Corey Twitty

Calling all upcoming college grads: Do you love entertainment? And how technology makes it easy for people to discover and enjoy it? And want to work with some of the brightest minds to shape *the culture*? Then check out Netflix’s [New Grad](https://jobs.netflix.com/new-grad-program "Netflix New Grad Program Job Site") program.

In this new program, recent college graduates are hired into full-time roles at Netflix and participate in a year-long program to build their network and professional skills. The roles are based in the U.S. and span teams like data and insights, creative production, with most of them in engineering (for now!).

For years, Netflix mostly hired people with many years of experience. Not anymore. As we wrote in our [culture memo](https://jobs.netflix.com/culture "Netflix's Culture Memo"), Dream Teams are about performance — not how senior you are or how long your career is. We want to do a better job of fostering players from the development leagues so they can become the stars of tomorrow. That’s where you come in.

You’ll work on projects alongside seasoned Netflix employees that will be experienced by millions of entertainment lovers around the world. And you’ll also participate in programming to help you build connections and on-the-job skills, including technical education (for engineering roles), professional development sessions to support your career growth, and fun activities for you to build a sense of community with other New Grads, your teams, and other Netflixers. 

But unlike programs at other companies, you will get to experience the magic of Netflix’s [culture](https://jobs.netflix.com/culture "Netflix's Culture Memo") of transparency, high performance, compassionate feedback and flexibility. We’ve also developed personal development workshops to help New Grads thrive in their first job out of college — like “How to Navigate Imposter Syndrome” and “Personal Finance Fundamentals.”

The first cohort of new grads just started this month (pictured below on their first day), and [we’re hiring](https://jobs.netflix.com/new-grad-program "Netflix New Grad Program Job Site") for the next cohort to begin in summer 2023.

![Netflix New Grad Cohort (Number One)](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5XaxlHyLMYyZPtdVcXLPSU/2743727c79e6ca17de3928bd31899aa6/IMG_9197__1_.jpg)

This is just one example of how we’re building a strong pipeline of emerging talent and inviting new perspectives into Netflix. We also offer [12-week summer internships](https://jobs.netflix.com/intern-program "Netflix's Internship Program") where participants work on similar impactful projects and a [technical bootcamp](https://netflix.2u.com/ "Netflix Pathways Bootcamp landing page") for current college students to learn technical skills like Java, data science, or UX/UI design.

![Photo of New Grads and Interns, Summer 2022](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/480zI8hJmdjxHMIIj84qEy/43d337b05c4173f95057985f43341134/image__2_.png)

*Photo of New Grads and Interns, Summer 2022*

Throughout my career I've benefited from programs like these that have shaped who I am today. I see myself in a lot of early-career talent, so I'm immensely proud that I can play a role in creating opportunities for them. So if you’re looking for your first full-time job after college — consider Netflix as a place to start your career! [Apply here](https://jobs.netflix.com/new-grad-program "Netflix New Grad Program Job Site").

![Corey and Team](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5pvG76ISgtQZgNll6lrRx6/ef6eb4cd6c05f62caa5d0a1dcc72e907/NetflixInternFinale2022-127.jpg)
*Me (Corey Twitty, top, center) with members of the Emerging Talent and Talent Acquisition Teams at Netflix*


Netflix New Grad Program

Start your Career at Netflix - apply to our New Grad Program

Elisa Beniero

[Listen to the audio version here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc_GEFzgJko "Listen to the accessible audio version").

This past Sunday, Netflix was named as a recipient of the [Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award](https://nfb.org/bolotin "Information on the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards") by the [National Federation of the Blind (NFB)](https://nfb.org/ "Website for the National Federation of the Blind") for our work in Audio Description (AD) and overall contribution to accessibility in entertainment. This moment is especially important given July is Disability Pride Month and the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On a personal level, it’s a humbling culmination of my short time at Netflix and nearly ten years of academic and professional work on audiovisual translation.

![Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Win Picture](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5NMcVna2vWQsVRqrY4FsjL/da7ff43571cee70ce3e8dd176c8e34f8/IMG_8203.jpg)

For those who do not know, [Audio Description](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_description "Wikipedia page for Audio Description") is a separate narration track that describes what is happening on screen, including physical actions, facial expressions, costumes, settings, scene changes, on-screen text and subtitles, all key elements that would otherwise be missed by a blind or low vision viewer. As Chris Danielsen, Director of Public Relations at the NFB, describes: “a shared culture strips away one of the barriers that separate blind people from the rest of society. Netflix is helping us participate in that shared culture because it gives us equal access to video programming that is enjoyed, discussed, and debated throughout our society”.

My own personal path to Audio Description began in 2012 during my Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Translation, but it’s only when I joined Netflix in 2018 that I finally got to actively work on it. At the time, there were a few individuals at Netflix like [Erica Kram](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericakram/ "Erica Kram's LinkedIn profile ") championing accessibility initiatives. I was deeply inspired by them. I saw that as an opportunity to put my passion and experience to work. I focused on our Audio Description guidelines, continuously improving them through direct feedback from the blind community and advice from external experts.

As my team grew in size, so has the impact we’ve been able to make. We have found that by having a core team internally – to provide feedback on Audio Description narrators’ casting decisions and how things are being described – has led to a better Netflix experience for our members, according to feedback we’ve heard from the community.

We are not done; this is a work in progress. Over time, we will continue to update the Audio Descriptions guidelines for our series and films. [Recently, we also announced](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/celebrating-global-accessibility-awareness-day "Netflix's blog post celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)") that we are offering accessibility in more languages – starting with Spanish, Portuguese, and French – totaling 20 languages. And we’re expanding Audio Description and Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) to more titles.

![Stranger Things 4 Screening at NFB's Annual Conference 2022](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/sUqXh4FaS3z286csNDiCO/a1edcaace80fc6f40eee11da5fcfcfa9/IMG_7609.JPG)

Inside Netflix, we have the best people (in my opinion!) championing Accessibility, including [Heather Dowdy](https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherdowdy/ "Heather Dowdy's LinkedIn profile") who recently joined our team as the first Director for Accessibility at Netflix, along with a growing community of employees engaged in making the company and our product more accessible (shout out to the Accessibility@Netflix ERG!). As [Emily Magilnick](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-magilnick-756740b6/ "Emily Magilnick's LinkedIn profile"), who leads the Accessibility@Netflix ERG, continues to say, “You don't have to have a disability to care about accessibility,” and this is exactly the change I’ve seen happen at Netflix. Countless people are working behind the scenes to improve the experience for members who use assistive technologies.

We want to deliver more inclusive and accessible entertainment to the world – through exploring new technological innovations and working with the industry, disability communities and policy makers. Hearing that we’ve done a good job from the community who benefits most matters deeply to us. This award affirms that we’re on the right path – and is an added motivation to keep up the work.

To learn more, visit our [Accessibility Site](https://about.netflix.com/en/inclusion/accessibility "Netflix's Accessibility Site") or our [Jobs Site](https://jobs.netflix.com/ "Netflix's Job Site").

Image Descriptions:
- Image 1 description: Netflix award winners pose with NFB lead. Left to Right: Shanta Arul, Director of Global Tech & Innovation Policy at Netflix; Everette Bacon, President of National Federation of the Blind of Utah; and me! – Elisa Beniero, Dubbing Title Manager at Netflix.
- Image 2 description: Netflix’s Director of Global Tech & Innovation Policy, Shanta Arul, welcomes attendees to a private, accessible screening of Stranger Things 4 at NFB’s annual conference in New Orleans, LA.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day Hero Image


Netflix Wins Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award 

Ann-Sophie Morrissette Headshot

This time last year, my life was rocked overnight. My wife and I received a text in the middle of the night: *The baby’s here. It’s a girl.* Twelve hours later we were on a cross-country flight to meet our newborn daughter, who’d arrived seven weeks early. The journey to that NICU hospital room as adoptive parents — and the role my job played in helping me get there — was completely unexpected.

When we began our adoption journey, I was transitioning between companies. Once I started my new job, I didn’t know how to broach the subject; the adoption process felt very private and I was also worried about the company’s reaction. *Should I have disclosed it in the interview process? Would my manager be frustrated knowing I might go on leave at a moment’s notice?* So despite the urging of my wife, and like all good procrastinators, I put it off... and put it off.

As it became clear we were moving closer to welcoming a baby, I finally told my manager. A huge weight was lifted, and I quickly had a support system I didn’t know I needed. I want to share the crucial things my company got right:

__1. Understand adoption is difficult, beyond what you might think__

I’ve found the most common reaction to adoption is, “Oh, that must be so hard!” Most people mean the wait to get matched — which yes, can be excruciating. But there are other challenges, including an intensive [home study](https://adoptionnetwork.com/adoptive-parents/how-to-adopt/adoption-process/adoption-home-study-guide/) (reams of paperwork, multiple social worker visits, adoption classes, etc.); the potential for a “failed adoption,” when a birth parent changes their mind; and legal challenges once a baby is born. As an employer, you don’t need to know every detail about how adoption works, but it’s helpful to understand the process has its ups and downs. An employee may be navigating hurdles during the workday (visits with social workers, conversations with the adoption agency) along with everyday work challenges.

__2. Plan ahead for leave time, even with uncertainty.__

Adoption asks us to embrace the oxymoron of planning for the unexpected. That meant putting a parental leave plan in place while not knowing when I was taking leave (i.e. when a baby would be born) and how much advance notice I might have. It was crucial that my day-to-day partners be prepared, and that we line up colleagues to fill in for me. In the end, there was still last-minute planning and a few handoff meetings after our daughter was born. But the early conversations and advance planning benefited not just me as a new parent, but meant that when my daughter arrived several weeks earlier than expected, my manager and I were ready to spring into action. 

__3. It’s ok to ask questions — but let employees take the lead.__

I once had a (former) employer say to me, “Why would you adopt? You should *have* a baby.” Exhibit A in what not to do! Once I shared our adoption plan, my manager asked open-ended questions. And she took her cues from me. If I mentioned something about the process, it was clear the door was open. She’d respond, “Oh, tell me more about that” or “How are you feeling about it all?” I never felt judged or like an object of curiosity; her care and interest were genuine. And on days when balancing meetings and deadlines with difficult emotions was a challenge, she signaled it was ok for me to take a step back.

__4. Know that parental leave can be a time of mixed emotions.__

During parental leave, there is immense joy in bonding with your child (during those late night feedings, joy through gritted teeth!). But families may face legal limbo — sometimes lasting months — for example if the birth parents’ legal rights have not been fully terminated. A new parent may be psychologically preparing for the slim chance things might not work out. Give your employee space during this time, while also showing compassion. This can be as simple as a check-in text, to offering to extend an employee’s leave if they need more time.

__5. Celebrate our families, just like any other.__

A few weeks after we flew back home with our daughter, I received a digital ecard filled with beautiful messages from colleagues, most of whom had no idea we had been in the process of adopting! Adoption’s many stages can feel lonely and fraught, and in that moment I was filled with immense gratitude that others shared in our joy. My company celebrated our daughter’s arrival as they would any new family member. It’s not that I didn’t expect the celebration; I just didn’t realize how much it would give me strength in those first weeks.

As we celebrate our daughter’s first birthday, I look back with gratitude at how my job supported me. Adoption is just one of many beautiful and challenging family-forming journeys. The values my work displayed — communication, flexibility, compassion — can go a long way toward helping employees regardless of their path. I hope it inspires others to do the same.

Image _ Five Ways My Job Supported Me Through Adoption

Five Ways My Job Supported Me Through Adoption

1603323909809

I have a PhD in getting outside of my comfort zone. I am not sure what drove me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, but I’m pretty sure it started after saying goodbye to my ballet shoes and hello to Wall Street.

![Image 2](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/2NUzgjEaOYPCI7v2InLhPc/9523a33a968bb348c01c0f5923213b72/Image_2.jpeg)

Let me explain. After college, I moved to NYC to pursue a career in Dance. I was fortunate enough to have majored in Dance and Film & Media studies at UC Santa Barbara and have trained at prestigious dance companies such as Alvin Ailey. When I moved to New York, and after countless performances and rehearsals, I was ready for a change. I had no idea what my future would hold, or even what I wanted to do with my life. So in a way, I let movies guide my decision-making. After watching countless movies about how people made money on Wall Street, I thought to myself, “maybe I can try this.” So I did my research: looked on job platforms for jobs that had “Wall Street” in the title and found a job called “Wall Street Reporter.” I applied, and voila! Got an email response back for an interview. This seemed so promising! What I did not realize was that my job was writing about financial advisors in the retirement services industry, a space I knew nothing about! But, that did not stop me from learning. Through trial and error, I ended up being one of the youngest black retirement-focused reporters on Wall Street. It definitely was not easy, but I learned a lot. After writing in this space on and off for about three years, I was ready for a change. And you guessed it, watching another show led me to my decision on my next job.

