently assemble it, then film myself destroying it, then present you with my own, better puzzle." Another user shared, "Fun fact, my grandad had a similar task to do once involving 2 jigsaws. He a) loves jigsaws and b) Turns each piece over and puts all the ones with a mark together and solves that jigsaw, before doing the other."