Airtable, founded in 2012, built on the belief to find unique solutions to regular and unique problems. With the growing tech-savvy world the most unique solution was building new software altogether. But, along with that, a new company also brought in new opportunities for people. One of the most common problems of this competitive world is finding a well-paying job with a reputed company. The establishment of Airtable also solved this problem. Engineers, computer scientists, data analysts, graphic designers, content designers, and all those people with their different educational degrees and expertise, found an opportunity to grow. However, as with every selection process, preparing for an interview is one of the most confusing and difficult jobs. This article is your unique solution to solve the problem of acing one of the most popular questions for interviews. Read on to find out how to answer it and make your mark. The topic is ‘Why Do You Want To Work at Airtable?’
About Airtable
The name of the company sounds just as interesting as its work. For those who have heard the name for the first time, it might sound like the name of a restaurant – people sitting together at a table, and sharing their thoughts. However, Airtable is a cloud collaboration service, where people can work on spreadsheets and build their databases together. The company also allows the making of new software, applications, and any other collaborative platform that companies might need. The software has spreadsheets and databases combined and allows companies to engage with their data more simply, saving a huge amount of time. To make this software work efficiently and help others work efficiently, the company has a team of dedicated, creative, and hard-working people.
The Airtable Team
To run a software company like Airtable, there has to be the support of more than hundreds of employees, with diverse skills and expertise. Airtable is one of the best examples of the perfect combination of all kinds of skills that a company needs. The company hires –
- Accountancy – Billing and collection analysts, managers, accountants
- Customer Success and Support – Managers and advocates
- Engineering – Data engineers, software engineers, engineering managers
- Design – Content designers, product designers, managers
- Data Insights – Data analysts for marketing, products, and strategies
- Marketing – Web designers, illustrators, brands and product designers, etc.
- Research – Managers and user experience researchers
- Human Resource – People analysts and Human Resource Managers
Although the qualifications and skills that every employee specializes in would be different, a few interview questions would be the same for all. If you’re looking for a job at Airtable, one of the questions you need to prepare for, is “Why do you want to work at Airtable?” Even though this question is quite common, and you would have faced this before, there is still a need to prepare.
Why Do You Want To Work At Airtable?
Answering a question like this requires tactful thinking. Usually, if a company recruiter asks this question, they do so to know if the candidate will be able to fit in and work according to the company’s thinking. They need to know that the person is passionate about their work in general, and is interested in the company. Only then will they be a perfect choice.
How to answer the question?
- Research about the company –
To answer a question like this, the candidates need to know about the company, in this case, Airtable. Do your research about the company, its way of working, its current position, any future goals they might have, any particular qualities they look for in an employee, their products and services, etc. While answering a question asking about your reason to work with Airtable, you need to show that you are interested in the company and its workings. By talking about the goals of the company and its products, you portray yourself as someone who is not only interested in Airtable but who is also dedicated to the work.
- Think about what you can offer the company professionally –
Just knowing about the company is not enough. To work with a company like Airtable, you need some experience and some past achievements that you could repeat in this company and contribute to its growth. Even if you are hard-working, but cannot offer anything new to the company or substantially help in its growth, the employers will have little interest. It is better to include some achievements and expectations that you think you are capable of meeting while working with Airtable.
- Think about how you fit in the company personally –
Professional contributions and dedications kept aside, you also need to reflect your personality while working with Airtable. You need to convince the employers that your attitude, thought process, and working styles match with the company’s culture. It is only then that Airtable would consider you as a potential employee complimenting the company. Come across as confident, creative, hard-working, knowledgeable yet curious, to ace the question.
How not to answer the question?
- I needed a job – Yes, it is good to be yourself and tell the truth. But giving a reason like “I just needed a job and found this one” is not a good answer to why you want to work with the company. Such an answer does not show any of your skills, personality traits, nor does it assure the recruiters that you are interested in the company and will towards its growth.
- Airtable has good benefits – All companies offer good benefits and pay to their employees. It is something they need to do to thrive in the competitive world. Even though such a response implies that you are interested in working with the company, it also implies that you are only interested in the money and not the actual work. You, as a person might come off as shrewd and unmotivated by answering this.
- It is a step to my better future/for my growth – Yes, you are allowed to switch jobs and continue exploring new ideas, new companies, and new job roles. However, telling the interviewers that you view Airtable only as a way to grow in the future, implies that you are not focused on your present. You might seem visionary but at the expense of looking unfocused and uninterested in the company.
Conclusion
Working at any company including Airtable requires you to be prepared for several interview questions apart from the skill-based knowledge. One of the most common questions is why do you want to work at Airtable. To answer this question you need to keep in mind that you need to come across as a professionally and personally valuable person for the company, and someone genuinely interested in the working of the company. You need to research the company, know what goals you can help them achieve, and how you fit in with the culture of the company. Once you know these three essential things, you will be able to ace the question.
