Elon Musk asks the same question in every job interview to spot a liar
Seen as though he's been the pioneer of electric cars, ambitious space missions and brain chips, should we really be surprised that Elon Musk has come up with his own bullsh*t detector?
If you're applying for a job at one of billionaire tech mogul's companies, make sure you haven't exaggerated any of your achievements on your CV or that you don't start bending the truth in your interview, as he claims he can always tell.
Musk, 52, explained that he had thought up a way to help him determine the trustworthiness of potential employees during job interviews, which could also double as a way to vet someone on a first date.
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Hey, I'm just being resourceful!
Anyway, the SpaceX founder reckons he can spot a Pinocchio a mile off when he asks candidates one certain question - so he makes sure that uses it on every single person he sits down with.
While speaking at the World Government Summit back in 2017, Musk started to discuss his plans for future manned missions to Mars when the conversation turned to how he would select his team for it.
After a brief pause, the uber-rich businessman revealed that he tended to go on 'gut feeling', but said he also relies on a key question which he would pose to astronauts - or anyone who wants to work for him, for that matter.
Musk explained: "My interview questions are always the same. I say, tell me the story of your life and the decisions you made along the way and why you made them.
"Also, tell me about some of the most difficult problems you’ve worked on and how you solved them."
You may presume that candidates have the perfect answer for this question already rehearsed, but according to Musk, this is how he helps differentiate between time wasters and those who are actually taking the process seriously.
He explained that most people wouldn't be able to get down to the nitty gritty of a subject if they were piggybacking off someone else's story or inventing parts of it.
The father-of-11 continued: "The people that really solved the problem, know exactly what they how they solved it…they know the little details...the people that pretended to solve the problem can maybe go one level, and then they get stuck!"
He said he is really looking for 'evidence of exceptional ability' and proof that the person he is interviewing has the power to overcome difficult problems that may come their way.
Steve Jobs' 'beer test' sounds like a walk in the park in comparison to a meeting with Musk.
Olivia Burke