If you’re looking for the worlds best candidates, you’ll need the worlds best interview questions. 

Ever wondered what the worlds most successful leaders ask their potential future employees? Well, wonder no more. By the end of this article, you’ll be ready for interviews with giant companies the likes of Facebook, Tesla and Virgin, as well as being able to interview like them too.

Company: Virgin
Name: Richard Branson
Title: CEO
Interview Question: “What didn’t you get a chance to include on your résumé?”

In his book, Branson states: “Obviously a good CV is important, but if you were going to hire by what they say about themselves on paper, you wouldn’t need to waste time on an interview. As important as it is to look at what a candidate has achieved elsewhere, I have always believed that the single most important thing to consider is ‘personal fit’. By that I mean, is this someone whose way of being, sense of humour, and general demeanour will dovetail easily with your company’s culture?”

Company: Facebook
Name(s): Miranda Kalinowsk & Lori Goler
Title(s): Global Head of Recruiting & Vice President of People
Interview Question: “What are you doing on your best day?”

Kalinowski explained: “Typically if we find out about their best day, we can unpack that and really find out what drives them and motivates them. Whether it’s meeting with clients, coding, or calculating a spreadsheet, it’s going to be different for everyone. That’s the beauty of bringing all these people together.”

Company: Tesla
Name: Elon Musk
Title: CEO & Product Architect
Interview Question: “Tell me the story of your life, and the decisions that you made along the way, and why you made them, and also tell me about some of the most difficult problems you worked on, and how you solved them.”

That’ll certainly break the ice, Elon.

It’s also been revealed that Elon Musk will ask interviewees the cryptic question of: “You’re standing on the surface of the Earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?”.

If you end up working that one out, do let us know.