Airbnb: How Not to Hire Software Engineers
Technical interviews are broken, but they could be even worse
Pick any two engineers in Silicon Valley, and I bet they have one thing in common: they both loathe technical interviews. You know, the inverting binary tree and print FizzBuzz deal. Like any other engineer, I treat it as a necessary evil. Just perform the ritual, prove that I can code (on whiteboard), and move on.
Looking for a job, I recently interviewed at Airbnb in their SoMa headquarters, fully expecting a day of the familiar routine. At the end of the day, when I walked out of the building, I felt relieved and grateful — after the worst interview day I just had, I began to consider those technical interviews the best invention ever happened to the industry.
Why? Because Airbnb conducts its unique behavioral interviews, or “Core Value” interview in their parlance, which are downright offending. If technical interviews are evil, these behavioral interviews are 100x worse.
“Core Value” Interviews
At Airbnb, “Core Value” interviews are designed to assess “the passion for Airbnb, as well as core value fit.” And indeed, their questions fall into these two categories.
The “passion” questions are at least normal, like how would you improve the product, or how to describe Airbnb in one word. It is in the “core value fit” questions the really weird ones emerge. Some are personal questions that I prefer not to answer, like “what is the nicest thing you have done for someone.” Others are downright puzzling, like “if you were a texture, what texture would you be.”
Normally I don’t mind these behavioral interviews. However, it became increasingly apparent that it’s not one of the asshole-weeder interview. Rather, they were looking for a set of specific answers. As a result, instead of a natural conversation, it felt like grilling. The questions I tried to skirt were asked again. The answers they didn’t like were corrected. To me, they are trying to identify some group of people, almost like a police interrogation. As a professional engineer, I felt deeply offended by such questioning.
So what group of people are they looking for? Overzealous Airbnb fan-boy who blends perfectly in their frat house?
(Note: out of respect of the NDA, these are not the real interview question, but something very, very similar)
Why the Passion?
I worked at a couple of big tech companies before. I devoted myself to the projects out of my professionalism. Yes, I am passionate about my job, the technology I’m developing, and the challenges I face. But no, I am not passionate about the product or the company.
Why should I feel passionate about a product? Airbnb, after all, is just fancier classified ads. Let’s not pretend it is a cure of AIDS or a cold fusion reactor. On the contrary, I personally don’t like the product at all. The complex booking process and the inconsistency of the room quality are both show-stopper for me.
Why is passion a requirement though? If a lawyer can defend a murderer the world wants dead, a physician can cure a patient they just met, why does an engineer have to be passionate about the product he/she is developing?
For the company, there’s a clear upside to hiring a passionate crew: it can get away with many things, be it below-market compensation or voluntary overtime. To be fair, I have not heard of a complaint about Airbnb in these regards, but it is a huge red flag for employees to think about.
However, the downside is probably way greater. Such a zealous workforce can contribute to a egoistical and myopic culture, which can in fact kill the company.
What Culture?
Airbnb prides itself of having a great culture. Their recruitment ads are full of bright and cozy office space decorated like their listings, as well as nice and friendly employees who genuinely care. Too many fell for that, myself included.
Peter Thiel once famously told Airbnb: “Don’t fuck up the culture,” which partly explains the company’s extraordinary emphasis of “cultural fit” during the interviews. While culture is extremely important, it is equally important that it grows organically with the company.
Airbnb is a big company now. However, their selection for those who fit their culture bears a striking similarity to fraternity pledging. It probably stems from its start-up days. But at $24B, Airbnb is no longer a start-up. How many great engineers can Airbnb afford to lose because of this “culture fit” nonsense, and, given the company didn’t have a great engineering team to begin with, how can it withstand the future engineering challenges?
Even more importantly, culture should not be used as an excuse to be narcissistic and not to embrace different perspective.
Several weeks before my interview, Airbnb ran a wildly controversial ad campaign in San Francisco. I couldn’t believe Airbnb PR thought it was a good idea. After going through the hiring process, it was no longer a mystery. When you apply, their Email literally says: “Thank you for thinking that we are special. We think we’re special too!”
They are too special to realize, there’s a world outside of their bubble who don’t care about them, who don’t believe in their “mission.”
This is the reason I think these Core Value interviews are dangerous. By selecting those who drink their Kool-Aid, it reinforces its shortsighted toxic culture, generations after generations. Eventually, one day, not only will no one speak up when the emperor wears no clothes, probably nobody has even noticed he has been naked for a long, long time.
The End
I got a call from their recruiter soon after. Apparently I did well in the technical rounds, but they didn’t like my answers in the behavioral, so no thank you. Considering the bad day I had, it’s probably not a surprise. I only wish I had looked at their Glassdoor review before deciding to waste one vacation day.
Will Airbnb be a great company? Maybe. Will Airbnb be a great engineering company? Probably not. But it confirms my understanding: Airbnb is not an engineering company to begin with. So engineers beware.
[Note: details are slightly changed in this article for anonymity]
