Stand Out In The Crowd
“It’s your difference that sets you apart not your similarity, stand out!” ― Bernard Kelvin Clive
Netflix is a company that has generated a lot of intrigue — from its David vs Goliath like battle vs Blockbuster, leadership and innovation in Streaming Video On Demand (SVOD), Qwikster debacle, foray into Original production, pioneering technical solutions like chaos engineering, to its one of a kind culture. Talking to friends and acquaintances, I always get asked — what is it like to really work at Netflix? Coming up on my 1 year anniversary at Netflix, I want to share my insights into the unique things that define working at Netflix. Through a series of blog posts I will delve into my personal experiences around the aspects of Netflix culture that have stood out for me, dealing with new hire anxiety and 5 unique things about interviewing at Netflix. Finally I will bring it together for those who are interested in pursuing opportunities at Netflix by giving interview preparation tips.
Part 4: Interview Prep
There are many resources available to help prepare for interviews. However, many companies have their own twists and Netflix is no different. Few of my recently hired colleagues have shared their interview experiences which are very insightful. Based on my experience and learnings that are detailed in my previous blog posts, I would suggest below prep work (in addition to your technical prep) if you are interviewing or planning to interview for a role at Netflix.
- Read the recently updated culture memo, form opinions and come prepared to discuss aspects that resonate or do not resonate with you. It is ok (and very common) to be skeptical on certain aspects and it would impress the interview panel if you seek to understand those aspects. Being dismissive or not caring about the culture might come across as not being open to new things or not being curious — not a great indicator of being a culture influencer.
- Have at least a basic understanding of the company, business model and the product. If you haven’t subscribed to Netflix, now would be a good time to take advantage of the free trial and play with the product. Netflix long term view and the latest quarterly earnings would be a good start to understanding the business model as well as short and long term challenges. Again, it is ok to come prepared with questions to seek better understanding.
- Be thoughtful about what you are seeking in your new role and why. This is applicable irrespective of whether you are an active or passive job seeker. Also be curious about Netflix, the role and challenges. This clarity will help you determine if the role and Netflix are right for you. Do not punt this to after getting an offer or worse after joining the team. While it may feel like you are limiting your opportunities during your job search by being very selective, it is still better to find any mismatch during interviews and take more time to land a great job than to find any mismatch 3 months into your new job.
- Applying to multiple (relevant or irrelevant) job openings might come across as you not being thoughtful of what you want. Better approach might be to apply to one or (max) two positions and work with a recruiter to explore relevant job openings based on what you are seeking. As mentioned earlier, having clarity on what you want will help you and the recruiter zone in on one or two job openings.
- Most likely you are great at what you do. Being great means knowing inside out the whys, whats and hows of your areas of ownership and at the same time knowing enough about the surrounding systems to understand the reasoning behind the choices. For engineers, this might mean mapping a business problem to high level architecture, being equally comfortable digging deep into the aspects that you worked on and being able to articulate the tradeoffs for the choices made by others in different parts of the system.
- Tailor your technical and non-technical preparation based on your understanding of the job description and any supporting material. As mentioned earlier, HMs put in a lot of thought to create a job description (and optionally other supporting material) to articulate what the team does and is looking for. As an example, I had prepared a more informative slide deck when I was hiring for my team. It is ok to reach out even if you don’t meet all the stated requirements. What is more important is how you can adapt your experiences and learnings to challenges that are relevant for the team.
- During the interview process, you can draw from your past work to tell a story of how you have overcome similar challenges that are thrown at you. Be open, honest and willingly forthcoming with your failures/mistakes/gaps and convey what you did or are doing to improve. This is a key aspect of the Netflix culture and you would stand out if you demonstrate that during the interview process.
- Your goal via the interview process should be to understand what the team does and has plans for, what skills are necessary to succeed, what you would bring to the table, what gaps you would need to fill over time and how would the role help you achieve your career goals. This by itself is not sufficient. You also need to convey that understanding to the interview panel.
- Finally approach all conversations with your interview panel (recruiters, HM, engineers, HR, etc) with the same level of commitment and respect. I have seen cases where candidates have treated the recruiter screens and interviews as something to quickly get over with so that the “real” interviews with the team can start. Remember, just like you are evaluating Netflix during every conversation, Netflix is evaluating you as well — right from the first touch point through joining.
I hope you find this post informative and useful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your comments/questions/suggestions.