![Image 3](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1xgG9a0lCRBA7onPnrMmXn/0478fd384a11eec948cff3e1294196cb/Image_3.jpeg)

Queue the show “Billions”.
I started watching this show and became instantly hooked. Billions displayed brilliant minds working cohesively to try and solve a big problem, while constantly spewing feedback at each other. I loved what I was watching, and wanted to be a part of it. So the next thing I knew, I decided to apply to one of the world’s largest hedge funds. Luckily after a few interviews, I landed a job and worked my way up. I was overqualified, but I started as a receptionist so I can get my foot in the door. After a few months, I then became an Operations Lead and then transitioned into Tech Recruiting. I worked in so many different capacities, but this company was exactly what I hoped for: a place where feedback and sharing your open/honest opinion were welcomed. Time flew by like dog years and before I knew it, I had been there for almost two years. 
After being inspired by all the movies that helped shape my career, why not try working for the biggest entertainment tech company that shapes and creates all types of movies/shows? Netflix was where I had to go. I reached out to a Netflix manager on LinkedIn who said in his byline he was hiring in the operations division. I reached out via InMail and received a follow-up response a few months later – being told I was chosen to be interviewed for an operations position. After a few interviews that took a span of a week, I was hired for the job. While playing Stevie Wonder’s song, “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” my husband and I packed our bags and moved from CT to LA to start my Netflix journey.

![Screen Shot 2022-01-23 at 6.02.04 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/6H5ULa24Q88LF5aSiRngFf/a4c0178085687e3192d72535dedc562f/Screen_Shot_2022-01-23_at_6.02.04_PM.png)

I started off as a contractor in Title Operations, executing the tactical elements of a show’s lifecycle to ensure movies/shows have everything it needs to go live on service. I got hired on full-time eight months later and never looked back. Working here is just amazing. You are allowed to be yourself and allowed to speak your mind.

![Image 5](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1EX6KaxVsIrOUDndow7AIo/6b768f21d28b26f14d8b5fbc367c3abc/Image_5.jpeg)

If you have passions outside of work, it’s encouraged not shunned! I’m currently an Operations Specialist within Product and Partner Operations -- responsible for handling the optimization/scalability efforts for video assets on service. Along with my job at Netflix, I am also a model represented by Wilhelmina Models. The beauty about Netflix: you can have more than one passion.

![Image 6](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/7CREaY1Jp3UiP4pwdgYfpt/85bc5fcd11ad8d3c604336f74a437dd0/Image_6.jpeg)

If you ever feel like you are not qualified, or not good enough, shake that feeling off! No matter what background you come from, being yourself is highly encouraged. I never thought in a million years I’d work in so many different capacities, but it has been the most rewarding experience. Don’t give up, don’t sell yourself short. It’s now time to write your own movie. 

If you want to follow my journey, feel free to connect with me here or on IG, @Land_day.

image 1

From Ballet to Wall Street to Netflix

Corey Twitty's Headshot #2

On May 5th, 2021, I had the strongest out-of-body experience ever at work. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. An immense feeling of pride, gratitude, and happiness overcame me as I watched the virtual graduation of the inaugural class of the [Netflix Pathways Bootcamp](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/creating-more-access-for-black-students-in-tech "Creating More Access for Black Students into the Tech World"). My first thought was to quickly shut off my video camera to hide my emotion. Instead, I leaned into that vulnerability to give the students a subtle sign of the indelible mark they’ve left on me and the greater Netflix community. Hearing the students’ experiences, and their excitement for what’s next is a memory I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. My hope is that this program is the catalyst to creating more opportunities for the next generation of future leaders for our company and our industry.

As someone who has spent the last decade working in the early talent space, I’ve learned the value of representation, and the power of what happens when students are given access, mentorship, and an opportunity to showcase their talent. My true north is centered around student development and opening doors into the corporate world for those who have been historically excluded. After thousands of interactions with students, it remains clear that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not.

I attended a small private New England College and at times, I felt lonely. Because I felt out of place, I lacked the confidence to reach out to alumni for networking or mentorship opportunities. Though I had much of the same academic achievements, I didn’t know how to navigate the corporate world. When employers came to campus for info sessions or recruiting opportunities, I looked across my peers and thought, “I don’t belong here,” or “I have no chance of getting the job.”

It wasn’t until I found [Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)](https://mlt.org/ "Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)'s Website"), a year-long career development program for underrepresented students, that I understood what I was truly capable of. The combination of seeing and meeting others that looked like me, and coaches that pushed and believed in me, unlocked newfound confidence that I could do anything. There aren’t enough programs like this to reach the number of students that need it, and it’s one step we’re taking at Netflix to create more access and opportunity. 

The program we’ve built at Netflix accelerates participants’ technical skills across UI/UX, Data Science, and Software Engineering, while providing opportunities for professional development. Our goal is to further prepare students for Netflix, the tech industry, and the broader job market. __Most importantly, we want them to unlock their own potential__. We are committed to their success and as part of the program, each student receives a Netflix mentor. In addition to seeing Netflix employees that look like them, it’s also valuable for students to see themselves in our series and films. Which is why we arranged discussions with [*Dear White People*](https://www.netflix.com/title/80095698 "Dear White People Series Title Page on Netflix") stars Ashley Blaine Featherson and Marque Richardson, as well as [*Jingle Jangle*](https://www.netflix.com/title/80232043 "Jingle Jangle Film's Netflix Page") writer, director, and executive producer David Talbert.

As mentioned in our [company inclusion report](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-inclusion-report-2021 "Netflix's 2021 Inclusion Report") earlier this year, we have learned that diversity and inclusion are key to innovation. In order to future-proof our company and foster creativity, it is critical that employees come from different backgrounds. While we have made great strides in diversifying our workforce, there is still work needed to address our current gaps, while expanding access to underrepresented communities. This starts with being intentional about building future talent pipelines. 

A few key facts about our upcoming Spring 2022 cohort (for all six schools):
- Application is now live at [netflix.2u.com](https://netflix.2u.com/ "Netflix Pathways Bootcamp's Landing Page") until __November 29, 2021 at 11:59pm PST__.
- Students can apply for one of three tracks: Java, Data Science, or UX/UI.
- The program is a two-semester commitment; the foundations course is one semester (17 weeks) and those who successfully complete this course will have the opportunity to progress into the advanced course the following semester.

![UCI Joins Netflix Pathways Bootcamp](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/24M6E3mVPgl8EG8WPexlCm/ef528654792b198674293b8ba057cb1f/NetflixBootcamp_University__1_.jpg)

Emerging Talent Logo #3

I Am Because We Are

Sarit Ray Headshot

January seems like a long time ago now. As I sat on the stiff, pullout hospital bed, sleep-deprived, Lekha, my daughter, just a day old, in a glass bassinet, and Jayeeta, my wife, recovering from her C-sec, I was still replying to work emails. Until my manager texted me to stop, and cut off. 

We’re creatures of habit. And few modern habits are as compulsive as checking notifications and email. And after having worked non-stop for a decade and a half—as a journalist and an editor for the most part of it, which anyway trains you to always be in work mode—it is hard to turn that switch off.

In the four months since, gradually, I have got into full-time parent mode, uneasily at first and still baited by the ping of notifications, and then gradually unfazed by the number in brackets on the Gmail tab counting unread emails, letting them sit there, their bold, unread fonts no longer making me scroll from 7am. My days still start early, but with Lekha’s cries for attention, and a morning stroller walk. The rest of the day is pretty much according to her 3-hour cycles of eat, activity, sleep, repeat. And when I pick up the phone, it is mostly to take photos and videos of her now smiling, now learning to recognise the direction of our voices, now trying to turn, now making a new sound.
![Sarit Ray during morning walk with stroller](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5NbQuPwgtnHhYgzK7em7gk/a74cd51a060f17043b000c2132cb2699/Sarit_Ray.jpg)
I happen to be taking longer time off from work than my wife because Netflix gives gender-agnostic parental leave. Of course, I’m aware of my privilege: of not only this time off, but having leaders who led by example, took time off themselves, and broke unsaid boundaries during the Covid work-from-home by normalising having an occasional child on a work call.

But when I tell my friends and former colleagues I’m taking six months off, the reaction is a mix of surprise and concern. Will my job still be waiting? Will it slow down my career? My wife isn’t asked any of these questions. If anything, she’s asked if she’s getting enough leave, and if she can negotiate more.

Caring for a newborn is a full-time gig for two. Yet, more often than not—even amid the rhetoric of gender-equal pay—women are expected to play the primary parent. Sure, gender depictions today are far from the cliches of 90s advertisements: The breadwinning father, the homemaking mother. Or the 70s American suburbia of Betty Draper raising children while Don swigs whiskey in the hospital lounge. But parental leave in most organisations, and countries (barring parts of the Nordic), is still synonymous with “maternity”, with the man getting a few token days or weeks.

I went to school with, and happened to stay friends with, women who were smarter than me, whose class notes helped me scamper through my last-minute exam prep. And who, now, have dropped out of the workforce. The [Explained episode on pay gap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP8dLUxBfsU "Full Explained episode on YouTube, Why Women Are Paid Less (Netflix)") is recommended viewing to see that it isn't just about companies paying equally. Pay gaps often start when couples have kids in their mid 30s. And society and workplace norms typically enable the man to continue working. And the woman to take a break.

Jayeeta and I went to college together. We both worked as journalists before switching to corporate roles. We remain equally driven about our careers, and still with the idealism of equality of all sorts that liberal arts educations instill. So it was imperative for us that having a child not be at the cost of her career.

In the four months since Lekha was born, our lives have changed. As it will have for anyone who’s had kids. But we’ve found a way to share the load, in as much as parenting can be gender-agnostic. We take turns to sleep on the side of the bed closer to Lekha, to wake up when she does, instead of having to nudge the other person awake at 3am before trying to go back to sleep because there’s a call at 7am. 

The rewards have been many: watching Lekha grow up, being there for every doctor visit, learning how to console her after a vaccine, and being rewarded with smiles of recognition and earnest first conversations in gibberish. 

In a week, as Jayeeta goes back to work, she will have her own challenges and Gmail’s unread count to play catch up with. But at least she will be able to focus on work, while I’m able to, at least briefly, be the parent who can be nudged awake at 3am.
![Sarit Ray holding daughter](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1rKJ8dcyAxL7umkVTlFfxC/11ae3493d79669bc001b1bea0698d858/Sarit_Ray_3.JPG)

Sarit Ray pushing stroller -- hero image for the article 

Sarit Ray pushing stroller

I took 6 months of parental leave. And friends asked if that’s wise

Maahum Chaudhry's Headshot

![Maahum Chaudhry's Headshot](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/6fKb9BGOsy8nAu3BW3CmIw/bd7d53c6094e63e135a23b4e8946f987/Maahum_Chaudhry-s_Headshot.jpeg)Though I was raised in a Muslim household, this year in particular, Ramadan hit different. It was my first time in two years observing Ramadan the traditional way by fasting from food and water from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. For many people, Ramadan is a time of community. But with the pandemic and inability to gather in person, the usual adrenaline rush that carried me through a month of fasting has been lacking. I’m sure watching [Nadiya Bakes](https://www.netflix.com/title/81308321 "Nadiya Bakes on Netflix") didn’t help my energy levels either. However, as ever the optimist, I am grateful for silver linings in this pandemic.

Let’s be real, while fasting this year, sneaking a midday nap while working from home is significantly easier than the many times I used my lunch hour to nap in my car. But beyond sleep, this virtual Ramadan has exposed me to those outside of my usual bubble who celebrate the month and its culmination in the holiday of [Eid Ul Fitr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Fitr "Eid Ul Fitr Wikipedia page"). 

