SpaceX's interviewing process is rude as hell, man
Interviewing for a job is rarely an enjoyable experience, but interviewing for a job at SpaceX sounds next-level bad.
Former SpaceX employee, Josh Boehm, recently revealed to Business Insider that the company has absolutely no time to waste when interviewing potential job candidates. For this reason, Boehm said he was instructed to use ridiculously disrespectful interviewing tactics to speed the process along.
Upon realizing a person wasn't the right fit for the position, Boehm — who's now cofounder and COO of online communication company Cyph — said he was directed to abruptly cut the interviewees off as they were speaking.
According to Boehm, who worked for SpaceX from 2013 to 2016, the interview process, which includes a full day of several phone conversations and seven to eight hour interviews, could swiftly end at any given moment without warning.
"If you know in the middle of an interview that [an applicant answers a question] that totally changes your mind, you're not supposed to just be polite and finish it out. You have to end it right there and escort them out," Boehm said.
Um, sorry — WHAT? As Mindy Kaling's iconic, sass-dishing Mindy Project character would say: "That's rude as hell, man!"
Boehm admitted that the unconventional, straight-down-to-business tactic didn't always end well, and has "actually led to a couple of uncomfortable situations."
Hmmmmm, you don't say?
If the rude AF approach doesn't wind up working, perhaps SpaceX can try testing out these innovative methods called common courtesy and basic human decency in future hiring situations. Idk, just a thought.
"Elon and Gwynne [Shotwell] from the top down said we only really want top talent coming in. It was really difficult to bring people in and get them on the team," Boehm said, noting that the process was "frustrating at times."
Anything for Elon, though, right? For Elon should be spending all his free time figuring out how to get a Tesla to Mars.
Boehm did tell Mashable that cutting off interviews was not a common practice, and only something he resorted to on "two or three occasions."
"While there are high standards across the board at SpaceX, culture and policies can still differ vastly from department to department and team to team," Boehm said.
UPDATE: Dec. 6, 2017, 8:58 a.m. EST Updated with additional comments from Boehm.
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
