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Cynic in me wonders if this post is tied to the recent frenzy around traders shorting Netflix? Even a few of the supporting comments feel scripted. Say this be

by aresant 16y ago

Cynic in me wonders if this post is tied to the recent frenzy around traders shorting Netflix? Even a few of the supporting comments feel scripted. Say this because Netflix seems to have great luck attracting people that I respect personally and their culture building and HR practices are fairly lauded elsewhere . . .

ardit33 16y ago
I did post this (the link of the review) because I have heard from multiple people (in person) about their culture. Netflix seems to have the sports team philosophy "Put the best guy in place for the job", and if that job changes and that person is not the best fit they will fire that person and find somebody else instead of some retraining. The original "Netflix culture slide" were just an attempt to rationalize (and romanticize) their behavior, instead of "we will use you and throw you out if you are not to the exact fit", to "we want only the best people to work with us". A lot of people in the start up community thought that those slides (and Netflix's culture) was really cool, but the reality seems very un-rosy. I think it is good too look beyond the PR. As somebody mentioned on one of the comments, looks like their culture came from "Logan's Run". As an engineer I have been contacted many times by Netflix recruiters, and that's why I started digging down a bit more into it. If you are an employer of Netflix, just consider yourself as a glorified contractor. I found this link from this question on Quora: http://www.quora.com/Does-the-Netflix-work-culture-create-a-culture-of-fear-amongst-its-employees http://www.quora.com/Does-the-Netflix-work-culture-create-a-...
- brown9-2 16y ago
  The Quora question, the linked-to blog post, etc, are all based around the same two glassdoor articles. Are you sure you aren't basing your judgment on just a small handful of opinions?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
    - ardit33 16y ago
      Sorry, but this comment is a bit of an ad hominem. I am an old member of the HN community, and pretty in tune with the startup community (been to one before my current job) Lets just say that my day to day job has nothing to do with me posting this. At the end of the day I am just an engineer as most people in here.
      - d2viant 16y ago
        Then perhaps I'm missing something. Clarify for me, were you ever an employee there? The reason I ask is because it's on a website for employees to review their own company -- which is how most people interpret those reviews. Moreover, the review says it's from a Netflix employee -- specifically a Netflix Manager. I guess it's fine if you have an opinion and want to post it, but if none of the above is true, why not be honest in your review that it isn't based on experience?
        mccutchen 16y ago
        I don't think he's making any claims that this comes from first person experience.
        brown9-2 16y ago
        ardit33 did not write the glassdoor review.
        d2viant 16y ago
        Then I apologize, I misinterpreted his post.
    - anthonyb 16y ago
      If that were the case, then working in any sort of technical field disqualifies you from commenting on any company working on anything technically related.
- aresant 16y ago
  Just for the record i'm glad you posted this - if it's legit it really illustrates a stark difference from the PR line and is hugely relevant. Interesting is the personal differences we have with people that work there. Without naming names I know folks on customer acquisition side and analytics that boast about their jobs and have enough autonomy to kick ass - I actually bought stock when one of them was hired based on my previous interactions with the guy. I will be curious if the mainstream tech press picks up on this thread - again with Netflix contrarians being the dish du jour.
