During an interview in 2017 with Auto Bild, Musk was asked about what he looks for in his potential employees when hiring for his many companies.
Instead of focusing on their education and achievements, the billionaire focuses on one particular question.
He said: “I really just ask: ‘What are some of the tougher problems [you’ve] dealt with and how [you] dealt with those?’
“And how they made decisions at key transition points,” he added.
He continued: “What I’m really looking for is evidence of exceptional ability so that they’ve faced really difficult problems and overcome them.
“And of course, you want to make sure that if there was some significant accomplishment, were they really responsible or was somebody else more responsible.”
He added that normally the person who has ‘had to struggle with the problem they really understand it and they don’t forget’.
“So you can ask them very detailed questions about it and they’ll know the answer, whereas the person who was not truly responsible for that accomplishment will not know the details.”
Indeed has also labelled his questions as one of the ‘eight common problem-solving questions’ you may be asked while interviewing for a job in the near future.
The site noted: “If the job you’re applying for requires you to think analytically or solve problems, your interviewer may ask some problem-solving questions. These questions can vary between industries and jobs, but some examples come up frequently.”
One of the questions on Indeed has a similar theme: “Describe a time when you faced an unexpected challenge in your job?”
How would you answer this question?
