All right, So we're going to talk about how I failed at my Airbnb interview and why the failure was actually a blessing in disguise, and why it wasn't actually a failure in my humble opinion. So Neil in this episode, this one's going to be.

All right, So we're going to talk about how I failed at my Airbnb interview and why the failure was actually a blessing in disguise, and why it wasn't actually a failure in my humble opinion. So Neil in this episode, this one's going to be.

Easy for him.

Easy for him.

He can actually interview me here, and I want to share some backstory on this one. So Neil had, actually this is a long time ago, he had asked me because he knew the I believe it was the VP of Marketing at Airbnb and they needed an SEO at the time. So I was probably maybe twenty five years old or so twenty six years old, and Neil's like, hey, like, you know, there's this Airbnb company. They're growing really quick. You know, might be interesting for you to interview over there. And at the time, I was still working full time at a company, and so I was like, Oh, it looks really cool, and I think they're a value that maybe five billion at the time or a billion. I might be awful little bit. Neil, do you remember what the evaluation was? I don't, okay, So basically what had happened was I ended up talking to the VP of marketing, and the interview goes really well. And so the next step of the interview was I had to talk to someone at Facebook who was their advisor, and lo and behold, it is actually a guy that still works there. His name is Alex Schultz, and I think for all intents and purposes, he's their CMO now. And he interviews me. I get this call from Apollo alto number in the morning and he just grills me. Right, He's like, not interest, small talk, not interested. He's just like, you know, here to grow me. And that's it, right, And there's no knock on the guy. You know, he's successful, you know, congrats to him. So I want to I'll pause for a second, neil the any questions before I continue?

He can actually interview me here, and I want to share some backstory on this one. So Neil had, actually this is a long time ago, he had asked me because he knew the I believe it was the VP of Marketing at Airbnb and they needed an SEO at the time. So I was probably maybe twenty five years old or so twenty six years old, and Neil's like, hey, like, you know, there's this Airbnb company. They're growing really quick. You know, might be interesting for you to interview over there. And at the time, I was still working full time at a company, and so I was like, Oh, it looks really cool, and I think they're a value that maybe five billion at the time or a billion. I might be awful little bit. Neil, do you remember what the evaluation was? I don't, okay, So basically what had happened was I ended up talking to the VP of marketing, and the interview goes really well. And so the next step of the interview was I had to talk to someone at Facebook who was their advisor, and lo and behold, it is actually a guy that still works there. His name is Alex Schultz, and I think for all intents and purposes, he's their CMO now. And he interviews me. I get this call from Apollo alto number in the morning and he just grills me. Right, He's like, not interest, small talk, not interested. He's just like, you know, here to grow me. And that's it, right, And there's no knock on the guy. You know, he's successful, you know, congrats to him. So I want to I'll pause for a second, neil the any questions before I continue?

No, no, keep going. I never heard this story so interested myself.

No, no, keep going. I never heard this story so interested myself.

Okay, so this might jog your memory. But so he interviews me and he's like, what's the most important thing you would do for the website right now? Like, what's the biggest opportunity. And I was prepared for that question. And I had noticed that there was at the time, there were certain elements on their website that were uncreullible. And this was for all their major product pages. I think at the time Ajax wasn't crawllible. And this is when I was really deep in SEO, and I was like, guys, like, your stuff isn't crawllible, Like a lot of your blocks of content are are basically like going to waste right now. And so he basically paused for a moment, and that was it. Like he basically was like, well, you know, the right answer is make a bunch of landing pages like programmatic SEO. And I knew that was a thing, but I thought an easier lift would have been to just fix that part. And I stood my ground, and he asked me if I wanted to change my mind. I said no, and that was that. And so I ended up not getting the job there and one thing led to another, and I'm glad that I didn't get the job. Otherwise I want to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now. So that's the high level I want to also communicate. I want to do communicate that Alex Schultz he is successful in his own right. Obviously he's done really well with Facebook, but he also has a drink recipe website as well that gets good traffic. But still to this day, eleven years later, twelve years later, I still stam my ground because that was an easier change. So those are a couple lessons.

Okay, so this might jog your memory. But so he interviews me and he's like, what's the most important thing you would do for the website right now? Like, what's the biggest opportunity. And I was prepared for that question. And I had noticed that there was at the time, there were certain elements on their website that were uncreullible. And this was for all their major product pages. I think at the time Ajax wasn't crawllible. And this is when I was really deep in SEO, and I was like, guys, like, your stuff isn't crawllible, Like a lot of your blocks of content are are basically like going to waste right now. And so he basically paused for a moment, and that was it. Like he basically was like, well, you know, the right answer is make a bunch of landing pages like programmatic SEO. And I knew that was a thing, but I thought an easier lift would have been to just fix that part. And I stood my ground, and he asked me if I wanted to change my mind. I said no, and that was that. And so I ended up not getting the job there and one thing led to another, and I'm glad that I didn't get the job. Otherwise I want to have the opportunity to do what I'm doing now. So that's the high level I want to also communicate. I want to do communicate that Alex Schultz he is successful in his own right. Obviously he's done really well with Facebook, but he also has a drink recipe website as well that gets good traffic. But still to this day, eleven years later, twelve years later, I still stam my ground because that was an easier change. So those are a couple lessons.

