The Netflix Coding Interview

What are people saying about Netflix's Interview

PROS

Managers tell you what needs to be done and why, giving you the freedom to decide how to achieve the goals. Managers are very willing to fire employees who do not get their jobs done or who have bad attitudes, so everyone is good at their job and easy to work with.
Strong on freedom and responsibility. but requires a big commitment in return.
No junior devs. You get to work with engineers who are smart and competent.

CONS

Netflix has very strange politics, because people’s jobs are at the whim of their manager. Netflix believes in “360 feedback,” but everybody I know only does that to their peers, and they become very political with their management chain.
Most managers are stressed out all the time and encouraged to weed out employees no longer useful or not performing to “high standards”. There is an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. It’s not uncommon to have projects cancelled, teams consolidated, and employees terminated.

What Netflix employees say about interviewing

“We’re interested in candidates who are passionate about our purpose and treat the interview process as a two-way street–they’re interviewing us as much as we’re interviewing them. So while of course we offer competitive compensation, I try to design interviews to probe for candidates’ deeper motivations. (And if pay is a primary discussion topic during initial interview rounds, it’s a bright red flag for us.)”

“We’re not here to tell employees exactly how to spend their time; micromanagement is a culture killer. Instead, we expect to see initiative at every level, including the entry level, and do our best to set these expectations during the interview process. The goal is to show candidates our culture of possibility and creative exploration.”

“Through the interview process, our goal is to understand how candidates handle conflict: Do they blame others if something goes wrong rather than look for ways to improve the situation? Or are they so solutions-oriented that they come across as stoic or unaware how their colleagues might perceive their assertions?”

Netflix Culture Explained: What is Feedback Like at Netflix?

What are people saying about Netflix’s interview?

“I was contacted by a recruiter for the company, and given links to Reed Hastings' famous Powerpoint deck about how Netflix is managed. I'd recommend reading this before talking to them, not just so you are more familiar with how things are done in Los Gatos, but because you will be asked to give your thoughts on this during the initial screening. The screening was nothing unusual, though it focused more on how you'd fit in with the company culture than the usual; it's clearly very important for Netflix.”

“My biggest tip is that when you interview, make sure to stay focused all the way through. Every interview counts - including the last two director interviews which seem to be more easy going but are crucial just the same. Another important tip that I received feedback on is to show passion and enthusiasm about the company and about the role. They are looking for people who are really "into" the domain the company is in and in the specific domain of the role. If you don't show enthusiasm they'll not hire you!”

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