It’s been a reminder that I have the opportunity to make new Ramadan and Eid traditions, while still honoring old ones. This year, I attempted to make rose flavored thumbprint cookies, inspired by the famous Rooh Afza rose syrup adored by my family in Pakistan. This is a time when charity is encouraged, so I optimized the Netflix charity match program to make donations on behalf of my family to some of our favorite causes. To break my fast, I indulged in chocolate covered mascarpone stuffed medjool dates, a recipe I learned from my fellow Netflix employees in Amsterdam during an (internal) Cheflix cooking session. The cooking session inspired me to learn a little more about how my colleagues celebrate this special time, and here are a few of my favorites stories.

__Ilhan Ahmed__
![Ilhan Ahmed's headshot #3](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/4LmXYAouvAGKGdZu9pH3tP/170ebf0635d6f0020c892b1be5adc547/Ilhan_Ahmed_-3.jpeg)
Identity: Somali / American
Job Title: Senior Accountant
Netflix Office: Los Gatos, CA

Eid in America, in particular the Bay Area, can feel not as ceremonious as it would in a more Muslim majority region. However, I think for that reason, close family and friends have always had to work hard to make Eid feel special. We usually host big dinners or have gift exchanges.

Eid is an important time of year for myself because it is a time for me to take stock and inventory of my habits, and focus on how I can improve them. There is so much self reflection that is unlocked during Eid, which I really enjoy. During Ramadan, I have started journaling. I do not normally keep a journal but I think this is one self-care activity I may keep in future months!

__Iqbal Malam__
![Iqbal Malam's Headshot](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1ju0EbCYPVEOM2MbrkAaZh/b886a3b31cbc3a6635b621934d70063d/IMG_2444_-_Iqbal_Malam.JPG)
Identity: Indian / American
Job Title: Administrative Assistant
Netflix Office: Los Angeles, CA

I grew up celebrating Eid as a religious and cultural holiday. Being Muslim, it was the only holiday I had growing up where we waited and anticipated the the day coming up, similar to how folks in the US love counting down the days until Christmas. Culturally, as an Indian American, Eid was the day to wear your best Kurta and eat a plate of Biryani. For me, Eid always meant putting differences aside and getting together to celebrate family.

Two things my family is always big on are food and charity. On Eid, there were certain meals we’d only have that time of year, like Paya and Sheer Khurma. There’s always a spiced aroma lingering in the house the night before, because my mom would stay up cooking those meals in big pots (called a Dekchi). In terms of charity, we’d make sure to send money to our family back in India to distribute to the poor for food and clothes, which we got back photos of smiling families. However, with the current COVID situation in India, we’ve had to pivot to helping folks obtain medical supplies. In my SoCal (Southern California) Indian community, many friends have been collecting money to purchase masks, medical treatment, and oxygen supplies due to the massive surge that’s affected the country. We’re not expecting the photos this time around, but are just hoping that our people make it through this unprecedented time. 

Something I didn’t grow up experiencing was inclusivity of the holiday with others. When I was a kid, I couldn’t really explain what the holiday was to my friends and my teachers frowned upon the idea that I took the day off from school. As an adult, I’ve learned how to explain why Eid matters to me and I have been able to encourage younger kids to do the same. I’ve also enjoyed celebrating the holidays with folks who don’t know what it is. Last year, I made little treat boxes with Gulab Jamun cupcakes that I joyously delivered to colleagues.

__Neni Kamsani__
![Neni Kamsani's Headshot](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1TfyhqUpPuUSEBkB0TyWaM/a2038108940016e13b48c89cd731cec1/photo_2021-01-18_15-36-29_-_Neni_Kamsani.jpg)
Identity: Malay-Singaporean
Job Title: Administrative Assistant
Netflix Office: Singapore

Eid is not just about feasting with family and friends. Eid is also about celebrating the fact that you have worked so hard in the holy month of Ramadan to seek blessings from God. From abstaining from food and water in the day, refraining from thinking bad thoughts and uttering bad words, and striving to do as many good deeds as possible.

When we celebrate Eid in Singapore, we say "Maaf Zahir dan Batin" (in Malay) to each other. It means to ask for forgiveness from the deeds that we may have done intentionally and unintentionally. It's a tradition to seek forgiveness, especially with our elders. Our elders will sit in chairs at the front, and the young ones will line up, waiting for their turn to talk to them. It can get very emotional, as we see the elders crying in return. In the Malay language, we hear each other’s exchanges in beautiful poetic words. Even if one is not close to another person, we would still convey our well wishes.

I am so grateful for my fellow Muslim colleagues for sharing how they celebrate this special time in their lives. As a Pakistani-Muslim-American, I have been inspired to create new traditions, especially as I try to make Ramadan and Eid special for my growing 1.5 year old son. As tough as the pandemic has been, I am grateful that in true Netflix fashion, it’s given me a greater appreciation for the multicultural, transnational digital community we live in. This year, we both donned a new traditional Pakistani outfit, snagged a Krispy Kreme donut from the mosque after early morning prayers, and took our much needed Eid day nap. 

Eid Mubarak Netflix!

(Pre-donut and pre-nap photo)
![Maahum Chaudhry and Son (crying) ](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/6pdjymlB9mYHTQcelV6PCj/ec986fcea3e293df044908f7cd31a0e1/Maahum_and_Son__crying_.jpeg)

(Post-donut and nap photo)
![Maahum Chaudhry and son (Post-donut and nap photo)](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/44bWx5T2i2KJxjgEYnjrai/f076947b8206ce7d717a5cb25bcf7ca6/Maahum_and_Son__donut_.jpeg)


Maahum takes a picture with her family in their Eid outfits

Maahum and Family

Creating Community during Ramadan

1517717411535

Hola! My name is Andrés Ibarra and I lead the Series Marketing Team for Mexico. Fun facts: my nickname is ‘Chelo’ because I resemble from a very, very far distance a well-known Argentinian football player and I used to play in a band that opened for The Alabama Shakes and Blonde Redhead. We did not get booed :)

I joined Netflix in April 2019 as the first employee for the brand new Mexico City office. This is something I am sure I will repeat constantly when I’m 70 to the annoyance of my hyper-connected grandchildren: ‘did you know I was the first Mexico City employee for Netflix?’.

Before joining, I was working at YouTube, and was pretty happy with what I was doing until the day I received a message from a Netflix recruiter. In Mexico we use the expression "mover el tapete" meaning that emotions are stirred and that you are feeling something for someone. Well, Netflix movió mi tapete. Joining Netflix became almost an obsession, I thought about it every day, I day-dreamed on the campaigns I could possibly do and honestly thought I was the candidate they were looking for. Look no further Netflix! A couple of months later, I was embarking on a new adventure in my dream job.

In my first four weeks, I travelled to Los Angeles to meet my manager and the Latin America team. Back then, most of the regional operation was based there. If I could sum it up I would say it was a whirlwind of faces, people, documents to read and office snacks. I loved it. 

I can’t say it was easy. At times I felt confused and overwhelmed, but everything started to make more and more sense as days went by. I felt motivated by getting to know a truly spectacular team that worked seamlessly and I saw the Netflix culture happening live: creative debates, candid and vulnerable conversations and great ideas flying all around.

My manager and I went back to Mexico City to literally receive the keys and open the doors to our temporary office. We had three medium-sized office spaces that allowed for 10 people or so. When my manager flew back to Los Angeles, I spent two or three weeks in the office all by myself. Felt a bit like Tom Hanks on Cast Away, alone in my island-office, with no Wilson.

The next weeks passed by and new team members were coming in! Rodrigo, Carla, Flor, Rodrigo C. We had an instant sense of camaraderie and support. We all brought a deep understanding of our different roles, but we were learning how to do it at Netflix.

Besides all of this, I was launching my first marketing campaigns locally. A month after joining I launched the campaign for The Society in Mexico, followed by Murder Mystery and Stranger Things S3 (no pressure!). I was building the car while driving it as they say. I took risks, made mistakes and realized the power we as a team had to drive joy in the country.

Two years later, I reflect on the early days and smile. We are now more than 70 people across different teams, and we have spent the last year working from home. There are stunning colleagues I have only met through a screen. We’ve had to adapt to the times and learn to connect distantly. Again, not easy, but we’ve thrived. I am very proud of the team we have become and of the selflessness, vulnerability and creativity that have allowed us to produce the most talked about marketing campaigns in the country. I can’t wait for the moment when we are all in our brand new Mexico City office together. 

¡Hola! Me llamo Andrés Ibarra y soy el director del equipo de Marketing de Series en México. Datos curiosos: Me dicen «Chelo» porque si me miran muy muy de lejos me parezco a un conocido futbolista argentino. También formé parte de una banda que le abrió conciertos a Alabama Shakes y Blonde Redhead. Y nunca nos abuchearon. :)

Empecé a trabajar en Netflix en abril de 2019, siendo el primer empleado de la recién creada oficina de Ciudad de México. Es un dato que estoy seguro de que no dejaré de repetir hasta el cansancio cuando tenga 70 años, para volver locos a mis nietos: «¿Sabían que fui el primer empleado de Netflix en CDMX?».

Antes trabajaba en YouTube y estaba bastante feliz con lo que hacía, hasta que recibí un mensaje de una reclutadora de Netflix. En México decimos que algo o alguien nos mueve el tapete cuando despierta muchas emociones en nosotros. Pues bien, Netflix movió mi tapete. Ser parte de Netflix se convirtió en casi una obsesión, pensaba en eso todos los días, soñaba despierto con las campañas que podría hacer y creía que era el candidato que buscaban. ¡No busques más, Netflix! Un par de meses después, me embarcaba hacia una nueva aventura en el trabajo de mis sueños.

En mis primeras cuatro semanas, viajé a Los Ángeles para conocer a mi mánager y al equipo de Latinoamérica. En ese entonces, esa era la sede de la mayoría de las operaciones regionales. Si pudiera resumirlo de alguna manera, fue un torbellino de nuevos rostros, personas, documentos que leer y muchos snacks. Me encantó.

No puedo decir que fue fácil. A veces me sentía confundido y abrumado, pero pronto comencé a ver que cada día las piezas encajaban mejor. Me sentía motivado al conocer a un equipo realmente espectacular que trabajaba con eficiencia y pude apreciar la cultura de Netflix en vivo: debates creativos, conversaciones francas y vulnerables, e ideas geniales volando por todos lados.

Mi mánager y yo regresamos a CDMX para, literalmente, recibir las llaves y abrir las puertas de la que sería nuestra oficina temporal. Contábamos con tres oficinas medianas donde podrían trabajar unas diez personas. Cuando mi mánager viajó de regreso a Los Ángeles, pasé las siguientes dos o tres semanas completamente solo en la oficina. Me sentía un poco como Tom Hanks en «Náufrago», solitario en mi isla‑oficina, y encima sin Wilson.
En las siguientes semanas comenzaron a llegar los nuevos miembros del equipo: Rodrigo, Carla, Flor, Rodrigo C. El espíritu de camaradería y apoyo se sintió de inmediato. Todos traíamos un profundo entendimiento de nuestras diferentes funciones, pero estábamos aprendiendo cómo desempeñarlas en Netflix.

Aparte de todo, estaba en medio del lanzamiento de mis primeras campañas de marketing a nivel local. Un mes después de incorporarme, lancé la campaña para «The Society» en México, seguida de las campañas para «Misterio a bordo» y «Stranger Things 3» (¡sin ninguna presión, vaya!). Estaba aprendiendo sobre la marcha. Tomé riesgos, cometí errores y comprendí el poder que tenemos como equipo para generar alegría en nuestro país.
Hoy, dos años después, reflexiono sobre esos comienzos y sonrío. Ahora somos más de setenta personas en diferentes equipos, y este último año hemos trabajado desde nuestras casas. Tengo grandiosos compañeros a quienes solo conozco a través de una pantalla. Hemos tenido que adaptarnos a los tiempos que vivimos y aprender a conectarnos a la distancia. Y eso no ha sido fácil, pero logramos salir adelante. Me siento muy orgulloso del equipo en el que nos hemos convertido y de la solidaridad, la vulnerabilidad y la creatividad que nos han permitido desarrollar las campañas de marketing más comentadas del país. No veo el momento en que podamos estar todos juntos en nuestra nueva oficina de CDMX.


