Cracking an interview has always been a task. And if the interview is scheduled for the company you have always wanted to work with, then the interview becomes more so important.
What if you already knew the questions HR was about to ask? Or the kind of traits & qualities the employer is looking for to have a better understanding of the company?
Or the one question to which you knew the answer to that would surely get you selected for the position?
We know it normally never happens. But Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, recently revealed that one question that helps him to understand the candidates better.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Elon Musk said that the very important question which reveals the role an applicant had at a project or company is.
“What were the most difficult problems you faced and how did you solve them?”
Elon said that the question helps him to understand whether the applicant was truly the one who took ownership and found solutions to a problem as opposed to simply being a member of a team that did so.
He said that people who really solved the problem, they know exactly how they solved it. They know the little details.
These candidates are able to talk in-depth about the struggles that they faced and the strategies they used. He says that great candidates can answer this question on multiple levels.
Conversely, those who pretend that they were the problem-solvers can maybe go one level and then they get stuck.
When candidates can’t talk at length, he knows they weren’t really the ones to work on the challenge.
Anyone who struggles hard with a problem never forgets it.
