Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were named by President-elect Donald Trump to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are conducting a novel recruitment campaign by using the social networking platform X to find applicants.

Since its debut earlier this week, the official DOGE account has amassed over 1.4 million followers. On Thursday, the account announced a job opening and thanked the "thousands of Americans" who had shown interest in working for the department.

DOGE underlined, however, that it is seeking "high-IQ small-government revolutionaries" who are prepared to put in more than 80 hours a week on unglamorous cost-cutting duties rather than "part-time idea generators."

"We appreciate the thousands of Americans who are interested in helping at DOGE," said a post on the DOGE X account. Part-time idea generators are not necessary. "We need small-government revolutionaries with extremely high IQs who are willing to put in more than 80 hours a week in order to save costs. Send your resume to this account via direct message if that describes you."

The top 1% of candidates will be personally reviewed by Elon and Vivek.

DOGE merely requests that candidates send their resumes via direct messaging on X; it has not established any qualifications for education or work experience. Messages can only be sent by those who have a confirmed X account, which costs $8 a month.

The "top 1 per cent of applicants," though the precise selection criteria are yet unknown, will be personally assessed by Musk and Ramaswamy.

Tough role with no pay

Musk confirmed that the position would be uncompensated. "This will be difficult job, creating enemies, and paying nothing. "What a fantastic deal!" he tweeted.

Ramaswamy, a prominent investor and biotech entrepreneur, compared the anticipated work ethic to that of average government employees. He said on his Twitter account: "This contrasts with government bureaucrats who: (a) do little work, (b) say only what people want to hear, and (c) earn more than the value they contribute."

DOGE's Mission

Trump announced the formation of DOGE on Tuesday, tasked Musk and Ramaswamy with lowering federal expenditure, eliminating superfluous regulations, and reforming federal agencies. The agency would operate independently from the government, providing "advice and guidance from outside of government."

Trump has directed DOGE to fulfill its job by July 4, 2026. Musk stated that the plan "will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!"

According to Karoline Leavitt, spokesman for the Trump-Vance Transition, "As President Trump has said, Elon Musk is a genius, an innovator, and has literally made history by building creative, modern, and efficient systems."