• Home
  • Archives

Dave Knows Portland

Subscribe to Dave Knows Portland by Email

Portland 5-page barista application makes the New York Times

December 27, 2008 by Dave 1 Comment

More Hockey Less WarA story covered by Portland blog More Hockey Less War a month ago is now being covered by the New York Times: An Application for Baristas That’s More Than Milk and Beans.

North Portland’s Ladybug Organic Coffee Company (8438 N Lombard) asks prospective employees to fill out a (pdf) five page application form that includes such non-traditional questions as:

What is the most important thing that you have ever learned, and how has it changed your life?” one question reads. “What is something that you do on a regular basis to make the world a better place?” And, “What is one thing that you think would make Portland a better city?

The article’s gist is that Portland is obsessed with coffee, and in this difficult economy Ladybug Organic Coffee Company has a better chance of finding cheerful and competent employees using this unorthodox application process.

Personally, I think a large number of potentially fantastic employees won’t bother to waste their time on a 5 page application with essay questions. If I were looking for work such an application would be a red flag indicating a potentially obsessive, micro-managing boss.

Steve, at More Hockey Less War, sums up the reaction a lot of potential applicants might have:

What one thing makes you absolutely stand out above the rest? Why should we hire you over applicant X? (Because I wasted an hour of my life answering these ridiculous questions?)

Read the rest: So you want to be a barista.

Filed Under: Blog, Coffee, Media, Portland

Comments

  1. Chris says

    January 2, 2009 at 2:35 am

    Probably they just hire their friends and the application is a formality.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Dave Knows Portland Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in