hugh3 16y ago
The cynic in me is cynical of your attempts to find grand conspiracies where "standard-ass disgruntled ex-employee" would suffice. If I could short a company and then collapse its stock price by posting "wah this company sucks to work for" rants on glassdoor.com, I'd be very rich by now.
- j_baker 16y ago
  The cynic in me is cynical of your attempts to disagree with someone whose ultimate point is the same as yours: that this review is without merit.
  - hugh3 16y ago
    Oh, I don't think it's the same point. Under one scenario it's a completely made-up review invented by somebody with a somewhat odd strategy towards stock price manipulation. Under my scenario, it's of some value, because it tells you what exactly it is about Netflix which people who hate working at Netflix hate about working at Netflix. I wouldn't make it my sole data point if I were trying to understand what it's like to work at Netflix, either way.
jrockway 16y ago
I think some people have different "career goals" than other people. Some people want to show up and keep their chair warm from 9-5 every day for 4 years, to get their small pay increase and title bump. Others want to come into the company with the title "Awesome Excellent Programmer", work on something cool, and leave the company after they've done something interesting with the title "Awesome Excellent Programmer". These people do not get upset when they are not promoted for doing nothing, and do not tend to write bad reviews. They also tend to be the better programmers. (I realized this recently. To get a bump up in my title and salary at my current job, I basically have to "serve my time". The fact that I'm much better at programming than other people does not accelerate the process; promoting me now would make the "time" that others have put in less meaningful. If I was promoted, then they would all quit and write bitter reviews like the one linked in this thread. "This company sucks, all they do is hire long-haired hippies that tell me to write tests! I have 20 years of experience, why would they let this nobody have a minimally meaningful title!?", it would read. Now, if it was my company, I would want highly-paid people that can't program to leave. But I am not a highly-paid person that can't program, and they make the rules. Oh well, at least I get a good laugh.)
- Periodic 16y ago
  I realized this is how it is at my current employer too. They have very strict processes around this to manage seniority. For example, I am currently at a lower title (level 2) than another developer on my team (level 3) who I spend at least half an hour a day managing and coaching. We have to be very diligent with code reviews for this person because there is a lot of stuff they miss. I feel like they would be a good fit for a junior (level 1). However, they've put in their five years and received their promotions and pay raises. They have a lot of process tied to seniority. You can only get a title increase every few years and no more than one title at a time without a review all the way up to the VP. You can't ask for more vacation as it is formulaic and HR isn't interested in making exceptions. This is definitely a company for those who like to keep their seat warm and then go home to their families in the evenings, all the while enjoying the job security and lack of autonomy. Since my interview at Google didn't pan out, I'm working on a startup on the side to keep myself sane. In the mean time I reason it will be a good experience of what not to do.
iterationx 16y ago
See "The Future of Netflix: Studios look to renegotiate as licensing deals expire" http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415361 http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415361

