Elon Musk Interview Questions

When Elon Musk attended the World Government Summit, he shared his go-to interview approach. In every interview, he asks the candidate, “Tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on and how you solved them.” This particular Elon Musk interview question gives you some of the best video interview tips to stand out in a world full of virtual applicants.

Best Practices for Virtual Interviews

Although this Elon Musk interview question seems like a relatively simple question, Musk explains that “The people who really solved the problem, they know exactly how they solved it, they know the little details.” Musk asks candidates this question for the purpose of understanding how they worked on an issue step-by-step.

As recruiting specialists, we know this type of interview question is extremely important to the hiring manager. One of the best recommendations for virtual interviews we can give you as hiring experts is to be prepared. Before going into your next interview, set yourself apart by knowing how to answer this. Leverage your experience to prove that you added value to your previous role.

Video Interview Tips Answering Musk’s Question

To properly answer the legendary Elon Musk interview question, start by breaking it down. Essentially, you will answer several simpler questions within one. Take a step-by-step approach by addressing points like this:

• What was the problem?
• What was the solution?
• What resources did you use?
• What were the roadblocks when solving this problem?
• What results did you achieve?

As always, practice talking about these experiences ahead of time. We suggest choosing an instance from your previous role that could be a potential issue you may encounter in this next role. This will show that you will be able to perform the duties successfully and in turn, prove your value as an employee.

Another way to practice answering this type of interview question is by applying the STAR method to your response. This technique can help you answer behavioral interview questions such as this.

Situation – Describe the situation you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish.
Task – What goal were you working toward?
Action – What were the actions you took to address or solve the situation?
Result – What were the results or outcome of your actions?