Justine Musk, who was married to teach visionary Elon Musk for almost a decade, once shared a fascinating view of her ex-boyfriend’s mind.
“When Elon and I traveled and we had to fill out forms at customs that wanted to know his profession, Elon never wrote ‘CEO’, ‘King of the World’ or ‘internationally studious playboy’,” says Justine.
Yes, in his heart, the famous CEO and technology visionary Elon Musk has long preferred not to see himself as a great business leader or a wealthy man. He sees himself as a problem solver.
As such, Musk companies attract similar minds. That’s why some of the smartest and most capable people in the world crave jobs at Tesla and SpaceX: they want to try to solve what they consider the most challenging problems in the world.
But how does Musk and company determine who to hire? When it comes to elite problem solvers, how do they differentiate the best from the best?
Musk recently shared a clue.
Via Twitter, Musk invited “top engineers” to apply for a job at “Gigafactory Berlin”, Tesla’s battery factory in Europe, which is currently under construction in Germany. Along with the public invitation, Musk included the following request:
“When submitting your resume, describe some of the most difficult problems you solved and exactly how you solved them.”
On the surface, this survey looks similar to a popular interview question used by countless companies around the world. But four subtle differences distinguish it, increasing its value by leaps and bounds.
1. He receives it in writing.
“When it’s time to send a resume …” Note that Musk asks candidates to provide examples of problems that they have solved in writing – before coming to the interview.
This is an important request. In today’s work environment, writing skills are more vital than ever. Engineers (and everyone else) need to be able to communicate their thoughts, not only through drawings and presentations, but, more importantly, also via email, Slack and other IM platforms.
In addition, the opportunity to send these examples in writing allows candidates to take time to reflect on the request without the pressure of a personal interview, in which introverts and deep thinkers do not always do their best work.
2. He asks for several examples.
Musk asks candidates to “please describe some” difficult problems that they have solved.
Intelligent minds may be able to solve one or two difficult problems. But smarter minds really do look for difficult problems to solve – which gives them a great repository of examples.
When asking to see some of them, Musk and company raised the bar. They look for the best and brightest candidates – those who can show a pattern of ability to solve difficult problems.
3. He talks about superlatives.
In addition, Musk doesn’t just ask for some problems; he asks for some of harder problems.
Another subtle but important difference. Because, since you are focusing on 1 to 2 percent of the top candidates, it becomes more difficult to differentiate one from the other. One way to do this is to examine the types of problems they have already solved and their level of complexity.
4. He asks to see the process.
Finally, Musk asks candidates to show “exactly how they solved” the problem. He therefore shows his interest not only in the solution, but also in the process by which the candidate found it.
In other words, Musk and Tesla want to see how the potential employee thinks.
Many major companies use a similar technique. Technology companies ask candidates to produce live coding solutions during the interview. Management consultancies ask potential contractors not only to provide a solution to a live case (or situation), but also to guide the interviewer through their process.
But I like Musk’s technique even more. Because while there is value in seeing candidates solve problems under pressure, all the problems used in these interviews have already been identified and resolved by countless previous interviewees.
In contrast, by asking candidates to provide examples of the most difficult problems they have solved and the processes they used to resolve them, Tesla gains insights into several areas of interest, including the candidate’s:
- Motivation
- Ability to identify unique underlying problems and root causes
- Reasons to focus on specific areas of these problems
- Strengths, weaknesses and individual trends
With this technique, Tesla can analyze how candidates’ problem-solving methods can be applied to similar problems the company is dealing with.
So, if you are responsible for major hiring decisions, read a page in the Musk manual. Don’t just ask candidates to give examples of problems they’ve solved.
- Do it in writing
- Ask for several examples
- Speak in superlatives
- Ask to see the process
Following these steps will help you find the best of the best – and put your company in a position to solve the most complex problems.