The exercise Elon Musk uses to spot talent— and how you can use it to prove your impact at work

• Elon Musk famously asks job candidates for three bullet points that show their "exceptional ability."
• The goal of this tactic is to provide specific examples of work that make someone say "wow."
• Instead of giving your boss a summary of accomplishments, share detailed examples that show impact.

Get better at: Highlighting your impact

Today's move

Proving your value requires more than listing tasks you completed. It means highlighting a moment where you did something that genuinely stood out, according to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Musk has a high bar for hiring and has repeatedly said he looks for "exceptional ability" in candidates. One way he assesses that is by asking candidates for three bullet points that demonstrate their talent, he said on the "Dwarkesh Podcast" in February.

The Tesla CEO explained that he wants to hear someone cite one to three accomplishments that would lead the listener to say "wow."

Why it works

Musk said that in a 2014 Auto Bild interview that college degrees aren't always indicative of the best talent. For example, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, or even Steve Jobs didn't graduate from college, he said.

Musk went on to say that even if the bullet points of achievement are unrelated to the candidate's field, the goal is to find a record of extraordinary accomplishments.

"If there's a track record of exceptional achievement, then it's likely that that will continue into the future," Musk said.

Try it today

Spend a few minutes thinking about three accomplishments that you're proud of. For each one, write down what you contributed, the impact it had, and any relevant metrics that show how valuable your contribution was.

Make sure you bring that list to your next job interview, promotion conversation, or performance review.

The bottom line

If you want to prove your impact, you should aim to highlight an achievement that elicits some kind of "wow" response, and that is more likely to come from a specific story, rather than a summary of everything you have done during a six-month period.

Source

This insight is drawn from Business Insider's reporting on the famous three-bullet-point requirement that Musk has used, and how it applies to his search for trade workers to build AI centers. Read the full story about it from Natalie Musumeci here.

It also includes excerpts from Musk's interview with Dwarkesh Patel in February, and his interview with Auto Bild in 2014.

Have you tried the 3-bullet-point method? Tell us what you think of Elon's hiring approach in the comments below.