Beyond the Lightbulb: Thomas Edison and the Origins of the Job Interview

In 1921, Thomas Edison was convinced that academic qualifications weren’t enough to assess a candidate. To filter the applicants eager to work for his company, he designed a test of 146 questions—one that would seem, at the very least, bewildering today. Among the physics and maths problems, he included questions like “Where is Byzantium?” and “What is the speed of sound?” His goal was to measure critical thinking, general knowledge, and the ability to solve problems in unconventional ways. Interestingly, most candidates—including Harvard and MIT engineering graduates, not to mention Albert Einstein himself—failed the test.

Edison’s test is one of the first documented instances where an employer created a specific system to select employees, marking a key starting point in the history of job interviews.

What will I read about in this article?

The prehistory of the job interview
The birth of the modern interview
What remains and what has changed

The Prehistory of the Job Interview

Before the Industrial Revolution, the concept of a “job interview” barely existed. Most trades were learned through family inheritance or guild systems, where apprentices worked alongside a master craftsman for years before being considered fit to practise independently.

With industrialisation in the 19th century, factories began hiring workers en masse. The process was simple: if someone could perform the physical task required, they were hired. However, as the economy diversified and new professional sectors emerged, the need to assess skills in a more structured way was born.

Additionally, the rise in university-educated individuals entering the workforce led to greater competition for skilled jobs, forcing employers to establish more refined selection processes. This was a turning point in the history of job interviews, as it created a demand for more deliberate hiring methods.

The Birth of the Modern Interview

The job interview as we know it today began to take shape in the 1920s when Thomas Edison introduced his famous test. In 1921, The New York Times published the exam, sparking widespread debate: were these questions a fair measure of talent? The controversy didn’t stop Edison’s idea from spreading—it inspired new recruitment methods.

Large companies began to adopt more formal hiring processes, partly driven by the rising influence of industrial psychology. By 1929, Harvard Business School was studying interview techniques as a key tool for identifying talent and leadership potential. This marked another milestone in job interviews, signalling the start of a more analytical and structured approach to hiring.

In the 1930s, industrial psychologist Scott Myers introduced personality assessment techniques into interviews, starting the trend of evaluating not only technical knowledge but also candidates’ attitudes and ways of thinking. Around the same time, interviews began incorporating more structured dynamics, with questions designed to evaluate specific skills.

During World War II, governments and large corporations refined these methods to select military and administrative personnel, leading to the first psychometric tests applied to candidate selection. After the war, many of these techniques transitioned into the private sector—bringing us closer to the modern job interview we know today.

What Remains and What Has Changed

Today, interviews have evolved, but the spirit of Edison’s test lives on. Recruiters no longer ask about Byzantium, but they still aim to assess how a person thinks, solves problems, and reacts to the unexpected. It’s no coincidence that many interviews now include questions like “What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?” or “If you had to cut costs by 20% without sacrificing quality, how would you do it?”

Another major shift is the growing emphasis on emotional intelligence and adaptability. Companies are no longer just looking for technical skills or experience—they want people who can collaborate, handle uncertainty, and learn quickly in a fast-changing world. In this sense, interviews have evolved from a basic knowledge check into a strategic process that measures growth potential and cultural fit.

If the history of job interviews teaches us anything, it’s that while hiring processes may have changed, the essence remains the same: an interview isn’t just about verifying knowledge—it’s about understanding how a person faces the world. Perhaps the next time you go through an interview, you’ll ask yourself: “What would Edison think of my answers?”

Sources:

https://historyfacts.com/science-industry/fact/thomas-edison-test/