Alumnus Will Johnson (’13) speaks with Alumni Council member Emily Batista (MSBA ‘18) about the importance of relationships, staying connected, and adding value.
Emily: Thank you for your time today. To get us started, tell me how Wake Forest ended up on your radar, what you studied, and how your experience at Wake Forest either influenced or prepared you to pursue the career you have today?
Will: From Maryland, I wanted to go south for college. The environment at Wake Forest just felt comfortable, and the students and faculty I met could not have been more friendly. I was also drawn to the School of Business, knowing that it consistently held a top ranking nationally. When I was a kid, I watched an episode of The Apprentice that focused on video game marketing, which really struck me. I focused my studies on business and marketing, leading to my Business Enterprise Management (BEM) major with a concentration in marketing, which did a great job of preparing me to stand out in the business world.
Emily: You were with Sabre for four years in the DC area. What made you decided to move to the West Coast and work for Airbnb?
Will: I just wanted a new challenge and growth opportunity, plus my girlfriend got into graduate school at UC Berkeley. The awesome thing about San Francisco and the West Coast is both the quality and quantity of job opportunities – it’s a bit of a modern day gold rush in that aspect. While out there, it’s been awesome to observe Wake Forest’s network expand on the West Coast and see fellow Deacs make a similar move.
Emily: Over the last three years, you have had three different roles (that look like promotions) with Airbnb. Talk about these roles.
Will: Working at Airbnb during the pandemic has been a roller coaster! Travel shifted significantly, marketing budgets decreased as travel lessened in Q2 2020, and I had to look for opportunities to be a value-add to the company during a huge shift in priority. While my main role is in paid search, I pitched in on SEO, mobile marketing, and email marketing efforts over the past 18 months. Identifying opportunities to be proactive has helped me stand out, which is a mindset shift coming out of school. When you’re in school, you’re given assignments with due dates and instructions, but you don’t necessarily proactively see problems and try to tackle them to provide a benefit to your team or teacher. I think learning to build that muscle is valuable for new grads.
Emily: Over the last 18 months, short-term rental listings have fallen. Yet many have utilized “remote work” to spend time in different places. How has this impacted Airbnb?
Will: The company’s motto is “belong anywhere”. Regardless of where you travel, if you stay in an Airbnb, you should feel like you’re in your home-away-from-home. However, now the thinking is that not only can you “belong anywhere”, but you can “live anywhere”. There’s a trend of long-term stays increasing as the pandemic has allowed for work from home options. Shoutout to a new Airbnb feature allowing hosts to include the speed of their Wi-Fi in their listing, which is great for remote workers.
Emily: This past summer, you participated on a career education panel for new graduate business students. What was that experience like?
Will: I really enjoyed the opportunity to give back to graduate students, help them consider career paths, and give interview advice. One word of advice I gave was to relax going into interviews. Wake Forest’s School of Business prepares you very well and its network is there to support you with whatever you might need. If you don’t get an offer for your dream job, everything will be okay. There are so many dream jobs out there – you just don’t know it yet. In follow-up conversations with students, it’s been amazing and rejuvenating to hear how passionate they are to learn and do great things.
Emily: Who are some of your mentors or leaders, and how have they influenced you?
Will: I’ve had a number of great mentors over the years that have shaped my development. One that comes to mind is my middle school baseball coach, Joe Martin. While baseball is a team sport, individual mistakes are very evident. I had high expectations for myself and made an error that I thought had cost us the game. He pulled me aside and made the point that no one singular play makes or breaks the game – baseball (and life) is a long game full of opportunities. That’s always stayed with me and helped me stay calm in adverse situations. So, thank you, Joe. Also relevant – I just read a quote by Bruce Lee (martial arts legend); he said, “Calm is a superpower”, which I just love.
Emily: Why do you think it’s important to stay connected to WFU?
Will: When people are able to pursue their passions, they’re going to succeed, and the world will be better off for it. Wake Forest not only does an amazing job of helping students pursue their passions, but they help alumni do the same – whether through the alumni network, events, etc. Tapping into those resources helps me continue my education well beyond graduation.
Emily: What accomplishment (personal or professional) are you most proud of?
Will: The pandemic has especially made me realize how special my friends and family are to me, and so I’m most proud about the strong relationships that I’m able to keep. People tell me I’m a good hugger, but that’s just my way of showing how special my friends and family are to me.
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