Boss only hires candidates who pass the 'salt and pepper' test and the whole thing's quite bizarre

As the demand for more skilled and proficient employees grows globally, job recruiters are coming up with wild, bizarre tests to analyze potential candidates. While some look for highly experienced employees, few take the otherworldly routes, demanding the candidates to disclose their zodiac sign or personality test results. On a related note, an individual, in a now-deleted Reddit post (later reshared by Mirror), shared an astonishing story about how their former boss religiously used the "salt and pepper" test for job applicants. Yes, as unreal as it sounds, the author revealed strange details about their boss, sparking widespread discussion on social media. 

The former employee shared that their boss would schedule multiple interviews with people, and one of them would always be a lunch interview. Furthermore, they revealed that one interviewer, in particular, would give his final verdict only after watching if the candidate reached for salt, pepper, or other seasonings kept on the table before tasting their food. The author wrote, "A company I used to work for conducts all-day interviews with multiple candidates, and one of them is always a lunch interview. I heard about a guy who would base his entire decision on one thing—whether or not the person he was interviewing tried their food before reaching for salt, pepper, or hot sauce."

The rules were simple—if the candidate didn't taste the food before reaching out for condiments, they wouldn't get a pass from the interviewer. "Glad I didn't interview with him because I pretty much always add pepper to stuff," they added. When the story was reshared on Reddit, the post received an overwhelming response on the platform.

For instance, u/babiigoat commented, "I'd be double rejected because I'd decline the food outright. I don't like chewing in front of people I don't know." u/public_storage_355 revealed, "This is an old thing that my grandfather warned me about from his days at Michelin. Apparently, that's one of the things a lot of managers used to do within their company years ago." On the other hand, u/routine_answer8476 came up with a brilliant situation to handle such job interviews. They wrote, "Correct response...'Oh, I have a sodium deficiency, so it's recommended my food tastes like the ocean; can you pass the salt?'"

u/zakkana wrote, "This is a bit ridiculous. Especially in this day and age, where food allergies have increased, conditions like celiac disease are a serious concern. Serving them food is a game of Russian roulette. One of my colleagues has celiac disease, so he is used to bringing his own food. Would he be judged harshly under this test because he would most likely refuse food, as he cannot be sure it is gluten-free? If it were at a restaurant, he would already know what he can and cannot have, and usually, he would already be familiar with the food and know how he would need to season it. Or the individual could be like me and have knowledge of the health benefits of piperine, the terpene found in black pepper. Among several benefits, it is linked to increased nutrient absorption and is also an antioxidant. So I tend to put it on my food regardless. The coffee cup test is more rational. It shows common courtesy and at least the default level of respect an applicant should have towards a place they are applying to."