Elon Musk on recruiting: “Anyone who struggled with a problem never forgets it.” | Hacker News Reader

Elon Musk on recruiting: “Anyone who struggled with a problem never forgets it.”

blog.entelo.com

9 pointspodbaydoors3 comments

When you struggle with a problem, that's when you understand it...if someone was really the person that solved it, they'll be able to answer multiple levels, they'll be able to go down to brass tax.

I probably have struggled many times before successfully solving a problem, but I'd have difficulties coming up with an example of this in an interview.

I can't even judge what's difficult and what's not. The root of most problems is missing knowledge, and once I completely understand something, it seems clear to me.

He's got one thing right:

   he makes it clear that skill is not enough.
   Yes, it is the first box a candidate needs
   to check ...

I agree with this. Unfortunately, at many companies skill is the last thing people look for (just a mild exaggeration). Everything else is more important. The fundamental question of "can he do the job?" is only relevant after eliminating candidates who aren't perceived as "team players", or are too old, or don't have all the right buzzwords on their resume.

I think you're right, given this do you suppose the assessment process is backwards?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com