Hello and thank you for visiting jobsfreehub.com. In this blog, we will share information on the hiring process at Tesla 2022 (application, interview, and more). There are a few processes that most candidates go through during the Tesla recruitment process, albeit it can vary depending on the HR team and your function.
By becoming familiar with these procedures and being aware of what to anticipate from the phone interview through the job offer, you can increase your chances of being hired at Tesla. With almost 100,000 workers, it is obvious that Tesla is a sought-after employer. But it is evidently a very competitive job application process given that Tesla received 3 million applications in 2021 alone! So how can you distinguish yourself from the crowd?
These phases are commonly included in the Tesla hiring process:
- online application at the Tesla website
- screening call interview
- online test of evaluation
- interrogation by the manager
- in-person panel discussion
- offering a job and negotiating
You can either apply directly on the Tesla website or contact a recruiter to begin the hiring process. Many people get a chance just by applying, but there are several ways to improve your chances, such getting a referral or making a connection with a recruiter on LinkedIn.
You will be chosen for a phone screen if your resume is customized to the post you’re applying for and you also have some relevant experience.
Few people are chosen for a phone screen; typically, 10% of applicants are chosen. Most candidates get beyond the phone screening, which is frequently simply a brief conversation.
Candidates will often need to complete an online assessment test after the brief phone screening. Either the online technical test is integrated with the personality test, or both.
After passing the online test, you’ll receive an invitation to the next round of hiring, which usually entails a few interviews but could also involve group discussions and presentations. Testing specific to their field—whether it be mechanical, coding, or another—will be required of candidates for technical positions.
The employment offer follows, first verbal and then written. If you think you deserve it, you can opt to negotiate, which will make things take longer.
You’ve looked through the Tesla job openings and discovered one that sounds ideal for you. Congratulations! So, how do you begin? First of all, just so you know what to expect, the entire process can take anywhere from two weeks to three months, depending on who needs to interview you and their availability. It will probably take more time the older you are.
Tesla Application Process Information
You normally submit your application on the Tesla website to begin the application process. By choosing one of the Tesla teams or manually searching for the employment opening, you can submit your application.
You should be trying to find a way to at least obtain a phone screen here. The traditional approach is to modify your resume for each position you apply for, but you may also identify the recruiter for the desired post and connect with them on LinkedIn.
The qualifications needed for a standard Tesla position are typically well recognized, but finding the recruiters and hiring managers can be challenging.
Typically, Tesla will only contact you if they think you would be a suitable fit, and this process can take one to six weeks. They rarely respond to individuals whose applications they reject, and the speed of their response depends on the recruiter’s personality and organizational skills.
If by acceptance rate you mean the proportion of applicants who are accepted by Tesla as opposed to all other applicants, then this is roughly 1% to 2%. For a normal engineering vacancy, this translates to around 3-4% of applicants making it to the phone screening step.
Let’s do the math. Every year, Tesla receives between 2 and 3 million applications. That amounts to 166 000–250 000 every month. In 2021, Tesla employed roughly 28,500 full-time workers, or about 2,375 each month. In conclusion, 2,375 out of 166-250k monthly is equivalent to 1 to 1.4%.
Per position, Tesla receives hundreds of applications. Let’s use 500 for an engineering post that is in high demand. Out of those 500, HR might pre-screen roughly 10% (50 candidates) of them, and then shortlist about 15-20 relevant prospects from that group. Thus, 15 to 20 applicants—or roughly 3-4% of those who applied—will begin the process with a phone interview.
Tesla Interview Process in 2022
The steps in a typical Tesla interview process are as follows:
- Online examination using a phone
- an examination of one or more managers (1 hour)
- a panel discussion held on-site (3-4 hours)
- perhaps presenting
A phone screen with HR often constitutes the first stage of the Tesla interview process. You’ll be questioned regarding your interest in the job and your ideal wage (but don’t say anything!) and you’ll set up a meeting. Additionally, certain fundamental behavioral or technological inquiries might be made of you.
The online aptitude test follows the phone interview. A web-based assessment test will also be required of applicants seeking software employment. For the majority of entry-level employment, it should take roughly 30 minutes and entail some simple coding.
After that, you’ll presumably have an hour-long interview with one or more managers, potentially just the hiring manager. Technical job candidates may be asked a mix of behavioral and technical questions, but nothing too challenging.
The next step is a panel interview that takes place on-site and lasts 3–4 hours. Each team member will give you 30 to 45 minutes to answer questions about your prior experiences, projects, and talents.
Virtual interviews with Tesla are frequently conducted via Zoom.
They can ask you to prepare a presentation in advance and allot roughly 25 to 30 minutes to present it before the interview even starts. Typically, it will be about a project you were involved in at a former employer.
To prepare it, you can use Visio, PowerPoint, or any other tool. You’ll receive advice on what to prepare for and how to accomplish it, so you’ll have plenty of guidance on what to do and how to do it.
