Appetizers

Starting with some basics.

Fun Starters

Getting to know the human side.

 Main Course

A quick deep dive into the day-to-day job.

Tell us about yourself and your job.

First-gen college grad that has no idea what they're doing still.

I work for the "Strategic Sourcing" team at Airbnb, part of the greater Procurement organization. We're essentially the purchasing arm of the company, helping different requesters/business units with 3rd party spend. It ranges from helping them source for suppliers, contract reviews, price negotiations, business strategies recommendations, and purchase order issuing.

We partner with various cross-functional teams (i.e. accounting/finance/security/legal) to ensure compliance obligations are met and establish relationships with 3rd party vendors.

How did you end up in your field? What do you like about it?

I fell into my field randomly working as a part-time sales associate for Banana Republic. I met someone who was corporate HR for Gap Inc's supply chain department and she connected me with a hiring manager under the strategic sourcing team. Despite not having any prior corporate experience, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity due to my direct sales experience for a Gap brand store.

I enjoy having the opportunity to work with various different teams and learning about their roles/functions. This all contributes to my own knowledge and understanding of how everything works/connects/impacts each other. It's also very interesting to have a direct impact on projects/initiatives the company has and getting the first glimpse of what's going to be released/implemented.

What does a typical morning look like on the job?

It really depends and I don't have a formal "structure". Typically though (if I'm able to wake up before my first meeting), I check my emails/slack pings and answer inquiries/requests. If I know there's a pending deal that needs to be executed fairly soon, I'll follow up on pending status approvals and/or follow up w/ internal teams and/or suppliers.

Cool, then what does a typical afternoon look like?

A typical afternoon can range from reviewing contracts (legal terms, statements of work, order forms, etc.), analyzing spend forecasts/trajectories, meeting w/ internal stakeholders/suppliers, or just doing general scoping for a deal/project. Similar to above, no formal "structure".

What types of projects and meetings are you involved in?

Strategic Sourcing is the liaison between internal teams and 3rd party suppliers. It's often project and deal based, meaning specific projects will require 3rd party purchases (whether it's software, professional services, or even events) and those require "deals" = contracts/pricing negotiations. Or it can be project-specific to our team for process improvements, new system enhancements, etc.

Meetings can be for internal alignment/scoping conversations, budget approvals, legal contract discussions, and supplier calls for scoping/understanding/negotiations.

Who do you collaborate with in meetings and projects? Cross-functional teams? What's it like?

I primarily collaborate w/ teams under the CTO organization (requesting parties), the finance department (FP&A/tax/accounting/treasury/etc.), information security, and legal. It's definitely confusing for someone new and does require a ton of "tribal knowledge" but for the most part, it's pretty seamless given established processes/expectations. It's an extensive process with a lot of moving parts and having a holistic understanding helps to have things running in parallel.

 Dessert

Now for some juicy insights in the tea room.

What's the most challenging thing about your job?

1) Procurement/purchasing, in general, is often foreign to most people so a lot of hand-holding
2) Ensuring requests have formal approvals from FP&A/Legal/Security prior to services being rendered or started
3) Compensate poor systems/APIs w/ onboarding and training docs (there are 5+ platforms used for different information and approvals)

What are some characteristics that can help someone succeed in your role?

Being flexible, open-minded, resourceful, and even vulnerable. I work w/ a lot of smart ass people who are more knowledgeable in the request than I do and it requires partnership to ensure the best outcome for Airbnb. Even working w/ hundreds of salespeople, they sell the same product but I have to juggle various different kinds, it requires me to forge relationships and asking a lot of questions that may seem simple/dumb.

Any advice on how to stand out and get hired for those just starting off?

Networking! Avoid directly saying you're looking for a job but instead focus on learning about their role, their career trajectory, and how they like the role/company. Showing real interest and not doing it merely in hopes of getting them to refer you is always better.

What's something that surprised you about your job?

Prior to joining Airbnb, I thought I was walking into a place with defined structure/processes. That was not the case at all. It was…the wild west.

Any last thoughts, advice, or recommendations for someone who wants to do what you do?

Procurement/Strategic Sourcing is often unheard of for undergrads but definitely something you can get into from most roles. There's a lot of relevant and transferrable skills that apply and most of the time, as long as you're willing/driven you can learn on the spot. Again, it's not something undergrads typically strive for and most people fall into it arbitrarily from other roles.

 Drinks

Chat more over coffee or tea?