Pros: The pre-COVID Airtable, up to about late 2022, was an amazing place to work. Top-tier talent across all functions, from infrastructure to brand, and top-tier product that users loved. It had a strong culture, especially during the remote times, and outstanding perks, like a generous Learning and Development budget and an Equinox membership. That is long gone. There is still some good remaining, however. Namely, the ICs that haven't left are incredible in their resilience and belief in the product. Line managers I've encountered have also come across as competent and empathetic, which are words I wouldn't use to describe the people above them.

Cons: All the people that made this place fantastic have been laid off, or left on their own accord due to the demise of our culture and clear product vision. The lack of confidence in leadership is felt throughout the company, which creates a constant sense of unease in the air. Everyone is thinking the same thing, but doesn't want to say it out loud. Despite losing so many people, leadership has become somehow more needlessly bureaucratic and impersonal. With 49% of the company laid off, you would think many of the processes that slowed us down would be eliminated. This is coupled with no transparency regarding decision-making processes, especially decisions that are made last-minute, of which there are plenty. Deep lack of empathy from the leadership for both users, the product, and employees.

Pros: I really enjoyed talking to and working with a lot of my coworkers. I think the hiring bar is pretty good. Pay and benefits are decent for a "startup". Severance was pretty nice, 4 months' pay.

Cons: Absolute lack of leadership from the ground to the ceiling. You get to watch leadership dodge questions during the All Hands. There's no clear product direction from the top. The leaders on the bottom are struggling to just keep things running, and any big action requires so much effort to even move the needle. Even small changes require so much approval, and you can tell that the "old guard" engineers just go ahead and make changes without approval or rubber-stamp each other's projects while everyone else struggles to get any approvals on even the smallest changes. Since the layoffs, the culture in the office is just dead. Lunch is sad. Events at the office are awkward. People are closed and hesitant to connect.

Pros: There is an excellent working culture. Everyone is lovely to work with.

Cons: Product with a hard future in the current market.