Photo credit: alforque
I am busy preparing for a speaking and consulting engagement at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey at Guadalajara, Mexico. I am really excited about the opportunity, but it means I don’t have a lot of time for this week’s blog post.
Two weeks ago, my friend Daniel Brown posted a SlideShare presentation on the company culture and interview process at NetFlix. The presentation originated from the jobs section of NetFlix’s website. After reading that presentation, I had to share. Because I live the values described in the presentation, I loved the content. What I loved even more was the transparency and the intention of the presentation. For NetFlix to ensure their corporate values are demonstrated in every employee, their hiring process is specifically designed to test candidates on whether they embrace the values. Brilliant! In addition, they are completely up front about it. It clearly states what they expect from the employees they hire and assumes candidates will be mature and responsible enough to choose whether they are up to the challenge. Of course, there will always be some candidates who will try to present what an employer wants to hear. I have been involved in hiring a lot of people, so I can say with confidence that most of the time hiring managers can easily tell who those people are. For the few that still get by… well, they get dealt with later if the problems are big enough. Companies with this sort of transparency and commitment to their company culture are refreshing to see.
So, go over to Daniel’s blog and view it there: Endlessly Curious › NetFlix’s Culture.
If anybody who actually works at NetFlix, or knows someone in less than three degrees of separation, reads this post, I would love to hear whether those values are part of the interview process and lived in the company every day.
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March 15, 2011 at 10:08 pm
Interesting post. I really like the majority of the principles but I was left wondering whether Netflix is only a great place to work if you are a star. I wonder how they rate at developing stars?
March 15, 2011 at 10:26 pm
With the current economy in the US, they are in a position to choose to hire only stars, particularly in Los Gatos, which is a very desirable place to live and work. It’s been that way through most of the company’s history. They were still pretty small when I worked in the area, so I don’t know much about them as an employer, other than what they have published. However, if they are hiring stars, they have to be doing something to develop them. Otherwise, they couldn’t retain them.
March 16, 2011 at 12:06 am
RE: bornagainagilist
From the slides it doesn’t sound like that non-stars get into the company to start with: I do wonder whether they attempt to mentor individuals that perform less than star like?