A long and tedious process. I say long because, I had an initial phone interview with HR. I followed up and didn't hear anything until about a week later. The HR person said I passed to the next phase, a zoom interview with the manager of the team. I wasn't sure how the interview went because the person interviewing me was neutral but seemed to like my experience.
I didn't hear anything for a few weeks, so I followed up with an email to HR. The HR person responded saying that the manager enjoyed the conversation and I was invited to a face-to-face interview in the Dublin office.
I prepared using Glassdoor and going over my CV for key points. I even had a friend who works in a recruiting agency do a mock interview and gave me helpful feedback. I have been wanting to work at Airbnb since 2016 (and have applied several times).
The face-to-face was more relaxed than I thought. The Airbnb building is in a great area and it's a lovely building. There are a lot of perks for employees, the best one being the travel vouchers. I had four 30 minute interviews and one person even gave me a hug. I felt extremely positive and had that feeling that I got the job. They made it seem like it was just a formality, and one person even said, 'don't worry about it,' after I told him I was a little nervous. Because, to be honest, the process can be a little brutal if you're not used to these type of interviews. But I walked out of there with a great feeling.
I didn't hear anything for a while so I emailed the HR person again as a follow-up. A week later, the HR person responded, thanks but we found someone who is a better match for the position, kind of email. About a week later I was searching for jobs and that exact position popped up. And it had been posted a day before...so no, that position wasn't even filled. I was furious because I know I was a perfect match for the position and I was prepared and did well in all my interviews. I also sent 'thank you' cards in the post.
Before I go any further, I do want to say that everyone who interviewed me and all the people I talked to at Airbnb are super nice, extremely professional and treated me with respect. I have no complaints about the people themselves.
But there is a silver lining. This was right before the lockdown. Although I did not get an offer here, I did get an offer in another company that works with the government. I am able to work from home and I have excellent benefits.
With the current situation, I believe that I would have been let go at Airbnb. And it looks like that company took a drastic hit. I see articles in the news every week and it's a reminder that being turned down for this job was a blessing in disguise.