SpaceX certainly makes headlines for their achievements in space exploration, but they have also ranked in Glassdoor’s best places to work and top CEOs lists, making both lists in 2017 and 2018. Unmatched excitement, a lack of red tape, an unusual hiring process, and too much work make this an interesting study in hiring practices. Read on to learn more. One hiring lesson you don’t want to miss out on is using our free online recruiting system from Recruiteze. Our powerful online hiring software makes hiring easy. Get started today!
#1. Excitement
People are happier, more loyal, and more productive when they are excited about their work, and SpaceX has excitement comes out of their pores.
There’s going to be a lot of glowing reviews scattered over this post to make other points, but here is one Glassdoor review to get you started in the excitement vein:
“If you’re looking for work with meaning then it probably doesn’t get better than SpaceX. You’re lucky to be working at one of the only companies really shaking up the industry. We don’t just talk big, we make it happen. Lots of people are super driven here.
If you’re highly motivated and ambitious then you can accomplish a lot at SpaceX. No one is going to stop you, there’s way too much work to do.”
And Josh Boehm, a former employee, who only left because his own business took off, and still misses SpaceX, wrote,
“The job satisfaction and team camaraderie is like nowhere else. Every time there is a launch, everyone crowds around mission control and cheers it on. Getting your mission patch after a launch was always a very satisfying feeling. If there was ever a failure, you definitely felt it in the air, but it wouldn’t stop any of us from working or demotivate us. The pride for the company is unbelievable. How do you spot a SpaceX employee? They’re covered head to toe in company swag, and keeps mentioning how they work for SpaceX. To be fair though, it is the only job I have really worked that has had a fan base. More often than you’d think people would come up to me off the street, at bars, at the airport or anywhere in public if I was wearing my badge or any SpaceX gear. If you’re a fan of the company, I would encourage you to do the same. I always loved talking to people about my job.”
#2. A Lack of Red Tape
SpaceX is also exceptional for their open, non-hierarchical, and freeing company culture.
A Glassdoor review titled, Literally a Dream Job, described it,
“There is not a lot of red-tape to prevent you from getting actual work done. Everyone here is trusted to make smart decisions so we spend time focusing on the goal rather than getting hung up on the little things. Everyone here is approachable and relaxed so it makes the workplace feel like somewhere you actually want to be every day.”
Boehm told us more about the accessibility of upper management and CEO Elon Musk himself,
“SpaceX has become quite a large organization over the last few years, yet it still maintains a startup mentality and feel. Despite its size there’s a fairly flat organizational structure. For example, I reported to the CIO, which was only a couple levels down from Elon.”
“There are almost no private offices, as just about everyone has a cubicle, including Elon. “
“Communication is very open, and even Elon is approachable if you have a good reason. Anyone in the company could email or talk to him.”
#3. Unique Hiring Process
SpaceX is a difficult place to get a job because they put everyone through a grueling number of phone and face-to-face interviews. It’s worse than it sounds: the candidate must speak to pretty much everyone they’re going to be working with, and the hire ends if just one person is doubtful about the candidate.
The good news is that Boehm credited this hiring process as the reason the company enjoys such high quality talent. It also stands to reason that this process also aids teamwork. If you know at the get go that everyone is onboard with working together, that’s got to be powerful.
While that many interviews, and the fear of being rejected, is daunting, SpaceX still made Glassdoor’s Best Places to Interview list in 2017 with 74% positive reviews. It must not be nearly as bad as it comes off.
The picture is not all rosy though, Boehm revealed that the hiring process puts extra work on an already overworked staff.
“It was frustrating at times because when I was leading software quality assurance it was very difficult for me to get the resources I needed to expand and get additional help.”
#4. Working too Hard
There is a lot of happening at SpaceX. While all that action is exciting and fun, it is also too much work for the individual workers. Employees have higher workloads than can really be completed well, have to work overtime to reach targets, and their work/life balance and family responsibilities go out the window. Even those who enjoy the work can’t sustain the lifestyle.
Here are some more reviews to illustrate the point.
This is from Glassdoor:
“Pros
Interesting product, If you like to work lots of hours, this is the place.
Cons
No work/Famil