There's also no right or wrong answer in which an ideal world in SEO, it's if you fast forward to today, you kind of have to do everything to do well. It was quite a bit different years and years ago, let's say ten plus years ago, but now it's if you're not doing every little thing, you're not going to win. So whether it's creating those landing pages, or solving the AJAX issue, or fixing duplicate titles or whatever, maybe you kind of have to do everything. And if your whole site isn't buttoned up, you're just not going to do as well these days, and I don't have access to the data I used to.

There's also no right or wrong answer in which an ideal world in SEO, it's if you fast forward to today, you kind of have to do everything to do well. It was quite a bit different years and years ago, let's say ten plus years ago, but now it's if you're not doing every little thing, you're not going to win. So whether it's creating those landing pages, or solving the AJAX issue, or fixing duplicate titles or whatever, maybe you kind of have to do everything. And if your whole site isn't buttoned up, you're just not going to do as well these days, and I don't have access to the data I used to.

We used also be the consultant to Airbnb and do their SEO back then as well. But when you think.

We used also be the consultant to Airbnb and do their SEO back then as well. But when you think.

About it is there's not necessarily one is right or wrong. It's more so there's many ways to skin a cat, and you got to kind of do all of it to do well.

About it is there's not necessarily one is right or wrong. It's more so there's many ways to skin a cat, and you got to kind of do all of it to do well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So also, like I appreciate and respect where he's coming from, Alex with that interview question. So he really targeted in on one. But when you're talking someone, you can't just base it on one question. Had we had a deeper conversation on hey, like tell me why you think that, or why are you holding your ground that way? Tell me how you're thinking about it, we would have had a deeper conversation. And to Neil's point, oftentimes someone might disagree with you or there might be a disagreement, but it's interesting to see them. You respect them more for standing their ground, and you also respect them more to understand how they think. And that's ultimately what's important for a company. You want to have a diverse group of thinkers, a diverse group of critical thinkers, and that's what it is. So ultimately I think it was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't have had moved on to the opportunities that I got to move on to.

So also, like I appreciate and respect where he's coming from, Alex with that interview question. So he really targeted in on one. But when you're talking someone, you can't just base it on one question. Had we had a deeper conversation on hey, like tell me why you think that, or why are you holding your ground that way? Tell me how you're thinking about it, we would have had a deeper conversation. And to Neil's point, oftentimes someone might disagree with you or there might be a disagreement, but it's interesting to see them. You respect them more for standing their ground, and you also respect them more to understand how they think. And that's ultimately what's important for a company. You want to have a diverse group of thinkers, a diverse group of critical thinkers, and that's what it is. So ultimately I think it was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't have had moved on to the opportunities that I got to move on to.

And Airbnb is what it is.

And Airbnb is what it is.

He's done well for himself and I don't have any regrets at all, And those are a couple of lessons.

He's done well for himself and I don't have any regrets at all, And those are a couple of lessons.

So that's what it is. Anything else, Neil, if you.

So that's what it is. Anything else, Neil, if you.

Ever go through an interview and someone disagrees with you, I believe someone who hires people.

Ever go through an interview and someone disagrees with you, I believe someone who hires people.

And this is just my thoughts.

And this is just my thoughts.

It doesn't mean everyone else believes this way, but I believe it's better to actually stand your ground.

It doesn't mean everyone else believes this way, but I believe it's better to actually stand your ground.

If you flip flop too much, it shows that you don't have a backbone. I probably wouldn't hire on myself if that's just me.

If you flip flop too much, it shows that you don't have a backbone. I probably wouldn't hire on myself if that's just me.

Yeah, if they're gonna get run over in an organization. So you want people that again, diverse thoughts, but you also want people that can communicate, and you want people that can people that can speak up because ultimately you want an organization that is okay with direct feedback and the communication cycles, the feedback cycles, the loops move a lot faster. So that is it for today. Please don't forget the rate you subscribe. Meal's doing this from Brazil right now. I'm doing this from Turkey. So apologies for any issues that you might have spotted, and yeah, we'll see you later.

Yeah, if they're gonna get run over in an organization. So you want people that again, diverse thoughts, but you also want people that can communicate, and you want people that can people that can speak up because ultimately you want an organization that is okay with direct feedback and the communication cycles, the feedback cycles, the loops move a lot faster. So that is it for today. Please don't forget the rate you subscribe. Meal's doing this from Brazil right now. I'm doing this from Turkey. So apologies for any issues that you might have spotted, and yeah, we'll see you later.