My First 90 Days at Netflix

This week I celebrate my birthday and naturally I have reflected on this hectic year we have all had. I took it a step further 3 months again and did something… crazy. I quit my great job at a fantastic company with people I enjoyed… in the middle of a pandemic. Not only that but I started a new role at Netflix, a company based in US locations I would never want to move to (no offense CA, NY, DC!). Instead of relocating, I am a remote employee. This is something I never thought would be an option. I was clearly wrong about that so I want to use this blog to share my experiences working remotely so far.

As I mentioned, relocating to one of Netflix’s US based offices was a hurdle for me. My family and network are in Atlanta, so it is my home (though when asked, we are from Pittsburgh, PA home of THE Steelers). The cost of living in California, even with the great roles available at tech companies, was not appealing to me. With COVID-19, many companies have had to transition to remote work. I interviewed with the firm understanding that I did not want to ever relocate regardless of how the pandemic plays out. When I learned that Netflix was exploring remote roles for select product teams within the U.S., it alleviated most of my concerns.

I can sum up the key things Netflix and my specific team have done in the past couple of months to ensure a smooth transition to remote onboarding and working into 4 categories: Remote employee setup, onboarding buddy & plan, onboarding sessions, and one-on-ones.

Remote employee setup

Once I signed my offer from Netflix, I filled out all required paperwork virtually and requested my laptop which arrived the weekend before my first day. On my first day I read the printed instructions that came with my computer, turned it on and that was it. I was officially a Netflix employee!

Once logged in, resources on working from home and remotely were shared with me both from our Tech Support and fellow employees. I also did not waste any time in ordering my very own Netflix swag including a blanket, jacket, shirt, and an awesome insulated cup.

Caption: Welcome to my office!

Onboarding buddy and plan

When I opened my email on the first day, I received an onboarding plan from my onboarding buddy. An onboarding buddy is a dedicated person on my team who shows the new hire the ropes as they are onboarded. The onboarding plan was customized to me and my team and consisted of materials I should read or required things I should do to get my credentials and environment set up or suggestions to make my onboarding smoother. I worked through the plan on my own time in between team meetings or onboarding sessions and met with my onboarding buddy daily.

My buddy and plan were essential for helping me to decide what I really needed to focus on in my onboarding.

Onboarding sessions

Every company has some form of onboarding sessions for new hires. At Netflix the sessions are known as ‘Episodes’ part of N.E.W.@Netflix (New Employee Welcome) (fitting right?). These are spread throughout the first couple of months of being at Netflix. The focuses include getting to know other new hires in your cohort, becoming acquainted with the Netflix culture, and learning about benefits. There are also several onboarding sessions specific to all Product new hires in their third month and beyond.

I will have to say not one of any of these onboarding sessions have been boring at all which I personally always dread. No one wants to sit in a room (or in my case in front of a computer) for an hour or two watching someone read from the slides. Each one has been interactive in some way and tied in very interesting concepts or themes from Netflix which has been refreshing. For example, a presentation included a game with Kahoot to test our knowledge.

One-on-ones

For some this might not warrant a separate section but I found the suggestion in my onboarding plan to schedule one on ones with key stakeholders and team members invaluable. In a time when I had spent more than two months quarantined in my apartment with only my dog for company, I found that even as an introvert, human connection in any amount is still valuable. From the list of suggested connections, I selected three colleagues each week to have 45 minute discussions. I intentionally made sure they were not all about Netflix and their role. Discussions varied and ranged from work advice to their hobbies and upcoming nuptials.

These one-on-ones were not one-offs. I actually have recurring meetings with each person every week, two weeks, or month depending on our schedules. Even outside the scope of a pandemic limiting in-person interactions, one-on-ones are a great way to be intentional about the relationships I am building with my colleagues while I work remotely.

Caveat: Remote work after COVID-19

Though I speak very highly of Netflix and my experience, I would be remiss if I did not recognize all of the above is extremely easy when EVERYONE is entirely remote and not many people are working from offices now. Some engineering and product teams, like mine, will have more remote employees going forward, but many other teams at Netflix will be expected to return to our offices once it is safe to do so.

The real test is what this will look like when the offices open again. I fully intend to spend about a month in sunny Cali-forn-i-a when the offices open to bond with my team and get a real sense of our campuses and then fly out every few months for a week or so at a time to continue to have in person interactions with my team.

My team in particular is split between LA and Los Gatos offices so in a sense, they were already primed for remote meetings. Even still, an hour or so flight is very different from being an entire country away. Will I have a hard time getting a word in when multiple conversations are happening in a room? Will I be out of the loop on lunch room or hallway discussions? Will I no longer feel as much of the team as I do now? Time will tell, but I know one thing for sure: every single person I have talked to on my team or in my org so far is very committed to making my remote working experience a good one.

Hopefully after reading all of this, I have piqued your interest in the possibility of working for Netflix. If yes, that’s great! Here is my referral link on roles open currently at Netflix. You can find remote roles by filtering on location and selecting “Remote, United States”. Be sure to check out our We Are Netflix podcasts and videos and read over our Culture Memo.

Thanks for reading!