WhatsApp Image 2021-03-30 at 09.08.59

My Story as the First Mexico City Netflix Employee 

Pawan Zenda

![Headshot for Dream Blog post -- 10 ways to support your immigrant coworkers in the US](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/2lm3epAGqc3a5aQD8Sayof/09c7f7f9971fb816e0f363f83e56b623/Headshot_for_Dream_Blog_post_--_10_ways_to_support_your_immigrant_coworkers_in_the_US.jpeg)
      *(Article co-authors, Pawan Zenda (left) and Lydia Rin Kye (right))*

Being an immigrant in the workplace involves more than just navigating the logistics of work permits and government regulations. Our colleagues now bear the heavy burden of uncertainty around their immigration statuses with immigration policies being in a constant state of flux. It is more important now than ever to support and empathize with our immigrant colleagues and communities.  

Growing up as a child of immigrants, I [Pawan] have personally seen my family and friends struggle with immigration issues. These experiences led me to pursue a career in immigration. Prior to joining Netflix, I worked as an Immigration Specialist, where I confronted the issues individuals faced when anticipating approvals, the fear they experience when receiving requests for further evidence to prove they deserved the jobs they were offered, and ultimately the disappointment and helplessness that comes with a denial. Immigration should no longer be treated as a troublesome and undesirable situation that people are afraid to engage with. I believe that we can work towards actively and openly criticizing, fixing, and celebrating immigration and the immigration process, where we can. 

The first step is understanding what our immigrant colleagues are going through in addition to our daily work struggles. I want to bring attention to how anyone, even if you’re not an immigrant or an immigration specialist, can offer support through the following tips.

I teamed up with [Lydia Rin Kye](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiakye/ "Lydia Rin Kye's LinkedIn profile page"), Founder and fellow co-lead of Dream@Netflix (Netflix’s employee community for immigrants and allies) to offer 10 ways to support your immigrant coworkers.

__#1. Be *curious* about your colleague’s immigration journey, if their boundaries allow it.__

__Pawan:__ Create a safe space for your colleagues to open up, but be willing to accept that this is their personal experience and they might not feel comfortable discussing. Avoid asking your colleague to explain their work permit as this can be triggering and uncomfortable. Instead, learn what types of work permits are common at your company and the processes immigrants go through when applying for their work permits, green cards, citizenship, etc.

__#2. Commit to creating a work environment that’s *inclusive* of the immigrant experience.__

__Lydia:__ If your colleague has opened up about their immigrant status, you might ask about previous workplace challenges they’ve experienced as an immigrant. For example, you can ask, *“If you have any questions regarding your immigration case, is it clear who you can reach out to?,”* or *“Any suggestions for how the company can better communicate immigration policy changes?”*

Validate their experiences and commit to removing those barriers at work (e.g., ability to travel freely) as long as it’s legally possible. Assure that events/actions you are promoting are inclusive and change the way you may present these. As another example, instead of saying *"make sure you go out and vote"* - reword it to *"If you have the ability to vote, make sure you exercise that privilege.”*

__#3. Empower your colleagues to speak with *candor*.__

__Lydia:__ Immigrants struggle with speaking transparently and boldly for fear of work retaliation - which can impact their work status, their dependents’ work status, and their ability to stay in the country. When I was an OPT and H1B visa holder, I didn’t feel empowered to speak openly as so much more than my job was at stake - my ability to stay in the United States was also at risk. As a DREAMer, the US is the only home I know. The thought of having to go back to South Korea, where I haven’t lived since I was 3 years old, and start fresh was scary. So, build trust with your colleagues to help them and others feel empowered to be transparent. Allow more moments of silence so they feel more comfortable about speaking up. We all process conversations differently and some of our colleagues may need more time to digest before replying with candor, so please practice patience. 

__#4. Allow for open and *candid* conversations that encourage your colleague to speak freely and openly about their immigrant status.__

__Pawan:__ Learning about your colleague’s immigration journey goes beyond their actual work permit and extends to the emotions, anxieties, and uncertainties they may feel. Let your colleague know that they are free to discuss their work status during 1:1 meetings. Promise and commit to confidentiality and empathy. Avoid making any assumptions of your colleague’s immigration story - rather, practice curiosity.

In a team meeting you may offer support by acknowledging the current immigration climate. I recently overheard a colleague say in a team meeting, *“I understand that these times are unprecedented, with lots of changes in immigration policies that could affect some of us personally, as well as our friends and our families. If anyone needs or wants to talk 1:1 about their situation, please reach out.”*

__#5. Show *selflessness* by making time to support your colleague(s) during tough times and to celebrate wins.__

__Pawan:__ Encourage your colleagues and your team to prioritize self-care. Also celebrate any immigrants’ rights wins (with their consent, of course) - for example, the preservation of the [DACA program in June 2020](https://www.vox.com/2020/6/18/21295518/supreme-court-daca-trump-roberts-regents-university-california-homeland-security "Vox article on the DACA program in June 2020") - or if your colleague successfully secures a work permit, green card or citizenship. These are big personal wins and we should celebrate them where we can! My team has a shared calendar where we list our birthdays and work anniversaries in order to keep track of important events and celebrations. I created space and encouraged my team to add in their immigration-related wins, where they feel comfortable, and it’s been a huge success.

__#6. Be *mindful* that navigating a new country can be intimidating.__ 

__Pawan:__ Getting situated in a new country entails many complexities that go beyond obtaining a work permit. Be mindful that your colleague is having to learn not only about the cultural norms of their new home but are also getting set up logistically (e.g. driver’s license, banking, social security, healthcare, etc.). Ask your colleague if they or their dependents need support or help with resources to get situated, and give them space to talk about these added stressors that are now part of their daily life.

__#7. Adapt your *communication* style to work well with your colleague, who may not share your native language.__

__Lydia:__ Avoid making cultural communication assumptions and understand that your colleague(s) may communicate differently from you. We highly recommend reading Erin Meyer’s “[The Culture Map](https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Map-Breaking-Invisible-Boundaries/dp/1610392507 "Amazon book purchasing page for The Culture Map"),” which helps managers and leaders improve the effectiveness of culturally diverse teams, and/or taking a culture map test [here](https://erinmeyer.com/tools/ "The Culture Map's tools' purchase page") to see where you compare to others of your own culture. It is important to understand and acknowledge that due to language barriers, opinions may be more difficult to express or may be expressed in ways that differ from your own style.

__#8. Stay *informed* on immigration-related news.__

__Lydia:__ Be mindful that immigration news is rarely positive in the media. This can impact your colleague’s emotional and mental health (and yours!).  Being well-informed on relevant immigration news will allow you to be more aware of events that could add additional stress and anxiety to your colleagues daily life. Some valuable resources include [American Immigration Council](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/ "American Immigration Council's web homepage"), [FWD.us](https://www.fwd.us/ "FWD.us' web homepage"), [Immigration Equality](https://immigrationequality.org/ "Immigration Equality's web homepage"), [IRC](https://www.rescue.org/ "International Rescue Committee's web homepage"), [UndocuBlack](https://undocublack.org/ "UndocuBlack's web homepage"), [United We Dream](https://unitedwedream.org/ "United We Dream's web homepage") and other immigrants’ rights organizations. The American Immigration Council has a [US Immigration System Fact Sheet](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/how-united-states-immigration-system-works "The American Immigration Council's webpage for its US immigration system fact sheet") and a regularly updated [special report around the impact of COVID-19](https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/impact-covid-19-us-immigration-system "The American Immigration Council's webpage for its special report around the impact of COVID-19").

__#9. *Share your learnings* openly and proactively with others.__

__Lydia:__ Share your learnings with other teammates and allies. Immigration is a political hot topic, but one where misinformation is pervasive. When I was a visa holder and my ability to stay in the United States was still uncertain, I found having to constantly educate folks on immigration policy and law emotionally exhausting and even triggering -- so much so, that I would avoid bringing up the topic at all. It was such a relief when an ally was able to do it on my behalf. It also helped me feel supported, validated, and a sense of community. Demonstrate allyship by educating others that are not as familiar with the immigration process, even when there are no immigrants in the room. Ask your colleagues how to best practice allyship for them and the immigrant community.

__#10. Remain *curious* of how your background affects you at work and your views on immigration.__ 

__Pawan:__ Unconscious biases are inevitable, but it’s how you address them that is important. Become more attuned to your perceptions of immigration and reflect on how they were formed. Remain aware of how your views may be shifting as you confront your own inherent biases --  this will better help with inclusivity both inside and outside of the workplace.

At the end of the day, we should all be working to help support our immigrant colleagues -- and communities -- and can use the above tips where appropriate. Creating this safe space is only a part of the beginning steps as we bring more attention to immigration, and we can all play a part to decrease the fear around these discussions. As we move away from fear, we hope to one day celebrate immigration journeys to their fullest. 

[Blog Post Hero Image] 10 Ways to Support your Immigrant Coworkers in the U.S. 

10 Ways to Support your Immigrant Coworkers in the U.S.

0 (3)

Looking for a new job opportunity within Animation or even just getting your foot in the door can be overwhelming  at times. To help with this, we interviewed five recruiters who support [Netflix Animation](https://www.netflixanimation.com/) and asked them what advice they would give to someone looking to join the team. 

These are their answers.

__Featured in this article:__ Amelia Leddie, Erica Sewell, Jake Hetzer, Courtney Currin, and Sneha Shukla

__Amelia Leddie - Original Animation Series, Art__ 

![IMG 0146](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/52IBZ4XRrhyGpb8sDLfcUt/52ec7fbf50956aa30d934b583ff2fec1/IMG_0146.jpg)

When recruiting for art/design/paint animation, we prioritize looking at people's portfolios and their art. What I really want to see is someone's personality and individualism come through in their art. When I look at portfolios, I love to see a person's style and what they're interested in. I'd rather see something totally different or something I've never seen before, than look at what you think I want to see. __The portfolios that show a person's unique view of the world are the portfolios that always stand out.__ It makes it easier to pair your style to a particular show's look if you're putting forward work that is something you're interested in (because we can see the passion and excitement come through in your art). I also look to see some range and versatility in pieces to show what different styles or genres you could work with.

While this isn't a necessity, it definitely helps to keep your portfolio organized (e.g. tabs for character designs, background designs, prop designs, etc. or broken down by projects). Portfolios are easier to navigate through when there's some sort of organization versus all your work on one page. I would also suggest putting only your best work in your portfolio and not everything (quality vs. quantity) because you'll always be judged on your weakest piece. And finally, while we love seeing finished pieces, productions also want to see the technical side, so include things like turnaround sheets, expression sheets, color scripts, lighting a background to show different moods, what you used for inspiration, and different iterations of a character/prop/etc.

__Erica Sewell - Outreach and Engagement__

![unnamed](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5m6CD61YiMNsK0p8hbjYMS/538edd302f84b3bd0db3a6cc9bfb055f/unnamed.jpg)

Immerse yourself in your craft, whether you choose to focus on art, story, or writing. __Study TV shows...don't just watch them!__ How long is the teaser? How many acts? Is the protagonist always driving the A-story? This is a fun way to learn structure and format. Do it every single day and make it a habit. Having strong ideas, knowing who your audience is for the types of stories you want to tell, and connecting with them is key. Understand the filmmaking process. Making animated content is similar to live-action, the tools are just different. Watch films and series content - action, comedy, drama, adult, kids & family pre-school, anime. Analyze the story structure as well as the filmmaking aspects, i.e. camera, staging, layout, acting, composition, timing, and look to apply those approaches. 

The animation industry is highly collaborative and in many ways small. It's important to start building relationships as early as possible. This could be with your peers pursuing the same interests, seasoned artists, or recruiters that you connect with on social media, at conferences, or virtually. Wherever or however you connect, build your community to help you get to your goals and be intentional about the jobs that you apply for.

__Jake Hetzer - Original Animation Series, Production and CG__

![Headshot-JakeHetzer](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5TnnA4qW2HGa6BIcOqylvR/d5980011705d9811e6d899f3426de6de/Headshot-JakeHetzer.jpg)

__We don’t have a particular house style at Netflix, so we’re constantly looking for a wide variety of skill sets and experiences depending on that specific project we’re working on.__ 

For me, it’s really about finding folks who are passionate about animation as a medium for unique storytelling and eager to help us shape the new wave of it. We have a number of diverse and exciting projects we’re working on, so it’s especially fun whenever we’re able to learn about a candidate’s passion for a particular genre, story or art form so then we can work to align them with an opportunity they’re hopefully going to really connect with. I think it goes without saying, but I’ve always found it to be so much easier to invest yourself and find opportunities of growth whenever you’re really passionate about whatever it is you’re working on. 

