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02 / Hiring process
Three stages, and one of them decides it
3 stages from application to offer. Technical screen is reported to be the one that decides it.
3stages
01
Recruiter phone screen background, motivation and genuine mission alignment
Reported to run about 30 minutes, covering background, interest in Airbnb, and logistical fit, with recruiters reported to specifically listen for genuine mission alignment at this early stage.
02
Technical screen live coding or an automated assessment
Reported to run as a 60 minute live coding session or an automated assessment, with data structures and algorithms questions requiring fully working code, not just a sketch of the approach.
03
Virtual onsite loop coding, system design, and a real values round
Reported to include two coding rounds, one system design round, and a genuine behavioral or values round, with candidates advised to treat the values round as a hard evaluation, not a formality.
Ask before the interview: what will this round cover, who will I meet, and is there anything I should prepare?The question almost nobody asks
03 / Question library
Interview question practice library
The technical screen, the onsite loop, and the four named values apply broadly across departments, so the core set below covers that ground. Each department then adds the depth specific to it.
61questions
Asked in every interviewAsked in every Airbnb interview
01 Why Airbnb, and why this department specifically? Motivation Open guide
Find your angle. Checks for a concrete reason tied to the actual department, not general enthusiasm for travel.
Build your answer
- Name the department directly. Not Airbnb broadly.
- Tie it to a real thing you've done. Concrete.
- Say what you'd want to own there. Specific.
Bring the evidence
Anchor the answer in a real experience mapping onto this department's actual work, not general fondness for travel or the brand.
What weakens it
I've stayed in a lot of Airbnbs and think the platform is amazing.
Likely follow upWhat's the first thing in this department you'd want to dig into?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.02 Tell me about a time you made someone feel they genuinely belonged somewhere they hadn't before. Making someone feel they belong Open guide
Find your angle. Airbnb's own value of belonging is reported to be tested directly and almost universally, testing a real, specific instance, not a general inclusivity statement.
Build your answer
- Describe the person and the context they hadn't belonged in before. Concrete.
- Explain the specific thing you did. Specific, not passive kindness.
- State whether it actually changed how they felt. Honest.
Bring the evidence
Name the specific action that made the difference, distinct from just being generally welcoming.
What weakens it
I try to make everyone feel included and welcome.
Likely follow upWhat would you have done if the person had still felt like an outsider despite your effort?
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.03 Describe a time you had to deliver a fully working solution under time pressure, not just a plan or an approach. Fully working, not just sketched Locked
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Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.04 Tell me about a time you had to design something knowing it needed to work across many different, unpredictable real-world conditions. System thinking under real constraints Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.05 Describe a time real curiosity, not a plan, is what got you through something genuinely uncertain. Curiosity that carried you through uncertainty Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.06 Tell me about a time you were caring and encouraging toward someone you worked with, not someone you served. Genuine hospitality toward a colleague Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.07 Describe a time you had to be resourceful and creative to make an ambitious idea real, with real limits working against you. Resourceful under real constraint Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.08 Tell me about a time you acted in genuine partnership with a group, rather than just completing a task assigned to you. Real partnership with a community Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.09 Describe a time you took something with real, unavoidable complexity and made it simple for the person using it. Simplifying something genuinely complex Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.10 Tell me about a time feedback you received wasn't fully spelled out, and you had to figure out what was really being said. Reading between the lines of feedback Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.11 Describe a time you had to make a decision knowing it would affect people in very different situations you couldn't fully see. Handling ambiguity across global scale Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.12 Tell me about a time you kept going on something after your formal responsibility for it had technically ended. Owning an outcome past the assigned scope Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.13 What's a real, current gap in how you work that this specific team would probably notice within your first few weeks? Self-awareness Locked
Pro
Build this answer out of your own experience
The guide for this question: what the stage is scoring, three steps to structure the response, the evidence worth bringing, what weakens it, and the follow up. Then Pro drafts your version of it against your CV, so you walk in with your own answer rather than someone else's script.
Subscribe to Pro Unlimited preparation, every question, every company.Account Management6 to practise
6 questions
The questions this role actually gets asked
The core set above is asked whatever you applied for. These 6 are specific to Account Management, and they are usually what the decision turns on.
Create a free accountWhat you get
Less than the cost of one lunch, for a great deal more confidence.- Unlimited tailored interview preparation
- A massive database of actual questions and answer guides
Role specific
Pick your role and the list narrows to what that role tends to get asked.
A guide for every answer
What the question is testing, three steps to build your answer, and the evidence to bring.
Prepared, not guessing
You walk in knowing the shape of the round and which of your own stories fits it.
04 / In the news
Worth mentioning in the room
The strongest answer to why this company is something that happened last month.
4stories
Free account
What happened at this employer this month
Stories screened from everything published about this employer, chosen because they can be used in the room rather than because they are recent.
- Each one carries a line on how to use it in the answer
- Crime, recalls, litigation and share price moves are excluded outright
- Refreshed daily, so it is different the week of your interview
05 / The four values
What is actually being scored
Airbnb publishes four core values in this exact language on its own careers site. Bring one real story for each rather than a general answer about loving to travel.
4stories
Champion the Mission
A time you acted in genuine partnership with a community to create real connection, not just completed a task assigned to you.
Be a Host
A time you were genuinely caring, open, and encouraging toward someone you worked with, not just someone you served.
Embrace the Adventure
A time real curiosity and resilience, not a plan, carried you through something genuinely uncertain.
Be a Cereal Entrepreneur
A time you were resourceful and creative to make an ambitious idea real, with real constraints working against you.
06 / Before you apply
Where candidates lose it
Pro
Where candidates lose this before anyone meets them
The part of the process that eliminates most people is not the interview. It is what happens around it, and almost none of it is written down anywhere.
- The assessment answers that read as dishonest rather than confident
- What the availability question is really deciding
- The application detail that cannot be edited once submitted
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