Mark Zuckerberg Recuits Talent By Taking Them On Hikes

A normal job interview: you, a desk, a guy in a suit. Penetrating questions about goals, risk, strategy. Some handshakes, and you’re gone. At Facebook? Zuckerberg takes you along a scenic trail, promising your techie dreams, the NYT reports. Swoon.

According to some anonymous Silicon Valley wunderkinds courted by Zuck, select recruits bypass the entire interview process. Instead, they’re taken across Facebook’s parking lot, and onto a secluded trail. What’s discussed on this strange hike? Facebook? Favourite recipes? How pretty Zuckerberg’s eyes look? We’re not sure. But once you reach the hike’s climax – an idyllic panorama of Silicon Valley – Zuck tries to seal the deal: “Zuckerberg said money wasn’t an object and that if I wanted the job – and why wouldn’t I, he questioned – the paperwork was already ready to go back at the office,” recounts one wilderness interviewee. “The entire experience was totally surreal. I really felt like I was on a date.” Another woodland candidate describes their vista moment: “He pointed to Facebook and said that it would eventually be bigger than all of the companies he had just mentioned, and that if I joined the company, I could be a part of it all.” Sounds like a better date than most I’ve ever been on! [NYT]

Image: Kimberly White/Getty

We hit what we’re pretty sure is the exact stretch where Zuckerberg tries to woo Facebook hires. Put your eyes really close to your screen and pretend!

This is likely the beautiful view where Mark makes his final moves. All this can be yours, computer science major.