Immerse yourself in whatever it is you want to do and don’t be afraid to attend events or reach out to recruiters or peers in your particular field to ask questions and learn from their experiences - it’s an incredible way to gain knowledge and build your network! 

__Courtney Currin - Original Animation Features__ 

![unnamed (1)](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/4XYST4I585Sjlmp2Bp4i5E/2cb919cdd8728f07e9350e9be8e53ec3/unnamed__1_.jpg)

Tell the stories you’re passionate about - whether that’s in storyboards or visually through the worlds and characters you’re designing. We’re in a new renaissance period in animation where so many unique stories are being developed and we’re looking for people who can bring their own voice into our productions. Your passion and unique style will show in your portfolio. __In order to know if your portfolio is production ready, look at the credits of some of the films/shows you would love to work and find the online portfolios of the artists that worked on those productions.__ In order to be production ready for those projects, that’s the level of work you’ll need to hit in your portfolio. 

Genuine love for animation and the work is important. It’s so clear how passionate certain artists are about their craft when you look at their personal artwork or comics that they’re working on outside of their day job or school. Those are people who I know will be exceptional on productions because it’s more than just a job for them - it’s something they enjoy doing even in their free time.

So much of hiring in animation has to do with timing. If you feel like your portfolio is production ready and you still haven’t found a job, don’t get discouraged! It’s only a matter of time before the right production and role find you. 

__Sneha Shukla - Netflix Animation Researcher__ 

![timetogetmeaNYslice](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/3tv5WIn60dIqZsXuaYfroP/d641897db3547b17a353d27f106ec00f/timetogetmeaNYslice.jpg)

Keep in touch with recruiters, but don't go overboard! The keyword is being consistent, about once every four weeks. __Making your name known is important, but also taking the time out to ask how the recruiter or researcher is doing goes a long way.__ When the pandemic wasn't all encompassing and studio lunches were still the norm, I remember letting recruiters know ahead of time that I would be visiting and would love to say hello. This went a long way for me, as it shows that not only are you interested in a company for the work they have to offer, but you're also interested in being personable. I know interviews are scary and you want to prove your worth. Just be confident in what you're able to accomplish! 

Having a strong portfolio that matches a project's style is what cuts through the clutter. When I look at a portfolio, I love seeing personal projects or work that really interests the artists. This helps me understand what types of projects they would love to work on/where I can best present them moving forward. 


Animation 1

Interview Advice From Netflix Animation Recruiters

Aaron Mitchell, Director, Talent Acquisition at Netflix



Aaron Mitchell

In June, we announced our plan to [allocate two percent of our cash holdings](https://media.netflix.com/en/company-blog/building-economic-opportunity-for-black-communities "Building economic opportunity for Black communities") - initially up to $100 million - into Black banks and similar financial institutions that build economic opportunity for Black communities in the U.S.. That announcement elicited a lot of enthusiasm, and also some questions from many organizations hoping to take similar action.

Thankfully, Netflix’s __Aaron Mitchell__ and __Shannon Alwyn__ had a lot to share on the subject after spearheading this effort. To help inspire further interest and investments into Black-owned banks and financial institutions, they were recently joined by two of our external partners, __Maurice Jones__ from the non-profit __Local Initiatives Support Corporation__ ([LISC](https://www.lisc.org/our-stories/story/building-economic-opportunities-black-communities-netflix-webinar/ "Building Economic Opportunities in Black Communities: A Netflix Webinar")), and __Bill Bynum__ from [HOPE Credit Union](https://hopecu.org/ "Hope Credit Union Enterprise Corporation"), to discuss the major learnings and takeaways. What follows are highlights from a recent webinar we held on this topic:

![Black Banks Announcement Image](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1dFQOnvLf3xOulaWfz2KZP/fb3691ca07533c5e7f65973c6cb3caf1/blackbanks_copy.jpg)
*Top row from left: Aaron Mitchell, Bill Bynum of HOPE Credit Union
Bottom row from left: Shannon Alwyn, Maurice Jones*

__"You need to take on more risk to create change," Shannon:__ “In contrast to Netflix’s normally conservative investment policy, many of these Black-led financial institutions come with more risk so we had to make exceptions to how things are traditionally done to make this investment work. However, every company manages their cash differently and has a different appetite for risk. The key is for each company to determine what level of risk they’re willing to take on."

__Getting creative to give back, Aaron:__ “Sure, companies can make statements and donations, but another area they can be creative is looking at how they currently conduct business every day and how they can change that to tackle these issues like investing in businesses that give quality wages to drive prosperity. Ask yourself, ‘Are there other ways to look at your commercial interests in ways that have a direct positive impact where you do business and your members are being served? We’re hoping that that spurs ideas from all corners of the world.’” 

__Deposits can also make a big difference, Maurice:__ These investments can go towards even the most basic necessities like access to healthcare, education and housing to everyday things like quality produce. Maurice laid out four key areas to help people “create and maintain wealth": improving the community, housing, entrepreneurship, and savings/earnings so that residents can get access to credit scores, insurance and other basics.

__But big deposits can be big liabilities, Shannon:__ “Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just depositing a big chunk of money in a Black-owned bank. The Basel Accords, which were put into place after the 2008 financial crisis, significantly limit the amount of non-operating deposits that banks can take on. Big deposits to Black banks and other minority depository institutions (MDIs) are considered liabilities, not assets, because the banks then have to pay interest back to the deposit holders.” 

__The importance of moving capital to where it’s needed most, Bill:__ In the US, the wealth gap between a Black person and a white person is 1 to 10. For those with families, that expands to 1 to 100. That’s why LISC and HOPE are focused on moving financial institutions into these underserved areas. “For minority depositories, 6 of the 10 people in the communities we serve are people of color as opposed to 6 out of 100 for traditional banks,” Bill said. “Just in proximity you’re targeting the investment where it’s going to be most impactful.”

__Tracking community impact, Bill:__ In addition to handling underwriting, we rely on LISC and HOPE to report how our money is being spent and how it’s making an impact in the community. According to Bill, 85% of HOPE’s mortgages are for first-time home buyers and over 60% of business loans go to businesses managed or owned by women or people of color. “We take that stewardship very seriously,” he said. 

__There are multiple ways to get involved: Bill:__ In addition to directly investing in these funds, another way to get involved is to become a partner financial institution organization that LISC and HOPE can invest through to do things like provide capital for bridge financing, pre-development financing and co-investments to help ultimately reach Black small businesses.

__Flexibility, and patience, are essential, Shannon:__ Netflix’s treasury team has been hard at work on this initiative since before our June announcement but realistically it will take at least another month or so before this is fully up and operational. Patience is key, as is flexibility in terms of cash and investments, since our cash balance does fluctuate. The goal is, as our cash hopefully continues to grow, so too will the amount of money that is invested.

To find more information watch our [Building Economic Opportunities for Black Communities webinar](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDH35_MrEsc "Building Economic Opportunities for Black Communities") and visit [LISC.org](https://www.lisc.org/ "Local Initiatives Support Corporation's Website") and [HOPECU.org](https://hopecu.org/ "Hope Credit Union's Website").

*-Aaron Mitchell, Director, Talent Acquisition*

*-Shannon Alwyn, Director, Treasury*














Top row from left: Aaron Mitchell, Bill Bynum of HOPE Credit Union
Bottom row from left: Shannon Alwyn, Maurice Jones

Black Banks Announcement Image

8 things we learned from moving our capital to Black-led banks

Marquise McCoy Headshot 2020

Every Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month is an opportunity to push ourselves to be better inclusive of all Asian cultures and to learn from their rich history to make our society better. This year, we’re acknowledging Asian representation on screen and the progress that’s been made, as well as the work still to be done. To get a snapshot of how our employees felt about it, we asked seven leaders from our [Asian Employees at Netflix (AEN) employee resource group (ERG)](https://jobs.netflix.com/diversity "Netflix's Inclusion & Diversity Page") a few questions about Asian representation on screen and what it means to them.

We’re cognizant that the responses below do not represent all people who identify as Asian-American or Asian Pacific Islander. These ideas are from some of the Asian employees around the world at Netflix, and how they perceive Asian representation on screen.

---

### Asia-Pacific Region

![Anna Josephine Takayama Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1gXBLhlR0X1q0OA9Rj8jHv/e79d6afaafc74e050c4529d59170d0bc/Anna_Josephine_Takayama_Headshot_May_2020.png)
__Anna Josephine Takayama__ 
Identity: Japanese / American
Job Title: Post Production Coordinator
Netflix Office: Tokyo, Japan
Role with AEN: Co-Lead, Tokyo Chapter

Previously, I worked in Post Production at A24 before I came to Netflix, and the last title I worked on was a film called *[The Farewell](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8637428/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2 "The Farewell's International Movie Database Page")*, directed by [Lulu Wang](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2304675/?ref_=tt_ov_dr "Lulu Wang's International Movie Database Page"). I was in tears within the first 10 minutes when you see Billi (main character played by Awkwafina), walking down the streets of New York City, talking to her grandmother in Mandarin. It’s a heartfelt story about Billi, who was born in China and raised in the US, going back to China only to find that her grandmother is dying.

This film really hit me hard because at the time, I was living alone in New York City while my entire family lived in Japan, and I felt so far away. While I was in NYC, my grandfather had passed away and sadly I couldn’t be there in person to say goodbye. The film really captured what it felt like to be alone in the big city, away from family, and having to confront death from a distance. I also felt like every time I went back to Japan, I felt more and more foreign and the film really captured that feeling of being an immigrant, and in a way, being removed and belonging nowhere. 

Now, more than ever, the world needs empathy. We need to look for ways we can understand each other better and listen to others more. Acts of violence and hate come from dehumanizing and otherising. The world is full of untold stories and unheard voices. We can solve this problem by telling more diverse stories from people of different backgrounds and experiences, so that we can all reach a better understanding of each other. It’s the only way we can counter the darkness that we’re facing in today’s world. 

Looking to the future, I hope that one day, we can all name tons of actors, actresses, directors and producers with backgrounds from every country in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

![Keemin Ngiam Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/31EmPvXefunmkUg67Laqv5/f57d9ee7dd3a814a62b6e65ac43aead6/Keemin_Ngiam_Headshot_May_2020.jpg)
__Keemin Ngiam__
Identity: Peranakan Chinese-Singaporean-American
Job Title: Director, Business Development Legal
Netflix Office: Singapore
Role with AEN: Working to launch an AEN Chapter in Singapore

While I’m not even 0.0001% as wealthy (or good-looking) as Nick Young, *[Crazy Rich Asians](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 "Crazy Rich Asians' International Movie Database Page")* was the first time I’d seen someone who didn’t neatly fit into the stereotypical categories that Hollywood assigns to Asians. Here was someone who was comfortably bi-cultural, hailing from Singapore with a strong sense of identity, yet just as comfortable in the US, speaking English with a completely neutral American accent, smoothly transitioning from one world to the next. While there are many others like me who blur cultural boundaries, on-screen portrayals of such nuance are rare. 

What we can do now is tell amazing stories that represent all of humankind’s beautiful diversity, so more and more of us see and feel that bond of our common humanity. My four-year old daughter gives me hope that we can do this. As we talked over brunch one day (my daughter, her Caucasian mom, and Chinese dad), I turned to our daughter and asked her if mom and dad looked alike. She paused, looked at each of us, and nodded her head (you know, the way kids do when they think their parents are asking silly questions). To her eyes, our distinct shades of melanin and facial features didn’t matter and didn’t indicate difference; all she saw was what we had in common.
 
I’d love for us to continue expanding Asian representation. AAPI Heritage Month isn’t recognized outside of the US, and especially in Asia, celebrating Asian-ness can seem somewhat like a fish celebrating water. But I’d love for us to be able to use it as a time to learn about and celebrate other Asian and Pacific-Islander cultures besides our own, so that even in Asia among Asians, we can move beyond otherness.

