I applied to Airfable for their product designer position a few days ago, and got a reject email today. Then I went up on Linkedin checked on all the designers working there and all of them graduated from priviledge schools (MIT,RISD etc). Not trying to be sour here, just want to know if there are hidden rules of this type of companies (they are the first unicorn I applied) so I dont waste time and energy in future. I met all the experience requirements they mentioned in the job post and so far I will usually get past first round of screening in other job applications. Do unicorn companies specifically look for candidates from priviledge schools/worked in big four?
Honestly if it’s a hot unicorn: Non-rockstars need not apply
How do you know if a candidate is a "rockstar"?
The same way you know if their a ninja
Probably just filtering for candidates who can spell privilege correctly, and also for those who don’t conflate higher academic success with privilege.
Thanks for being an asshole, really.
I think it’s pretty reductive to solely look at alum from those schools as socioeconomically priveledged. You have to get in first. I think a lot of designers assume that you can go to a boot camp, follow the formula and get a job by checking off boxes. The reality is, schools like MIT and Risd teach you how to problem solve in a way that you would never be able to in a 6 month boot camp.
perhaps but it could also be that prestigious schools will have better candidates in general and people from these schools usually have better networks (in this case they can get referred from someone at their school who already works at Airtable)