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Nudge
Elon Musk’s Controversial Interview Question
Mar 17, 2025
In a fascinating discussion, Gerd Gigerenzer, a world-renowned psychologist and former director of the Max Planck Institute, challenges traditional hiring practices. He explores Elon Musk’s unconventional method of asking just two questions, arguing it can outperform elaborate interviewing techniques. Gigerenzer highlights how experienced managers intuitively make better hiring decisions through heuristics. Surprisingly, he reveals that having multiple interviewers can dilute the quality of candidate assessments, advocating for a more streamlined approach to hiring.
19:51
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Quick takeaways
- Elon Musk's hiring strategy, emphasizing a single standout trait, can outperform traditional methods by relying on instinct-based heuristics.
- Research indicates that fewer interviewers, particularly skilled ones, yield better candidate selection than teams composed of less experienced interviewers.
Deep dives
Elon Musk's Unique Hiring Technique
Elon Musk's hiring approach involves asking candidates just two questions, focusing on their most challenging problems and how they solved them. This method contrasts sharply with the traditional hiring practice of seeking more data and multiple questions to evaluate a candidate's fit. Musk believes that if a candidate demonstrates exceptional ability in any area, such as being a highly skilled violinist, it indicates qualities such as perseverance and concentration that are beneficial in problem-solving roles. This 'one clever cue' heuristic allows Musk to make swift hiring decisions based on perceived exceptional talent rather than exhaustive assessments.
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