---

### Europe, Middle East, and Africa Region

![Adi Ng Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/63fpoNAsxmxFLP6C3fWTCB/cadda4ed6fba80ecbed34c6ccf9acf01/Adi_Ng_Headshot_May_2020.JPG)__Adi Ng__
Identity: Chinese / Malaysian / Kiwi
Job Title: Production Finance - Original Series, UK
Netflix Office: London, England
Role with AEN: Working to launch an AEN Chapter in London

Being of Chinese descent and growing up in New Zealand (Kiwi) there wasn’t much English content with Asian leads or supporting actors. In the Asian content I watched, I found that I didn’t quite fit in there either. So when I saw *[To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before](https://www.netflix.com/title/80203147 "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before's Netflix Page")* a couple of years ago, I fell in love instantly. The film could have starred any girl of any race and still have the same impact. The story itself was about a normal teenager and the fact that she was Asian made me feel represented, probably for the first time in my 30 years.

In a digital era where we are more connected than ever, there is still much of the world that is racially divided. This is in part due to the unknown. Diversity in content helps us have a better understanding of one another and where we come from. To me, Asian representation isn’t just about the face you see on screen. It is also about if the content was directed, written or produced by someone with Asian heritage. We need to also capture the Asian culture -- its heart and passion. In the last three years, Netflix has released multiple titles which were performed, directed or written by someone with Asian heritage. I’m proud of that. The content has given global audiences new insight into a rich tapestry of stories, and a new point of view to focus on. 

One day, I hope AAPI Heritage Month will become a celebration of heritage and perhaps become less about our differences and more about our similarities. I believe everyone can relate to the feeling of wanting to belong.

---

### North American Region

![Christian Rodriguez Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/qcDw7ofK5yQQPLdZXi31N/9886453584ecd5718d6ee2321797ff3c/Christian_Rodriguez_Headshot_May_2020.jpg)
__Christian Rodriguez__
Identity: Filipino-American
Job Title: Learning & Development Manager
Netflix Office: Los Gatos, California
Role with AEN: Los Gatos AEN Chapter Co-Lead

In the fifth grade, I didn't watch *[Degrassi: The Next Generation](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0288937/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 "Degrassi: The Next Generation's International Movie Database Page")* much, but there was one episode when [Manny Santos (Cassie Steele)](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1012247/?ref_=tt_cl_t8 "Manny Santos' (Cassie Steele) International Movie Database Page") was being scolded by her mom in Tagalog. I had never heard Tagalog spoken on TV except on Filipino-specific channels, streamed from the Philippines. Every Filipino-American kid I knew growing up was familiar with the passionate and rhythmic verbal jab from a relative, especially from a grandma, an auntie, or a mom.

Representation is important now, more than ever, to elevate and celebrate identities that didn’t have the chance before. But it’s also important because it can showcase the diversity *within* identities like being Asian. An example is Netflix's *[Never Have I Ever](https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190 "Netflix’s Never Have I Ever Page")*, which represents a spectrum of Asian identities without stereotyping. Representation like this humanizes and familiarizes different kinds of Asians to viewers, and builds solidarity in and out of the Asian community.

We’re past the days of stereotypical Asian and Pacific Islander roles. In the future, both AAPI Heritage Month and Asian representation on screen will look like a showcase of the complexities and intersections of the Asian and Pacific Islander identities. Netflix is already doing this by writing complex and nuanced characters for talent of color across the globe. Right now this dynamic is new and exciting, and worth celebration -- but I cannot wait for it to be *“normal.”* 

![Akiko Fukuhara Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/4qnEFOQYKX6J2eY5a3YTWf/12ab0380f09af7ed6f4b6e5916708867/Akiko_Fukuhara_Headshot_May_2020.JPG)__Akiko Fukuhara__
Identity: Japanese
Job Title: Product Metadata Analyst, Kids Teen & Family
Netflix Office: Los Gatos, California
Role with AEN: Los Gatos AEN Chapter Co-Lead

Until recently, I never really understood the meaning of a movie or series that made you feel “seen.” Whenever I was asked this question, I would just shrug because no title came to my mind, and the thought itself was foreign to me. Then came *[Never Have I Ever](https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190 "Never Have I Ever's Netflix Page")*. I saw myself in [Nalini Vishwakumar (Poorna Jagannathan)](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1567198/?ref_=tt_cl_t3 "Poorna Jagannathan's International Movie Database Page") who was the first generation Asian immigrant parent with a teenage daughter. Most of the Asian immigrant parents in other movies/shows are usually older and their kids are grown up and not the focus of the story. But in Nalini, I was able to resonate with the perfect dosage of her Aisan-ness and American-ness, and the struggles she goes through between two cultures as a parent.

From my own experience, I learned that it is difficult to truly understand what it feels like to be represented until we felt seen. But once we experience it, we get it. And once we get it, we become more curious about who else we see in the story, and that’s where empathy emerges. That is why I believe representation is important now, more than ever. 
 
My hope for AAPI Heritage Month in the future is that it gets more diverse and unified at the same time. I say diverse because there are many different Asian and Pacific Islander identities. We could be the first generation or the fifth generation, from South Asia or Hawaii, old or young -- the list goes on -- but even when we are different, we still have a lot in common. We should all embrace the diversity within our communities and AAPI Heritage Month gives us that perfect opportunity to do just that. 

![Kingston Kuo Headshot May 2020 Profile Pic](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/460jc2Ly7hH338LbCO7F8s/103302dc6508000c3cfccc091b1b88fb/Kingston_Kuo_Headshot_May_2020_Profile_Pic.jpg)__Kingston Kuo__
Identity: American / Taiwanese / Chinese
Job Title: Senior Financial Analyst, Residuals
Netflix Office: Los Angeles, California
Role with AEN: LA AEN Chapter Co-Lead

Growing up in Los Angeles, CA, I didn't feel like I was the only person around who looked like me. I think because of that, the feeling of being seen on screen (or lack thereof) had never crossed my mind until more recently. Reflecting back, I remember *[Harold and Kumar](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366551/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 "(movie) Harold and Kumar's International Movie Database Page")* being one of the only major Hollywood films that featured Asian-American male leads while I was growing up.

Representation matters now more than ever, because we're more connected now than ever. That means a single person or their post online has the ability to hurt or heal scores of people, sometimes without even realizing it.  Without representation, the decision makers of the world would be making tough, complex decisions without the required support to see the big picture more clearly. If films and TV have the power to create stereotypes, they inherently have the power to break stereotypes. It's up to all of us to use the power of storytelling wisely and responsibly.

To me, the future looks like people from underrepresented groups in lead roles where their group affiliation has nothing to do with the role. We're seemingly far from that reality, but I feel like we've been taking steps in the right direction here in Hollywood.

![Kiren Singh Headshot May 2020](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/14xnUrFqE5nmNDwsQyeNYp/4bf881828ea26033550b264c73517b45/Kiren_Singh_Headshot_May_2020.jpg)__Kiren Singh__
Identity: Punjabi
Job Title: Risk & Intelligence Specialist, Physical Production
Netflix Office: Los Angeles, California
Role with AEN: AEN Pod Lead, AENgage

*[Patriot Act](https://www.netflix.com/title/80239931 "(Netflix Show) Patriot Act's Netflix Page")* with [Hasan Minhaj](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3653778/ "Hasan Minhaj's International Movie Database Page") has been groundbreaking in many ways, but personally it’s been the first time I’ve felt authentically represented and connected to someone on screen. Not only does Hasan go out of his way to ensure people pronounce his name correctly -- something I’m still working on -- but he also weaves in South Asian culture and nuanced jokes seamlessly, normalizing an internal dichotomy that most have struggled to merge. As a child of immigrants, seeing someone share that story, along with a passion for politics and justice, on such a huge platform has been incredible. It’s helped me become more unapologetic about holding all parts of my identity with equal weight and value, including the pieces of me that took some work to learn to love.

Narratives can either affirm or challenge personal beliefs. Knowing this, and knowing the power of storytelling, it’s our responsibility to ensure we represent one another authentically. We have the power to prove that there are more similarities than differences between us, to highlight the negative repercussions of not doing so, and to impact positive, sustainable change by including diverse perspectives at every level of storytelling. If we want to make the world better, we have to hold ourselves accountable to telling better stories.
 
I think representation on screen, for Asians and beyond, will become more nuanced. More textured. More full. More complex and intricate and confusing. There is beauty in our chaos.

---

As you’ve heard from a few of our Asian leaders at Netflix, we’re constantly trying to expand what it means to represent various identities on screen. We all deserve to have our lives reflected on screen.

In this clip from Netflix’s very own original, *[Never Have I Ever](https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190 "Never Have I Ever's Netflix Page")*, co-creator Mindy Kaling and breakout star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan take us inside the Ganesh Puja episode, explaining the importance and nuances of the Hindu celebration: [YouTube - Mindy Kaling & Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Celebrate Ganesh Puja Episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVYRST0h3Q&t=74s "Never Have I Ever | Mindy Kaling & Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Celebrate Ganesh Puja Episode | Netflix")




Behind the scenes footage from Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, featuring Asian representation on and behind the camera.

Never Have I Ever_Hero Image_103 Unit 00526R

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI): Honoring Asian Representation On Screen

Haruka 1

Some might dismiss them as simple cartoons, but anime’s diverse and fantastical stories, vibrant style, and delicate lines are an artform that has evolved and grown in popularity, variety and sophistication over the last fifty years. From its likely roots in colorful painted lanterns in the early 20th century, to gaining mainstream status in Japan in the 1970s, viewers now have hundreds of anime series and films to choose from all over the world.

Our Creative Technologies team wanted to elevate the technical quality of anime’s visuals, discover what new creative opportunities that would introduce, and learn what it would take to increase anime’s resolution from HD to 4K and introduce the wider color palette of high dynamic range (HDR) to artists’ toolsets. When 4K entered the conversation, most animators in Japan asked for one thing: a bigger piece of paper! But the artists at Japanese animation studio Production I.G. saw the future in digital. A bigger, more colorful collaboration was born – and the resulting short, *Sol Levante*, is now available for streaming on Netflix in 4K Dolby Vision and Atmos!

![Sol Levante 1542057 00 02 20 01 140046](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/Ar9plM2Cm1SqUYdw2Se3e/0d5211dd58134e4832867e3f5a44eafb/Sol_Levante__1542057__00_02_20_01__140046.png)



The Creative Technologies team at Netflix focuses on how we can improve our content creation practices for the long term, and works with various partners on research and development to bring these improvements to real world workflows. Combining high quality and longevity with an authentic experience is a part of our team’s core mission, as is opening up new creative opportunities. Given the rapid adoption of consumer 4K HDR capable devices, it’s easy to imagine that it will be the primary viewing experience in five years. 

Leading the charge is Creative Technology Engineer Haruka Miyagawa, who has worked at Netflix for over four years in our Tokyo office. Haruka was a workflow consultant for many years and joined Netflix from Rhode and Schwarz, an international electronics group whose products are used in numerous anime studios. She originally started at Netflix as a MEP Engineer to support licensed content delivery and then transitioned to Creative Technology as an Imaging Engineer to support Netflix’s original productions. A big focus of Haruka’s work was/is how to bring a better quality picture to Netflix’s users with a more efficient workflow. 

![20200318 0097](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/2kIclUXXjIFCzVVMpKqzX2/59cae05f0fa933109bf95c05c3ceacdb/20200318_0097.JPG)

Akira Saitoh (left) and Haruka Miyagawa (right) working on the 4k project. 

![20200318 0449](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/6LDfcGCXntNmsc2oon2mFN/e264ba81a51ea446c52021aedf239b6b/20200318_0449.JPG)

Supporting Haruka’s project is Kylee Peña, who has been at Netflix for over two years in our Los Angeles office, working as a Program Manager in Creative Technologies. She started in the entertainment industry as an offline editor in unscripted and reality series and then shifted into workflow because she was interested in lots of different content and the associated innovations that could be made for them. Within the Creative Technologies team, she helps facilitate project management and related strategy that intersects all of CTI’s (Creative Technologies and Infrastructure) disciplines. 

As Kylee said in her own words, “*Sol Levante* kicked off roughly the same time I joined Netflix two years ago, and it's been amazing to learn about the history and challenges of hand drawn anime through Haruka’s incredible expertise and her engagement with the local production community. Until this project, nearly all of my workflow experience has been in live action. Meeting the director of *Sol Levante*, Akira-san, and seeing all the steps to get from ideas to an inspirational story gave me a deep appreciation for the art. I love that our globally minded team can enable all kinds of artists to do their very best work by removing technical barriers and making it easier to try new things.” 