A group discussion with 5 to 10 participants, a 30-minute presentation, and roughly 15 minutes of group Q&A is another option. Each applicant will then have a 30- to 60-minute interview.
Interns frequently receive interviews that are less challenging and frequently just receive one 30-minute or one-hour interview with one or two bosses. Depending on the role, but generally speaking, interviews for Tesla internships are less challenging and typically shorter.
Elon Musk won’t be at your last interview, so be prepared. The likelihood of Elon Musk attending your interview is 99% that he won’t. He’s busy and this is no longer a practice, so don’t count on him to show up for your interview.
In an interview with Business Insider, former Tesla recruiter Marissa Peretz claimed that CEO Elon Musk was “very preoccupied with acquiring top class talent.” Because the hiring process at Tesla is not entirely standardized, it can differ from job to role depending on what they believe best fits the role.
Apply on the Tesla website for the position you want, but not before updating your resume and one of the following: your LinkedIn profile, your Indeed online resume, or your online portfolio. In your online application, you will be requested to provide a link to one of them, so anticipate that it will be examined.
You might be required to give a brief explanation of your “proof of excellence.” Tesla is looking for proven problem solvers. Prove that you are qualified.
Even though there is so much competition, it is worthwhile to apply to Tesla; however, it is not worthwhile to apply poorly. You’ll most likely be turned down. Elon Musk advises, “When sending your CV, please describe a couple of the hardest challenges you solved & exactly how you solved them,” thus rewrite your resume to focus very narrowly on the job spec.
Take out any extraneous information or irrelevant employment history, but add any pertinent contract work. Recruiters lead busy lives! You’ll have a higher chance of moving on to the next round if you can make their job easier by submitting a brief and straightforward CV.
Depending on the position, there are often 3 to 4 rounds of interviews at Tesla. This entails a panel interview on-site, a phone interview, an online assessment test, and an interview with the hiring manager. There may be fewer rounds for interns and lower-level applicants.
Although your in-person interview will actually consist of several shorter sessions lasting between 30 and 45 minutes each, we’ve counted them all as a single lengthy interview. In actuality, an on-site interview is made up of three to five smaller ones with various interviewers that are connected.
After the initial phone interview, you will need to pass a tech exam. Depending on your degree of seniority, it could take anything from 30 minutes to 2-3 days. Pay attention to the quality of your code and, if necessary, add annotations to explain your reasoning. That way, even if you don’t get as far as you had intended, you can still be considered positively.
The interview procedure at Tesla will vary in difficulty depending on the position for which you are seeking. Interviewing for some jobs, like process technicians, is very simple, but getting through an interview to become an engineer is a different matter.
The overwhelming number of applicants you will be up against will be your biggest obstacle to passing the Tesla interview for an engineering post. As time goes on, Tesla becomes more and more well-known, which results in an increase in the number of competent applicants for their open positions. You must be distinctive.
You can learn more about the qualifications you’d need and how difficult it is to acquire a job with Tesla.
If your initial screening interview goes well, you will next have a more in-depth interview with a hiring manager to go over technical proficiency and cultural fit in further detail. The hiring manager will want to know about your existing situation, as well as anything that might have an impact on your hiring, including a move.
The interview will be more technical in nature. Be prepared to discuss algorithms, data structures, and system architecture as a software professional. Your job description, however, might give you some idea of what the interview will address.
While this is no longer true, Elon Musk used to conduct interviews with all potential new hires before approving them. He frequently used riddles to probe the interviewee’s reasoning.
The most well-known of these was: “You’re standing on Earth’s surface. You travel one mile each in three directions: south, west, and north. You return to your starting point. Where have you been?
The North Pole is the solution. Then he would ask, “Where else could you be?” It’s a little trickier, but the answer is “near the South Pole” you just need to start a mile north of the South Pole and work your way southward. After walking one mile in the circle to the west, you turn around and head back north.
Be ready for this type of inquiry during the interview process even if Musk may not necessarily interview candidates any more, or at least not as frequently.
Tesla HR will normally make you a verbal offer first if they determine that you are a suitable fit for the position after you successfully complete the interviews. The choice to accept the offer or continue to negotiate is then yours. Avoid accepting or committing to anything before giving it some thought.
Once the results of your background check are in, you will get an official offer letter if you accept the verbal one.
If you choose to bargain, you must have a clear idea of what you believe your compensation should be before the conversation and state this intention clearly. Each position has levels, and if you feel deserving, you can request a rise in compensation depending on the payscale for that position. Negotiating may be wise because Tesla pays below market for the tech sector.
Conclusion
You should plan on taking several weeks to complete the interview process with Tesla.
The hiring procedure at Tesla is difficult. However, completely preparing for it and giving it your all will be a terrific experience and will position you to be more prosperous in subsequent applications. Moreover, you never know. You might get the job of your dreams.
Additionally, we only post positions with a four-day workweek on our job board if you desire a better work-life balance.
