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Brian Chesky: Only Hire People Who Will Champion the Mission When You Are Not in the Room

By Brian Chesky · Leadership · 1 min read

Chesky interviewed the first 300 employees at Airbnb. He asked them: if you had 10 years left to live, would you take this job?

Key Points

Champion the mission by living the mission — do you believe in it, have you used the product, would you bleed for it
Chesky asked candidates: if you had 10 years left to live, would you take this job?
There is a job and there is a calling — hire people looking for a calling

There is a job and then there is a calling. We want to hire people who aren't just looking for jobs. They're looking for a calling.

Champion the Mission

Chesky: When we hire people, the first thing we need to make sure is — you need to champion the mission. You champion the mission by living the mission. Do you believe in it? Do you have stories about it? Have you used the product? Would you bleed for the product?

The 10-Year Question

Chesky: I interviewed the first 300 employees at Airbnb. People think I'm really neurotic — and that may also be true.

I used to ask them: if you had a year left to live, would you take this job? Actually, the people who say yes to that, you probably don't want — they should probably spend time with their family. So I amended it to 10 years.

If you knew you had 10 years left to live, whatever you'd want to do in those last 10 years, you should just do. And the answer doesn't have to be this company. If what you're meant to do is travel, or start a company — go do that. Don't come here.

If you had 10 years left to live, would you take this job? The answer doesn't have to be this company.

A Job vs. a Calling

Chesky: There's this old parable. Two men are laying bricks. Someone asks the first man, what are you doing? He says, I'm building a wall. They ask the other guy. He says, I'm building a cathedral.

There is a job and then there is a calling. We want to hire people who aren't just looking for jobs. They're looking for a calling. That's the first value.

There is a job and then there is a calling. We want to hire people looking for a calling.