__The Future of Anime Production: What’s Next?__

The gorgeous world of *Sol Levante* was a culmination of art, technology, and curiosity. Given all that we’ve learned in this two-year collaboration with Production I.G., we want to start a conversation with animators and creatives about evolving technologies, partner with manufacturers to better support the anime industry, and work with anime studios to apply our findings to their productions. __In order to help the industry better understand 4K, HDR and immersive audio in anime, we’ve released raw materials used in *Sol Levante* for download and experimentation.__ Premium subscribers can also watch Sol Levante on Netflix with any HDR configured device.

As director Akira Saitoh told us, “4K and HDR is like getting wings and an engine to see a new horizon where a new era is rising. We keep challenging ourselves and being innovative for the future.” There have been many challenges for this project, but Akira believes 4K and HDR is the only way for content creators to continue being a top runner of content creation. 

We encourage creatives to push the boundaries of resolution to serve their story. We want to create content in the format that viewers will be consuming it, and we want that content to look great for as long as possible. But we can’t ignore the fact that for anime, the tools and equipment are still not prepared for a 4K workflow without a major overhaul.  

For HDR, the adjustment is much easier because the challenges are simpler to solve. The biggest hurdle that remains across the industry is the lack of affordable HDR monitors. Once they become more plentiful, it’s only a matter of time before HDR is common in anime.

“At the end, who doesn’t want a bigger house?”

This is what animator Hisashi Ezura told us about working in HDR.The analogy made Haruka laugh because the Japanese are well known for living in small apartments and always wanting to have a big house – but it’s a dream. For him, this dream came true for his work. And now that he can achieve things he never thought possible by using HDR, he’ll never go back!

There is more to do and learn, and the Creative Technologies team at Netflix is engaging with software and hardware manufacturers to share these learnings and support the accelerated innovation in the creative ecosystem.







QEYE 3 Studio Unit 01677R2

Bringing 4K and HDR to Anime with Sol Levante

Amir

BecauseSheWatched Headshots 1920x108020200228-6383-c4mqon

Because She Watched: 11 Netflix Leaders on the Impact of Representation 

In my role in employer branding, I talk to a lot of my colleagues to understand their journey to Netflix and their story both inside and outside of work. One thing I began to notice, was that many of my coworkers were thriving at Netflix without a college degree. While some roles within Netflix do require degrees, I thought it was important to highlight those who carved out their own path to success. College is inherently tied to socioeconomic access. My hope and message through this piece is that we begin to look at resumes and backgrounds differently in assessing if someone can be successful in a certain role and that we should be more open-minded. Here are 9 people from Netflix that prove that point, along with anecdotes of their personal experience. 

![College 1](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1YBhX30lWsRX4CQMhTOSMu/e177c8c716ffc09518b476f25a255c8c/College_1.jpeg)

__1. Kimberly Hodgdon, Stock Program Manager - 2.5 years at Netflix__

"I first watched Wolf of Wall Street June of 2014 and I had absolutely no idea what that movie was about. I went to the library to get 7 books (that was the limit) about stocks to try to figure it out. A few days later, I was 3 books deep in a lunchroom when someone walked up to me and asked if I was interested in stocks. Long story short, I was offered an opportunity: if I could pass my series 7 in 30 days, I could work for this brokerage firm as a stockbroker. I spent what little money I had on cases of red bull, stayed awake for a month, and passed the test. I originally became a stockbroker to help me pay for college but at some point, I realized that I was really good at this 'stock thing'. I decided to leave school, go all-in, and it was the best decision I ever made. 

Five short years later, my amazing team and I teach employees around the globe about their equity compensation. I always joke that this is the dream job I never knew I wanted. I actually did end up finishing my bachelor's degree just this June (hooray for getting my weekends back!) but I would never have gotten here if a few people hadn't "taken a chance on me." 

As we look to make our teams more inclusive, consider adding some educationally-diverse individuals to your pool of candidates! Don't think of it as hiring an uneducated individual; think of it as hiring an entrepreneurial-minded individual."

![College 2](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/UqDxmDsKhSTAQ6qkGECIe/3470fc34dd1c13139f7bb1c011a9773b/College_2.png)

__2. Ken Florance, Vice President Content Delivery - 17 years at Netflix__

"I’ve always loved learning, but not necessarily being taught. I need to investigate for myself, to try to understand something holistically. When you have learning traits that are not compatible with the way the system teaches, it can be challenging. 

I dropped out of high school half way through my sophomore year and moved across the country, eventually working in a warehouse at a community college (which I was not attending), where I got to play with my first computer. From there I migrated to the college computer support team, and eventually to an internet infrastructure startup. The common theme of my career has been a longing to learn new things, a passion for the way the internet helps to transcend boundaries of time and space, and the enjoyment of working together with colleagues to solve interesting and challenging problems. Similarly, having now hired many people in my 16 years at Netflix, I find that curiosity, passion and experience are far better indicators of success than education."

![College 3](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/35UuNCATzak7Jt3B54il5h/19c826b0ce8e08821702b90b040283d0/College_3.jpeg)

__3. Chris Saint-Amant, Director of UI Engineering, 7 years at Netflix__

"This is easily a topic I could talk about at length. I've tried to pull a few short thoughts together: 

At Netflix, we generally strive to hire talent with maturity and good judgement. Typically, this means that we look for people who have some years of professional experience that give them a good foundation in refining those skills before coming to Netflix. In my opinion, once you've worked for a few years in an industry, the professional experience is far more relevant than the education you started with. When I'm recruiting for my team, I typically focus on the last 3 or 4 years of experience, and/or the last two jobs. The degree no longer has any relevance once you have that experience. I'm hiring for people who have demonstrated the professional experience and adaptability we need, not for folks who've demonstrated they can pass a series of courses.

When I was initially evaluating what I should do for college, I already had a high level of certainty on where I wanted to start my career. It was a huge turn-off to me that many of the 4 year degrees I looked into didn't go deep into the area of specialization I wanted to learn until sometimes year three. As someone who would have had to borrow almost the entire cost of tuition, it seemed irresponsible and impractical to go into massive debt to make it through a bunch of "general education" requirements. Instead I chose to do a two year associate's degree at a technical college that allowed me to focus most of my time and money on the specialized skills I was looking to develop. 

I benefited from several people early in my career who took chances on me, by identifying potential and connecting me with opportunities. Without those people looking at me as a person, rather than a piece of paper, it would have been much more difficult (or even impossible) to achieve success with the non-traditional route I took. These people were teachers, local small business leaders and bosses/mentors who coached me and connected me to opportunity. This is a clear privilege I benefited from.

Throughout my career, I've been in conversations where leaders are talking about candidates, and praise or denigrate the school that someone went to, and look at it as a significant factor when comparing candidates. As someone who didn't have the full Bachelor's degree, and went to a technical college that no one had ever heard of, it was often painful and embarrassing to hear those discussions, and I didn't have the courage to speak up. Similarly, I would always grimace inside when someone at a work event would casually ask "so, where did you go to school?". It was only much later in my career where I had enough self-confidence that I was able to call out people in the moment, or share my own experience comfortably."

![College 9](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/6ELctQCWyop6F4Pb6WMmhb/b84af5fa7e73309b48f82131201ca30d/College_9.jpeg)

__4. Michelle Duffie, Recruiter - 1 year at Netflix__

"I didn't think I would drop out of college. I truly love learning, and I figured that continuing on in school was the best place to do that. But I was accruing debt that I could not manage, and the stress that caused made my grades suffer, jeopardizing my academic scholarships...which caused more stress. As proud as I was for prioritizing my mental health by leaving school, I felt like a total failure for not completing my degree. I would avoid discussing school when interviewing for jobs, and casually duck out of conversations with colleagues when they would discuss their college experiences. I didn't want people to see me as a quitter, or think I just was not smart. Thankfully I have never seen a negative impact in my career from not having a degree, but I am also very fortunate to have been able to attend college in the first place to decide for myself that it just wasn't for me.

I hope that people who didn't attend college or graduate college know that there isn't anything to be ashamed about, and the lessons you've learned in life are just as valuable as the ones you learn in a classroom. I hope that people who are in positions of leadership and build teams also understand that, too."

![College 4](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/5VXryKH7sNKq7QKK4umWeK/fde89cb17ea28025fc64d1c8948a41f1/College_4.jpeg)

__5. Bryan Cooper, Video Creative - Creative Studio - 4 years at Netflix__

"I'm a self-taught video editor. Getting to where I am today took self motivation, using my time wisely, and saying yes to nearly every opportunity that came my way. I focused on doing what I love and surrounding myself with like-minded friends. We all had a shared goal - to find success in the film industry - and we supported each other. When opportunities came, we'd done the work and were prepared."

![College 5](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/7jQb8lPuEvNRd8DPkFWbOL/b1b8b218e687a86085828b98e79d3aeb/College_5.jpeg)

__6. Rich Smith, Senior UI Engineer - 2 years at Netflix__

"Dropping out of college was emotionally difficult for me, but I believed that I could still succeed as a programmer despite that. Earning a degree is a requirement to be successful in some fields, but as a software engineer, it's a lot more important to prove you can do the work. At the time, I resolved to master the skills required to be a competent UI-focused engineer, because I wanted to be so good, they couldn't turn me down. Ultimately, that bet paid off, since I was able to continually leverage my experience to land better and better opportunities until I wound up at Netflix."

![College 6](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/1f2is6p90dFhbMkTqQNdjy/edb21c83d32a8b56cc66f6ec31a437ef/College_6.jpeg)

__7. Jacek Ambrosiewicz, Marketing Manager Poland, 3 years at Netflix__

"There is this conviction in Poland, that if you want a job, you need to have a diploma. No matter the field. It's because when our parents were entering the jobs market there were not that many jobs, so higher education was a significant advantage. Everybody wanted to send their kids to University. And I was excited about college before I went there, but after a year, I noticed that I'm bored most of my time at the campus. While one or two lectures a week were interesting, the rest of it was pointless from my point of view. I drop out of Informatics at the University of Technology and started the Academy of Physical Education. And while it was much more interesting, I still had the same feeling - that I could learn more by working instead of sitting in a classroom. I dropped out of this as well and started working; first in stores as a salesman and later in agencies. And in my free time, I read a lot of what the internet had to offer including courses, lessons, and blogs.

Just before I started my first 'real' position in an agency - Community Manager - I came back to my first college to collect my papers that were required to sign a contract. I bumped into my old classmates that were defending their thesis to get the diploma. Even though everybody told me to get a degree to have a headstart in the job market, I got the headstart by dropping out. I do believe that a college education is important and that everybody should try it for themselves. At the same time pressure to finish and get the diploma, whatever the costs, is not needed. We are individual beings, and we need and want different things. There is no one solution to being successful. Think, feel, go with your gut, take chances. That's what I did."

![College 7](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/7Jbh6aHgkuswIvdZijw5IL/b84d4b6b4c30118c0074727f9aca114f/College_7.png)

__8. Molly Korman, Rights Analyst, Legal, 2 years at Netflix__

"Someone I grew up with once told me I was going nowhere in life because of the education decisions I made when all of my other friends were in college. I always believed in myself, and with the support of my friends and family, I knew I would eventually be successful. I moved from Minnesota to Los Angeles without a job lined up and as my mom says, dug in my heels, and put myself out there. After months of part time jobs & interviews, I accepted a full-time position at CBS. My boss told me it was my eagerness to learn & persistence that he was most impressed with and not my specific experience in that department. I'm forever grateful to him for giving me a chance which eventually led me here at Netflix where I am proud to share my story.”

![College 8](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/18Ibo6hXNmyYuS0FEV1ebp/f30912791caa5badef855ae24278c828/College_8.png)

__9. Johnny Sanchez, Manager Talent Operations - 1 year at Netflix__

"Growing up, getting my degree was something I aspired to, but could not prioritize. I had to work first, school second. That made it difficult to gain any momentum coming out of high school. After a year in college, a need to work full time put an end to my efforts in obtaining my degree. 

Shortly after, I landed a job in the field that I'm currently in now. After gaining experience and realizing this is what I want to do, I applied the time I had to learning - as much about my field as possible. This informal education was much more targeted, and directly impacted my work. Over the years, I realized that while there is value in a college degree, it does not define you, and definitely does not limit you from being educated in your field. I am proud to work for a company like Netflix that values and understands the importance of diverse experiences and educational paths."

