Mark Zuckerberg explains his hiring philosophy

Mark Zuckerberg said the ability to think critically and "go deep and do one thing really well" is the most important trait.

• Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of critical thinking in an interview with Bloomberg.
• Zuckerberg said his hiring strategy follows the same line of thought.
• The CEO has also said he wouldn't hire someone to work for him if he wouldn't work for them.

If you're interested in entering the tech or AI space, you might be wondering what you should study.

But Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview with Bloomberg's Emily Chang published Tuesday that the most important thing is "learning how to think critically and learning values when you're young." Zuckerberg gave the example of his young daughter, who is 40 pages into writing a novel about "mermaid crystals" and is using meta AI to generate images.

Zuckerberg said in the interview that his "hiring philosophy" follows this line of thought.

"If people have shown that they can go deep and do one thing really well, then they've probably gained experience in, like, the art of learning something," Zuckerberg said in the interview.

The CEO said that kind of skill is generally applicable to other things that could come up during a career at Meta. The key thing is demonstrating you're capable of drilling into something and mastering it.

It's not the first time the CEO has talked about considering a candidate's values when hiring. Zuckerberg shared at a Mobile World Congress Q&A in 2015 that Facebook had struggled with hiring and sometimes brought people on who may not have been the best fit for the job, CNN reported. He said the company tried to look for people whose values aligned with the company.

The CEO has also said on a few occasions that he only hires someone to work directly for him if he would work for that person.

"If the tables were turned and you were looking for a job, would you be comfortable working for this person," Zuckerberg said in a 2018 "Recode" interview, adding that if the answer is no, "then you're doing something expedient, but you're not doing as well as you can."

Zuckerberg also said in a 2017 episode of Reid Hoffman's podcast "Masters of Scale," that the "single most important thing" when it comes to scaling success is the ability of founders to feel confident enough to work with those who are stronger than them.

Zuckerberg said the former Meta COO, Sheryl Sandberg, taught him the rule because he wasn't afraid or threatened by her talents, despite her being stronger than him in some areas. The CEO has consistently praised Sandberg, and attributes much of his leadership and management style to her.

While Zuckerberg may have a strict standard for hiring candidates, the tech giant has slowed its hiring compared to the pandemic-era growth. Zuckerberg said earlier this year the company would continue to limit its head count and hiring plans would remain "relatively minimal."

The company conducted mass layoffs in 2022 and 2023 in its "year of efficiency," and more may be coming. BI previously reported that Zuckerberg is looking to dwindle the number of VPs at the company with an overall goal of reducing people at the top and middle and increasing workers at the bottom.

You can watch Bloomberg's full interview with Zuckerberg below.