After the initial housekeeping with recruiters, you'll participate in two 45-minute phone screens.

Coding questions involve standard data structure and algorithm problems, but they are presented within a practical use-case context, which is helpful.

My interview included:

• Lowercase/uppercase permutations
• Simple JSON parsing
• Implementing a simple socket-based client (documentation lookup was permitted).

Your code must be running (this applies to both phone and onsite interviews), but this shouldn't make you nervous.

Arch/Design questions were my stumbling block. You're expected to have a deep understanding of database/relation design, indexing, and various caching layers and lookup optimizations, as if this is your daily work. You can answer these questions in either SQL or NoSQL contexts.

Finally, there are two quirky culture/fit interviews. Be prepared to explain why you want to work there, share relevant travel experiences (and hopefully how you've used Airbnb), and have something new to teach your interviewer in a few minutes. This last part is actually fun.

Overall, it was a positive experience, and everyone you interact with is pleasant and helpful.

What SQL columns should you index, and how would you change indexing in different lookup scenarios?

What can you teach me in a few minutes?