Brian Chesky on Interviewing and Reference Checks

Based on remarks by Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb.

Start with the results, not the resume

Chesky's first piece of advice comes from Steve Jobs:

"Start with the results and work backwards to the people. Most people start with resumes. They start with brands — 'Oh, this person worked at Google.' But you should actually ask yourself: What products do I admire? And then who built those products?"

Work backwards from products and outcomes you genuinely admire to the people responsible for them, rather than screening for pedigree first.

In the interview, never trust the first answer

Chesky's core interviewing tactic is to always ask two follow-up questions:

"Ask them to explain how they did something, and then the key is to ask two follow-ups. You never want the first answer. You always want the third answer. And if people don't know what they're talking about, they struggle. They might be able to follow-up, but the second follow-up, they become absent of details."

Anyone can rehearse a polished first answer. Depth only shows up two levels down — that's where people who weren't actually close to the work run out of detail.

References matter more than interviews

Chesky prioritises reference checks over the interview itself, especially for senior hires:

"I prioritize references over interviewing, especially with executives who have more experience BSing you than you have experience detecting their BS."

Andreessen Horowitz advised spending around 8 hours on reference checks per employee:

"[That's] probably over the top, but you should probably spend as much time referencing as you do hiring."

Chesky also believes the CEO should stay personally involved in interviewing and referencing for as long as possible — he interviewed the first 400 people at Airbnb, and wishes he'd kept doing it longer.

Tactics for getting honest references

Make it off the record, explicitly. People are naturally polite and worried feedback will get back to the candidate:

"The first thing to say when you start the call is that everything is off the record — and it should be off the record. It should never be attributed to them. The more it's unattributed to them, the more honest they're going to be."

Avoid asking disqualifying questions directly. Most references won't volunteer that someone wasn't good. Instead, ask an indirect comparison question:

"Separate from this topic, I just want to know who's the best person you've ever worked with? Do they say the person's name you just asked about? They usually tell the truth and if they don't say that person's name, they're not the best, right?"

Push for specifics. A generic "they're amazing" is worth little on its own:

"Why are they amazing? What would you point to? If they have no specifics, maybe they weren't really good."

Ask what to watch out for. Framing the question this way makes it hard for the reference to stay vague:

"What do I need to watch out for if I were to hire them?' or 'What's the one area of development you would give them?' If you say that, they have to tell you something because they'll feel like they're not thoughtful enough."

Always ask for more names. Use every reference call to extend the network:

"Ask them at the end who else you should talk to: 'Can you give me two more names?' And then you use that to build a network."

The bigger idea

Chesky believes recruiting should function like building a talent network, not running a sales pipeline — each conversation, whether with a candidate or a reference, should generate the next lead rather than being a one-off transaction.