by aresant 16y ago

ardit33 16y ago

I did post this (the link of the review) because I have heard from multiple people (in person) about their culture. Netflix seems to have the sports team philosophy "Put the best guy in place for the job", and if that job changes and that person is not the best fit they will fire that person and find somebody else instead of some retraining. The original "Netflix culture slide" were just an attempt to rationalize (and romanticize) their behavior, instead of "we will use you and throw you out if you are not to the exact fit", to "we want only the best people to work with us". A lot of people in the start up community thought that those slides (and Netflix's culture) was really cool, but the reality seems very un-rosy. I think it is good too look beyond the PR. As somebody mentioned on one of the comments, looks like their culture came from "Logan's Run". As an engineer I have been contacted many times by Netflix recruiters, and that's why I started digging down a bit more into it. If you are an employer of Netflix, just consider yourself as a glorified contractor. I found this link from this question on Quora: http://www.quora.com/Does-the-Netflix-work-culture-create-a-culture-of-fear-amongst-its-employees http://www.quora.com/Does-the-Netflix-work-culture-create-a-...

brown9-2 16y ago
The Quora question, the linked-to blog post, etc, are all based around the same two glassdoor articles. Are you sure you aren't basing your judgment on just a small handful of opinions?
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
  - ardit33 16y ago
    Sorry, but this comment is a bit of an ad hominem. I am an old member of the HN community, and pretty in tune with the startup community (been to one before my current job) Lets just say that my day to day job has nothing to do with me posting this. At the end of the day I am just an engineer as most people in here.
    - d2viant 16y ago
      Then perhaps I'm missing something. Clarify for me, were you ever an employee there? The reason I ask is because it's on a website for employees to review their own company -- which is how most people interpret those reviews. Moreover, the review says it's from a Netflix employee -- specifically a Netflix Manager. I guess it's fine if you have an opinion and want to post it, but if none of the above is true, why not be honest in your review that it isn't based on experience?
      - mccutchen 16y ago
        I don't think he's making any claims that this comes from first person experience.
      - brown9-2 16y ago
        ardit33 did not write the glassdoor review.
        d2viant 16y ago
        Then I apologize, I misinterpreted his post.
  - anthonyb 16y ago
    If that were the case, then working in any sort of technical field disqualifies you from commenting on any company working on anything technically related.
aresant 16y ago
Just for the record i'm glad you posted this - if it's legit it really illustrates a stark difference from the PR line and is hugely relevant. Interesting is the personal differences we have with people that work there. Without naming names I know folks on customer acquisition side and analytics that boast about their jobs and have enough autonomy to kick ass - I actually bought stock when one of them was hired based on my previous interactions with the guy. I will be curious if the mainstream tech press picks up on this thread - again with Netflix contrarians being the dish du jour.

hugh3 16y ago

The cynic in me is cynical of your attempts to find grand conspiracies where "standard-ass disgruntled ex-employee" would suffice. If I could short a company and then collapse its stock price by posting "wah this company sucks to work for" rants on glassdoor.com, I'd be very rich by now.

j_baker 16y ago
The cynic in me is cynical of your attempts to disagree with someone whose ultimate point is the same as yours: that this review is without merit.
- hugh3 16y ago
  Oh, I don't think it's the same point. Under one scenario it's a completely made-up review invented by somebody with a somewhat odd strategy towards stock price manipulation. Under my scenario, it's of some value, because it tells you what exactly it is about Netflix which people who hate working at Netflix hate about working at Netflix. I wouldn't make it my sole data point if I were trying to understand what it's like to work at Netflix, either way.

jrockway 16y ago

I think some people have different "career goals" than other people. Some people want to show up and keep their chair warm from 9-5 every day for 4 years, to get their small pay increase and title bump. Others want to come into the company with the title "Awesome Excellent Programmer", work on something cool, and leave the company after they've done something interesting with the title "Awesome Excellent Programmer". These people do not get upset when they are not promoted for doing nothing, and do not tend to write bad reviews. They also tend to be the better programmers. (I realized this recently. To get a bump up in my title and salary at my current job, I basically have to "serve my time". The fact that I'm much better at programming than other people does not accelerate the process; promoting me now would make the "time" that others have put in less meaningful. If I was promoted, then they would all quit and write bitter reviews like the one linked in this thread. "This company sucks, all they do is hire long-haired hippies that tell me to write tests! I have 20 years of experience, why would they let this nobody have a minimally meaningful title!?", it would read. Now, if it was my company, I would want highly-paid people that can't program to leave. But I am not a highly-paid person that can't program, and they make the rules. Oh well, at least I get a good laugh.)

Periodic 16y ago
I realized this is how it is at my current employer too. They have very strict processes around this to manage seniority. For example, I am currently at a lower title (level 2) than another developer on my team (level 3) who I spend at least half an hour a day managing and coaching. We have to be very diligent with code reviews for this person because there is a lot of stuff they miss. I feel like they would be a good fit for a junior (level 1). However, they've put in their five years and received their promotions and pay raises. They have a lot of process tied to seniority. You can only get a title increase every few years and no more than one title at a time without a review all the way up to the VP. You can't ask for more vacation as it is formulaic and HR isn't interested in making exceptions. This is definitely a company for those who like to keep their seat warm and then go home to their families in the evenings, all the while enjoying the job security and lack of autonomy. Since my interview at Google didn't pan out, I'm working on a startup on the side to keep myself sane. In the mean time I reason it will be a good experience of what not to do.

iterationx 16y ago

See "The Future of Netflix: Studios look to renegotiate as licensing deals expire" http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415361 http://neogaf.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415361