Hiring talent is something every leader aspires to, as they are the key factor in a company’s success or failure. However, instead of relying on degrees and educational backgrounds to seek out talent like most other leaders, billionaire Elon Musk firmly believes that skills are far more important and often identifies talent through one of his simple questions.
In a 2014 interview, this billionaire shared: “The chosen one doesn’t necessarily need to have a college degree, and they don’t even need a high school diploma. If someone graduates from a top university, that is a sign they have the potential to do great things, but it is not everything. If you look at people like Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, or Steve Jobs, none of them graduated from college. However, if you had the chance to hire them, that would clearly be a great idea.”
This billionaire also affirmed that to get into Tesla, degrees and educational backgrounds are less important than a post on Twitter: “A PhD is not necessary. I don’t even care if you graduated from high school.” However, that does not mean anyone can get into his companies.
1. Possessing 3 Qualities Like a Hero
Ms. Cindy Nicola – Global Head of Recruitment at Tesla revealed that from interns to directors, while no two candidates are alike, there are three key factors for a person to be accepted into this car company: a passion for the mission to change the world, demonstrating a unique personality, and proving themselves rather than just talking.
Accordingly, Tesla was founded by billionaire Elon Musk with the goal of accelerating the emergence of sustainable transportation through electric vehicles and making it widespread as soon as possible. Therefore, to show they are a perfect fit for this company, candidates must prove that they are also passionate about this mission.
At Tesla, four key principles are creativity, direction, collaboration, and reliability. Candidates with unique qualities will be a plus when applying to this company. Ms. Nicola said:
“For us, what is really important is to preserve the culture we have and design assessment processes to ensure that everyone has unique qualities to succeed at Tesla. We really believe in you showing us what you can do, as opposed to telling us what you can do. So, if you are a technical candidate, you might have some tests on coding or solve some problems that we will present.”
2. Deep Understanding of Artificial Intelligence
In addition to the above three strict hiring standards, the CEO of Tesla is also looking for candidates with a deep understanding of artificial intelligence, requiring all selected applicants to pass extremely difficult programming tests, including soft skills tests and problem-solving experience tests.
For the soft skills test, one of the questions Elon Musk often asks candidates is: “You are standing on the surface of the Earth. Then, you walk 1,609 meters south, 1,609 meters west, and 1,609 meters north. But in the end, you are still at your original spot. So where are you?”.
The answer is the North Pole, and most candidates can solve this question. However, the question does not stop there. Musk will ask them another question: “Where else could it be?” And the second correct answer is somewhere near the South Pole. However, very few candidates provide this answer.
However, in reality, this question is not meant to eliminate candidates but to give them the opportunity to explain the reasoning behind their answers. This is his way of seeing how they will act when solving problems, how they face failure and disappointment, and how they process new information.
For the problem-solving experience test, the billionaire stated that he always asks candidates the same question: “Tell me about some of the toughest problems you’ve faced and how you solved them.” With this one question, along with experience and ability to read people, Musk can distinguish who is the talent he is looking for and who is just “talking big”.
Musk explained: “Those who really go through and directly handle problems know exactly how the difficulties were solved. They can recount even the smallest details.” In contrast, those who “talk big” often speak generally and unconvincingly.
Accordingly, Musk’s method has proven to be correct and scientifically effective. About 70% of cases of lying have been detected thanks to this memory and perception application method. And thanks to this method, Musk has recruited quite a number of talented individuals for his companies.
Source: Compilation