What strategies have you used to find jobs?

Derek: I have found networking through UW Design Alum very effective. Ultimately it’s how I landed all three of the jobs I’ve had outside of college.

Clara: During my senior year, I took a short trip down to San Francisco, I was able to set up several lunch and coffee dates with alumni here. I was surprised by how much they wanted to help me or to pass on advice. As far as interviewing goes, it’s important to remember that interviewers want to like you. No one goes into an interview hoping that the candidate is a dud. It really helped calm my nerves when I knew that as much as I wanted to find a job I loved, the people on the other side really wanted to find someone who was the right fit—it’s a two way street.

How did you get your job at Airbnb?

Derek: I messaged a friend who was working here about the company and what the design team was like. The first time I came to the office was during a Friday happy hour and I loved every single person I talked to. About a week later I was back doing a portfolio presentation—and the rest is history.

Clara: I met Derek for coffee and he showed me around the office. His passion for this place was really inspiring! Other alum talked about what they liked about their workplaces but Derek showed me things he’d worked on, introduced me to his coworkers, and talked about how much Airbnb had empowered him as a designer. When I told him I wanted to apply, he helped connect me to a recruiter and then a casual chat, a design challenge, a portfolio presentation, and four hour-long interviews later, here we are!

Why did you choose to work at Airbnb—rather than at another company?

Derek: I was inspired by the people I met working at Airbnb and how much they cared about the community of hosts and guests who used Airbnb. The passion was different from anything I had experienced before and it was an appealing prospect. I felt like the work I could do wouldn’t be frivolous and that I would have fun doing it.

Clara: The people at Airbnb were incredibly warm during and even in the weeks after my interview. I remember one of the founders, Joe, called me while I was trying to make my decision. It was supposed to be a 15 minute call but we ended up talking for close to an hour about what I wanted and the great opportunities at Airbnb. The design challenges here are big and complex and there was no way I was going to pass on them.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of working in-house?

Derek: Having only worked in-house, the advantage I’ve always seen is being able to have immense focus and impact on a single brand that I care about. The disadvantage could also be seen as only working on that brand and the work becoming monotonous. However, at Airbnb I’ve been lucky to work on projects of many sizes, scopes and mediums so I have yet to experience that downside.

Clara: I can’t speak for what it’s like to work at a design consultancy but I love being able to really own projects and their impact. You have to be completely invested because what you do affects your future work and all of your coworker’s work. There’s high dependency on each other and we continually self-raise the bar.

What is a typical day at Airbnb like for you?

Derek: My mornings are usually reserved for coffee, responding to email and checking in with my team about what the day and week look like. The rest of the day is mostly work time with a meeting or two which could be a project meeting or a design review. I’m usually in by 9am and out around 7pm, unless there’s a tight deadline in which case it could be much later. I do have a lot of meetings but I think most of them are necessary for making sure everyone maintains clear communication. It helps us keep momentum. I work on a team of about 20 and belong to a couple of sub-teams of 5 or 6 for different focuses. My larger team mostly stays the same but we sometimes mix up the smaller focus teams depending on what’s needed. Right now I don’t really pick the projects I work on but it’s my job to think about their size and scope so there’s still a sense of ownership.

Clara: Work hours are flexible; as long as you get your work done, go to meetings, and work well with others, your schedule is up to you. No one seems to abuse the freedom which is good! I tend to get in around 9AM and stay until 6PM. As a more junior designer I only have a handful of meetings every week. We have EPIC (experience design, design operations, researchers and content strategists. The acronym is based on outdated names) standup meetings every Monday and then a longer meeting on Friday to regroup. I have weekly meetings with my cross-functional Pricing and Availability team and then frequent casual chats with the other designers on the team. We also have weekly crits which are my favorite. Outside of meetings, it’s heads down work time.

How would you describe the culture at Airbnb?

Derek: Everyone who’s here believes in our brand mission of making the world a place where you belong anywhere and shares a set of values that influence how we think and act to get there. I’m surrounded by some of the smartest and most creative people I have ever met and I feel like we respect each other as equals regardless of rank or title.

Clara: People are driven but not cutthroat. Everyone’s pushing to do better work and encourage others to do the same. What’s cool too is that my coworkers care about what others care about. For example, just the other day this guy, Keenan, was walking around looking for a girl who sits next to me. I asked him what he needed her for and he said that he wanted to give her some pin backs that he just bought. Apparently he found out that they were both big pin aficionados. So random but people are just so caring here.

For experience design, we always talk about what we look for in candidates: Talent, hustle, and humility. They need to be “damn good at their craft.” They need to be able to take ownership and get stuff done. And then they need to have the humility to recognize where they can learn from others.

Derek: I think most Airbnb employees are quite driven but not in an intimidating way. We all come from different backgrounds and recognize that we each bring something unique to the table. I also think we’re a pretty funny bunch. It’s hard not to smile and laugh throughout the day.