Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once gave a brilliant answer to one of the most common job interview questions that would have most of us stumped. During a 2020 interview for NBA star Stephen Curry’s YouTube series called ‘State of Inspiration’, Mr Gates was asked to play the role of a junior software engineer interviewing for a job at Microsoft. He was then asked a few questions to which the tech magnet revealed important points and prospective that might help you for your next big career move. 

One of the most common job interview questions the billionaire was asked was salary expectations. “What is your salary expectation for the role?” the host of the show asked Mr Gates. To this, the tech mogul didn’t give an actual figure, but he explained how best to answer the question. 

“I hope the option package is good. I’m able to take risk and I think the company has a great future, so I prefer to get stock options even more than cash compensation,” Mr Gates advised, per Forbes. “I hear some other companies are paying a lot, but treat me fairly and emphasize the options,” he added. 

By saying he is willing to take shares of a company instead of a mega salary shows the interviewer that he is a risk-taker and believes in the firm, its products and its future. According to Forbes, he also gives himself leverage in any salary discussion by saying, “I hear other companies are paying a lot”. This reminds the interviewer that this job candidate is in high demand, but treat him fairly and he’ll be a team player. 

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In the YouTube show, Mr Gates also answered other job interview questions that candidates dread answering. One important question that interviewers usually ask is: “Why should we hire you?” 

Answering this, Mr Gates responded, “You should look at the codes that I’ve written. I write software programs way beyond any classes that I’ve taken. I think I’ve gotten better over time, so take a look at how ambitious I’ve been there.”

“I do think I can work well with people. I might criticize their code a little harshly, but overall, I like to be on a team. I like ambitious goals. I like thinking through how we can anticipate the future. Software is cool, and I want to be involved,” he added. 

Mr Gates’ answer shows off his achievements while also showing how his skills have improved over time. His answer also points out his ability to work well with others as well as reflects on where he could have improved. Overall, his answer demonstrates his high standards of excellence – an important quality recruiters look for and admire in a job candidate. 

Despite his busy work schedule, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates used his meetings with Warren Buffett as an escape from work pressure, a new book, written by New York Times correspondent Anupreeta Das, revealed. In her book, titled ‘Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and his Quest to Shape the World’, Ms Das wrote that every moment of the 68-year-old billionaire’s workday was meticulously planned. His schedule, even down to his free time, was broken down into five-minute increments. But despite his demanding work schedule of back-to-back meetings, there were days when Mr Gates visited Mr Buffet to escape his responsibilities. 

According to Business Insider, Ms Das in her book wrote that Mr Gates would take his private jet to Omaha just to visit Mr Buffett and get away from a “tightly scheduled life, including personal time, largely organised and arranged by” his then-wife Melinda French Gates. 

“When Buffett asked Gates why he couldn’t control his life and live it in a way he wanted to, Gates would simply shrug. ‘Bill likes to have a schedule; I don’t,’ Buffett said in an email,” Ms Das wrote.

The author also revealed that Mr Buffet, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, would even pick Mr Gates up from the airport sometimes, and the pair would have “freewheeling conversations”. And when Mr Gates couldn’t make it to Omaha, they’d play bridge together online, the book said. 

Mr Buffett resigned from the Gates Foundation in 2021 and since then their friendship has cooled over the years. In May, the 68-year-old praised Mr Buffett’s more relaxed approach to scheduling. 

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“It took far too long for me to realize that you don’t have to fill every second of your schedule to be successful,” Mr Gates wrote in a Threads post. “In hindsight, it’s a lesson I could have learned a lot sooner had I taken more peeks at Warren Buffett’s intentionally light calendar,” he added. 

Notably, the friendship between the two began in 1991, when Bill Gates’ mother, Mary Gates, invited him to spend the Fourth of July at their family retreat, the New York Times reported. Among the guests was Mr Buffett, whom Mr Gates initially dismissed as just a “stockbroker”. However, once, they sat down, they connected instantly. This marked the beginning of their friendship that has lasted decades despite their very different personalities.