Elon Musk asks one crucial question in every job interview to spot a liar

Do you think you’d pass Elon Musk’s all-important question?

There’s one major question Elon Musk asks in every job interview to spot a liar – how do you think you’d fare?

If you’re going for a job at one of Musk’s companies, like Tesla and SpaceX, than chances are you’ll be against some tough competition.

And if you considered embellishing your experience in the resume or even the interview stage, then think again.

In an interview with Auto Bild in 2017, Elon Musk was asked about the skills he looks for in potential employees.

But rather than focusing on a candidate’s achievements in education, the world’s richest man typically hones in on one particular question.

While asking them for the ‘story of their career,’ the X owner revealed: “I really just ask: ‘What are some of the tougher problems [you’ve] dealt with and how [you] dealt with those?’

“And how they made decisions at key transition points,” he added.

But why is this one main question so important to Musk?

Well, the technology billionaire revealed the question ‘is usually enough’ to give him ‘a very good gut feeling about someone’ and can even reveal whether or not he’s being lied to as well.

Musk continued: “What I’m really looking for is evidence of exceptional ability so that they’ve faced really difficult problems and overcome them.

“And of course, you want to make sure that if there was some significant accomplishment, were they really responsible or was somebody else more responsible.”

Musk said normally the person who’s ‘had to struggle with the problem they really understand it and they don’t forget’.

He resolved: “So you can ask them very detailed questions about it and they’ll know the answer, whereas the person who was not truly responsible for that accomplishment will not know the details.”

Job interviews can be a major source of stress – so don’t lie during them! (Narisari Nami/Getty Images)

And don’t just take Musk’s word for it either, as Indeed has also flagged it as one of the ‘eight common problem-solving questions’ you could be asked if facing a job interview soon.

The site notes: “If the job you’re applying for requires you to think analytically or solve problems, your interviewer may ask some problem-solving questions. These questions can vary between industries and jobs, but some examples come up frequently.”

And indeed, one of the questions featured on the employment website has the same theme as Musk’s: “Describe a time when you faced an unexpected challenge in your job?”

Elon Musk can catch potential employees out with just one question (Getty Images)

Alongside what Musk said about simply not lying by taking credit where it’s not due, Indeed advises: “Explain what challenges you have and what you did to overcome them. You can answer this question using the STAR technique.

“The STAR technique includes explaining the situation, the task, what action you took and the result. Choose an example that has a positive outcome and talk about what you learned from the experience, linking this back to the job description if possible.”