The process began with a recruiter call, primarily to check in on past work and gauge interest in Airbnb positions. Following the initial recruiter call, two phone screens were scheduled.

The phone screens were fairly straightforward LeetCode-style challenges to be completed in CoderPad. Interviewers often jump straight into writing code shortly after introductions, so it's advisable to start working on the problems as soon as possible.

I discussed phone screen questions with multiple people and conducted extensive research on Airbnb's interview patterns. Thorough online searching reveals that nearly all of their phone screen questions are available on various platforms.

The onsite interview consisted of:

• Two coding interviews
• Two cross-functional interviews
• One architectural interview
• One experience interview

Coding questions were standard LeetCode-style problems. The two questions I encountered were not listed on Glassdoor or LeetCode, and I had not seen them before. Strong CS fundamentals should suffice, but don't hesitate to discuss your ideas with interviewers; in both cases, I received helpful feedback that guided me toward correct solutions.

The cross-functional interviews are designed to assess how well you align with Airbnb's core values and how you would function as an employee. You are evaluated on your fit with each value, so research and be prepared to connect your answers to the listed core values.

My architectural interview focused solely on table design. I was surprised by this narrow focus, as I had prepared for broader system design topics. However, my interviewer was extremely helpful and readily explained concepts I was unfamiliar with.

The experience interview started with a brief overview of my previous projects, followed by an in-depth exploration of one specific project. Be fully prepared to answer all questions regarding design choices, motivations, trade-offs, and potential improvements for your projects. This interview was particularly intense; a lack of answers to any interviewer's questions can lead to a rejection, so know your projects thoroughly.

Overall, my interview experience was stressful but enjoyable. Airbnb employees appeared friendly, and all my interviewers were very helpful. While I made some mistakes that cost me the offer, I hold no resentment towards the company.

One additional point is that a recent interview posted on Glassdoor suggested questions about discrete math and operating systems (processes, mutexes, etc.). I was not asked any such questions. While a refresher was beneficial, I wish I had spent that study time preparing for the experience/cross-functional interviews instead.

A modified version of the traditional "change-making" problem.

In this variation, coins are items priced in floats, and a target sum needs to be reached.

Given an array of float prices, round each price such that the total sum of the prices stays as close as possible to the original sum. The prices in the array should be converted to round numbers. For example, (36.46, 4.54) will become (36, 5).

Given a list of nodes and a list of directed connections between them, find the minimal number of entry points for a message to spread to every node. Note that not every node has a connection, and cycles may exist.

This is similar to "Word Search II" on LeetCode, but focuses on determining the largest number of words that can be packed onto the graph at any one time.