Elon Musk explains why you shouldn’t judge candidates by their CV

Hiring the right person is rarely straightforward, the billionaire says, and he has spoken openly about what he has learnt from recruiting.

Why interviews can be misleading

Finding a strong candidate can be genuinely difficult. Job interviews can give a false impression: some people are brilliant speakers who charm a room yet turn out to be poor employees. The opposite also happens, too. Certain candidates dread interviews and experience them as humiliating, even though they would actually be excellent hires.

Don’t rely on the CV

Elon Musk has admitted that, as an employer, he has made the wrong call before. In a podcast appearance opposite John Collison, Stripe’s co-founder, and Dwarkesh Patel, a technology specialist, the entrepreneur reflected on his earlier experiences:

“I too fell into that trap, that idea that it would be enough to hire someone from Google or Apple for them to succeed immediately.”

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In his view, a CV on its own is not a reliable way to spot real ability. As he puts it:

“In general, what I say to people (and what I say to myself, I suppose), is not to look at the CV. Rely on the exchange. A CV can look impressive, and you think: ‘Wow, it’s well done!’ But if the conversation, after 20 minutes, isn’t convincing, you have to trust the conversation, not the CV.”

What Elon Musk prioritises when recruiting

He goes on to argue that personal qualities matter as much as capability:

“I think it’s wise to hire people who are talented, motivated and trustworthy? And I think kindness of heart is important. I underestimated it at one point. So, is this a good person? Trustworthy? Smart, talented and hardworking? If yes, you can add domain knowledge.”

True to form and not especially sentimental, he rounds it off with a blunt rule of thumb: “If someone is effective, I like them; if not, I hate them, so it’s very simple. There’s nothing eccentric about that.”

A reminder of Musk’s other advice

Finally, it’s worth remembering that Elon Musk has made a habit of offering advice-more or less sound-on all sorts of topics. Recently, for instance, he suggested, against the view of every financial expert, that saving money is unnecessary because, in his opinion, AI will push humanity into an age of abundance where universal basic income will become the norm. If you want more detail, you can always read our previous article here.

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