5 ms·
Netflix's culture deck is one of the most horrific things in the tech industry I've ever seen. It's so ruthlessly mercenary, I have a hard time understanding ho
by fooey 9y ago
Netflix's culture deck is one of the most horrific things in the tech industry I've ever seen. It's so ruthlessly mercenary, I have a hard time understanding how why people put up with them.
- dominotw 9y agoNetflix recruiter forced me to read all 200 pages of it and asked me pop quiz on it during the subsequent call. No Joke. During the interview interviewer constantly referred to "Netflix culture" as if they were in some sort of cult. Why does a corporate company need to invent some ridiculous "culture" is beyond me. You pay me I do work, thats all the culture I need. >>Then while working here, staff cite the culture deck in meetings for decision making advice. These meetings sound like fun.
- dasmoth 9y agoI don't know how close the thing you read is to what's on slideshare, but the public version has a slide which explicitly addresses the "this is not for everyone" issue, and says they're trying to filter out the people who won't like it. I suspect questions about the culture deck are more about making sure you're coming in with open eyes than about ensuring you've memorised every last phrase.
- dominotw 9y agoThats nice. Play nasty games with people trying to find a job and put food on the table. What is wrong with these people.
- dasmoth 9y agoI don't get this at all. Wouldn't the "nasty game" be to hire them then fire them after a few weeks because they don't bring the level of intrinsic motivation that the environment requires? Or are you saying that no employer should be able to demand this level of motivation, even if they're totally up-front about it?
- brendangregg 9y agoThe recruiter encouraged me to read it to (which I've been mentioning in these posts), but when it came to the interview they seemed to be checking that yes, I really had read it, and yes, I still liked the idea. Rather than seeing if I could memorize it all. That was just my experience. Companies have culture, but it's learned through word of mouth or trial and error. Writing it down and sharing it in public before you join the company is really beneficial.
- lowbloodsugar 9y agoWhen did you work there (like what range of dates)?
- dominotw 9y agoyou don't need to work there to see it. Here https://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664 https://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
- arkaic 9y agoHow is their culture deck one of the most horrific things you have ever seen in the tech industry?
- eeeeeeeeeeeee 9y agoReally unhelpful, you provide zero details whatsoever to explain this rather alarmist interpretation.
- blazespin 9y agoExtremely high salaries. Lot better than amazon that pays people badly and is ruthlessly mercenary.
- jjawssd 9y agoPrimarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics? Can you elaborate more? Page 61 says dishonesty and harassment are intolerable.
- cgag 9y agoI found it very appealing. I loved the bit that was something like: we're professionals working together, a sports team, not a family.
- cgag 9y agoI found it very appealing. I loved the bit that was something like: we're professionals working together, a sports team, not a family.
- lscotte 9y agoI actually found the culture deck refreshing and attractive and a big part of why I joined Netflix. There's nothing ruthless about getting rid of people who aren't doing their jobs.
- sqeaky 9y agoI have had to work with willfully incompetent people who could not be fired. I will not do it again. I have been contracting the past decade and it lets me fire the company when I am done. Neither nor the company have any illusions this is anything other than business relationship: I make code I get money, done. I don't want to fail because I need to drag dead weight around.
- brendangregg 9y agoThe culture isn't for everyone, and that's ok. But I'd personally call horrific the kinds of things that the culture deck prevents happening at Netflix. No brilliant jerks. No deadwood staff who after years of second chances still can't do their jobs, but can't ever be let go. No abusive office politics. etc.
- steven777400 9y agoAs someone who works in the totally opposite situation (government job, permanent, no one gets fired for performance), I respect that Netflix publishes this deck. I would much much much rather have a company publish a clear set of expectations, pre-interview, than have those expectations be "read between the lines" or find out the hard way. I try to be equally clear when I'm hiring. I make it clear to the candidates that this is not a place for individualism, not a place for innovation, not a place for cutting edge tech. We are heavily team oriented, process oriented, CRUD application maintaining, older stable tech platforms with interchangable teams. I want to make that clear, not because I want to "horrify" candidates (though no doubt many on HN are horrified) but so that people who want the exciting startup lifestyle aren't bamboozled by some swarmy HR position description that tries to sell something that isn't. I respect that Netflix is willing to step up and make their expectations clear as well!
- dasmoth 9y agoI try to be equally clear when I'm hiring. I make it clear to the candidates that this is not a place for individualism, not a place for innovation, not a place for cutting edge tech. We are heavily team oriented, process oriented, CRUD application maintaining, older stable tech platforms with interchangable teams. I want to make that clear, not because I want to "horrify" candidates (though no doubt many on HN are horrified) but so that people who want the exciting startup lifestyle aren't bamboozled by some swarmy HR position description that tries to sell something that isn't. Thanks for making this stuff clear. While it's disappointing to me that so much of the field has gone down this kind of path, it's good to know up front.