Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has managed to become one of the richest people in the world despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is due to the success of both his companies--but how does Musk find capable people to work for him?

Elon Musk interview question to spot a liar
(Photo : fauxels from Pexels)
It's a common job interview question that most job hunters get asked.

Musk Only Asks One Question

According to Gadgets Now, Musk once famously said that he does not care whether a person has earned a degree or even went to high school, as long as they have "exceptional ability" and can show it, he would give them a chance as equally as he would people who have graduated from colleges and universities.

But in order to work for Musk, you must definitely not tell lies--and it appears that the tech CEO can pinpoint who is lying and who is not with just a single interview question.

Based on the report, the question Musk asks candidate employees is this: "Tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them," a question that most likely has been asked to almost every job hunter at least once.

Read More: Microsoft Stock Beats Wall Street Expectations With $3B Quarterly Revenue During COVID-19 Pandemic

How Does It Work?

So, how does one of the richest man use the answer to spot a liar?

Musk explains by saying, "People who really solved the problem know exactly how they solved it," and if they have indeed solved the problem, they could "describe the little details," while those who haven't can't do so.

If someone is lying or making something up, then he or she will not be able to back up their statement with conviction

Furthermore, Musk further said that if the candidate had made a significant accomplishment, he wants to make sure that the person was responsible for it, or "was someone else more responsible?"

Moreover, the businessman also said that someone who had really struggled with a problem would certainly understand the details of the problem as well as the solution and that they would never forget it, so they should be able to easily describe everything when they were asked the question.

Backed Up by Science

And it does turn out that Musk's method is indeed effective in spotting a liar, according to a paper that was published in December 2020 in the scientific journal called "Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition."

According to the paper's authors, people that can provide longer and more detailed statements about a certain event can help an investigator detect whether they are lying or not.

Simply saying, people who say the truth will be able to provide more details, while those who are lying would strategically withhold information as they believe saying more could further expose them to investigators.

For job seekers, this could be an important lesson: never lie about your experiences, especially when you're facing Elon Musk.

Instead of trying to impress the interviewer, you might end up digging your own grave and lose your chances of getting the job since your interviewer might already know you're making things up to appear more impressive.

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Written by: Nhx Tingson

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