Blog 1

9 People Who Work at Netflix That Didn't Graduate College

Cristina 2

This past week I celebrated my one year anniversary of being at Netflix. It has been an incredible, breathtaking, exciting, humbling, and fast twelve months. Every day I am pushed to learn something new about my colleagues, our incredible global content, and myself - which is thrilling. I find myself reflecting on our Inclusion work here at Netflix, and where we are going. So here are some quick, early-morning-with-coffee thoughts.

1. I have never been in a company where I have never once needed to have the conversation of why we need to think about, or work on, inclusion and diversity. Let me repeat that - NEVER ONCE. The level of engagement here is incredible. Netflix is an amazing company and I am proud to be among my stunning colleagues.

2. Because of the buy-in on Inclusion, and our culture, we get to bring ideas into action and see what works - which is a gift and a tremendous responsibility. We want to get things right, but know that we will sometimes get it wrong. Which brings me to observe the following….

3. I feel passionately about enabling every one of our employees - regardless of their backgrounds, gifts, biases, and privileges - to engage in, and be perfectly imperfect about, the work of Inclusion. Being inclusive is hard. It is uncomfortable. It requires courage and humility, because you will likely find out that you are wrong about something that you believed to be a given.

4. We can’t control everything. We know that the world outside of our walls is difficult and not always accepting of difference. We are working against centuries of marginalization and separation around the world. We are dealing with passionate disagreement about how society should work. No workshop or program alone can address it. We need to change fundamentally how we address difference - scorning it, holding it at arms-length, or ignoring it, just does not work.

5. I want each of our employees to take more steps towards each other, to explore their differences, and to trust that it will be okay (even if we disagree). Action is great and necessary, but only if it serves to move us closer together - just doing something because it sounds cool or fun does not mean it advances the effort. We need to be more curious, and be willing to fail, in order to get closer. We need to be okay with the notion that we are not going to “fix” this in a day - inclusion is really a constant growth opportunity. And we need to be able to step up and be real [allies](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-allyship-means-netflix-executives-vern%25C4%2581-myers/?trackingId=9R3lfvoxTFykuMNk2VVXpA%3D%3D "allies") for each other.

6. I have never been more cognizant of how my life experiences impact my work, and how conscious and conscientious I need to be to create inclusion across the globe. For those who do not know me, I am an almost-fifty years old, US born, Latinx, straight, cisgender, English-speaking, former lawyer, mother of two boys. Well before I started at Netflix, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the gifts of my life experience, where I do and do not have privilege, and also how my experiences shape my approach to the work of inclusion. This job has challenged me and made me open my eyes even wider than before. I am learning new things daily, and now I repeatedly ask myself - are the actions that I am taking going to advance our employees across the globe? Where may I be forcing a US view? To be inclusive, I need to be humble and consider that, while I have a lot of experience in Inclusion, I have much to learn about what it really takes to be an inclusive global company - and so do we all. And while I can visit our offices around the world, I still don’t know all that I need to know to be an effective Inclusion strategist in each of our regions. I need my colleagues. For all of my stunning colleagues across the globe that are reading this - thanks for being such incredible teachers and Inclusion collaborators.

Finally, I love my team, who are so brilliant and keep me sharp and humble. I look forward to seeing what we can do over the next year.

Cristina 1

My Year of Inclusion at Netflix

Richard 2


Everyone knows Stranger Things. You know about Eleven, demogorgons and the Up-Side-Down. But you probably don’t know all the amazing feats it takes to create such a spectacular show. How long before the first scene was shot did people plan for? How much did the story change along the way? How much does a show like that cost to make? As part of Content Engineering at Netflix we deal with exactly this and want to invite you into our world.

__Money Talks__
Follow the money and you’ll find the answers to a lot of questions. If that’s true, we in the Content Finance Engineering team have a lot of answers for you. Our team enables our business for all the planning, spending, and accounting for all-things-content for Netflix. These insights can be anything from: How much should we spend in the next year on International Documentaries? Are we trending to go over our production budget and do I need to step in to keep things on track? How should this new asset (our content) be capitalized so our books are balanced? Regardless of the perspective - we have your answer.

__Scaling The Studio__
Whether you’re talking about managing a production’s finances, rallying legal documents and negotiations together, or streamlining encoding processes to enable post-production in the cloud, and more - we’re approaching them all the same way within our studio in a 1x 2x, 10x framework:

![Richard 3](//images.ctfassets.net/i5wc420v2vd1/2DaPWSd5UpX1veY67zKZzW/c508e22b84c77744157158d61081cd62/Richard_3.png)

__1x: Get manual workflows online into the ecosystem 

2x: Connect systems and workflows to enable scale and realized efficiencies

10x: Centralize intelligence to gain and act on unique insights __



We’re in the early stages of building out this ecosystem, but already we’re paving the road to enable answering missions critical questions with the simplicity of a click. What could the potential of leveraging the 10x-World look like? Could we predict which shows are going over budget before they even start production? What is the optimal spend on content for a given year? What about in a given region? What if location scouts were able to use VR and all previously scouted locations to identify the best places to shoot? What are some 10x opportunities you can imagine?



__Content Finance Engineering__
As we plan for the amazing world of what we can build towards, our Content Finance Engineering team is building the path to get there. We generally focus on planning what our content spend should look like in the coming years, paying for content we’re making, and accounting for the money we’ve spent on content. As part of the engineering team, it's critical to have the business context. Why we’re doing something? How does this impact our stakeholders, the business and the rest of the ecosystem? What is the right solution for this now, and how will it evolve in the future? We work up and down the tech stack, across many aspects of the business.

__Opportunities__
Here are some of the business problems we’re tackling in our space:

Programming a global catalog years ahead of the release date is hard. What is the right combination of data, intuition, and analytics to help create the best slate possible?
Spending both too much and too little money on a production is problematic. Either you went over budget, or you didn’t make the content as great as it could have been. What are the real-time systems we can have in place to ensure our productions are financially healthy. How can we best predict, manage, and coordinate budgets and spending?
Treating talent fairly and paying them on time and accurately is exceptionally important to us. Our systems need to be highly accurate and timely in order to continue having a great working relationship with our amazing talent.
Accounting and capitalizing our spend has to be highly accurate, since these are the numbers we report to Wall Street.


More specifically, here are some of the technical challenges we’re addressing:

Real-time state tracking using eventing.
Efficient scenario planning computing clusters to enable complex forecasting configurations
Data reconciliation frameworks across a heterogeneous tech stack to enable quick and easy reconciliation.
How do we provide sensitive data to our Netflix data lake while taking PII and other sensitive aspects in consideration?


*If real-time state tracking is of interest, come listen to Nitin Sharma’s talk at Kafka Summit 2019 in San Francisco. He’ll be presenting how we’ve leveraged Kafka to approach our messaging problem within our Studio Ecosystem.



__Stunning Colleagues__
Does any of the above sound interesting? Come work with our stunning colleagues [1] who are building the future of Netflix’s Studio. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me or any of the team below - we’d love to chat with you.

__Bonus Scenes__
Some of the systems we build relate to Production Finance and Content Accounting. Here are some great videos to give more color about how that works within the industry and inside Netflix.

[Content Accounting at Netflix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkjG8H3MMJ0)

[Production Finance in 5 Minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cRb4I4NA5I)

[Cost Reports at Netflix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B47gIMjoqSo)

[Trial Balance at Netflix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVz8bdBORNk)

Richard 1

Content Finance Engineering at Netflix

Dave 2

The call from Netflix came out of the blue! For 3 years I had been working as an HR Manager for a television production company that creates scripted, factual, entertainment and reality content. I was not actively looking for another role. I loved what I was doing and the role had a lot of stretch but, being Netflix I was interested to find out more. 

During the call, I was informed of the planned expansion of Netflix’s Production HR team out of the LA office and into the EMEA region. They were looking for individuals that would be able to take their HR expertise and apply it to a studio / production environment for the growing amount of content coming out of the EMEA region. The opportunity to be part of a brand new team in the region was exciting. It was an extensive and informative journey throughout the recruitment process and I was excited to be offered the opportunity to come aboard. 

The EMEA region is huge and to begin with, it was a little daunting. In my first two weeks I undertook six flights for my initial induction with the Production HR team in LA, then I headed out to New York for a talk show project and then to Rome for a film.  It was pretty hectic; there was a lot of exposure and it was information overload. The team, however, were super supportive, gave the best advice and provided space to absorb and reflect when needed. 

The role of Production HR (outside of Hollywood) is new to the Studio/ Production environment. Whilst ‘HR’ in itself is a pretty standard function within any company, Production HR is quite niche in the requirement to understand the unusual environments people are working within, whether it is the writers room, casting office, on stage, on location or in post production. 

As was well publicised, over recent years the entertainment industry was at the centre of allegations regarding sexual harassment and bullying, Netflix has taken a strong stance on this working diligently to try and prevent any such behaviour. Production HR is there to support the length and breadth of the production. As each project kicks off, we spend time with Cast, Directors, Producers,  Heads of Department and Crew preparing them for the production ahead, this includes anti-harassment sessions. The response to the sessions is overwhelmingly positive and encouraging, it sparks great debate and sense of responsibility on our productions with everyone looking out for each other to ensure a respectful and inclusive environment. It's not just the quality of content available on our service that matters, how that content got there is just as important. 

Behind the camera, Production consists of short term contracts and self employed individuals, in many cases these individuals have never had an HR function dedicated purely to production, so the response to our function has been amazing! As well as ensuring respectful environments, there are times when issues can arise and as Production HR, we are there to support and partner with the Heads of Departments and Production Supervisors, in resolving people issues effectively with limited impact on the production, whilst ensuring we are doing the right thing.

Netflix strives for diverse and inclusive production environments and our north star as the Production HR team is to help change the industry. It is exciting to be part of attracting individuals from all backgrounds and experience into the world of creating content. We still have a lot of work to do, many believe the world of film and TV is beyond their reach or that they do not have the right contacts to start a career in the industry. Part of our role as Production HR is working closely with our internal and external Netflix partners to change those perceptions and ensure that anyone, if they have the passion and drive, can make it in a production environment to be part of creating amazing content.   

I am coming up to my first year anniversary at Netflix and on reflection it has been a massive growth opportunity for me, for which I am extremely thankful. The role has taken me all over Europe, to the east and west coasts of the USA and could well take me even further afield as our slates continue to grow globally.  I also love the diversity of the working environments, generally it is a mix of spending time in the Netflix offices and out on production. To provide an example, it is really not unusual for me to be working, perched on a chair in the corner of a studio whilst filming is taking place on one day, to working in a trailer alongside our production teams out on location, the next! That’s the excitement of Production HR, every environment you enter (and every day!) is different. 

The Netflix culture is unique and is not always for everyone, it can take a little time to fully understand it in the day to day. Many company cultures are just words on paper, at Netflix it is a movement, it's alive and evolving through the people. It filters through every part of what we do and the decisions we make and that is a good thing! It ensures everyone is aligned in their approach to our overall aim, to spark joy for our subscribers. 

Dave 1

Lights, Camera... Production HR! 

Verna 1

Verna 2

What Allyship Means to Netflix Executives

Ludovic 1

As I conclude my parental leave and return to work today, I thought I would share my experience with other expecting or aspiring parents.

I truly wish more companies would offer their employees generous parental leave and employees would take advantage of it, especially dads. Yes, we too can and should take parental leave to take care of our family and support our spouse, even if it’s not for a first child.

- - -

Our first son was born in January 2014. Back then I was working at another company, I could take 3 weeks off from my vacation and sick days right after birth. Our family is in France and we had no nearby support, so I was glad to have some time to support my wife and figure out what parenting was. What we didn't know at the time was that spreading my paternity leave would have been more beneficial - the first weeks of a baby are pretty uneventful. The months and years after that not so much...

Fast forward 5 years, somehow we had forgotten how challenging and exhausting raising a child can be and in February 2019 our second son was born. We now had a better idea of what to expect and I could make use of Netflix’s flexible parental leave policy, which is simply “take care of your baby and yourself”.

I first discussed this topic with my manager in September 2018. The plan was to take 4 weeks off right after birth, another 8 weeks in the summer and possibly 4 weeks next year around his first birthday. My wife and I knew the summer time would be important for me to be available as that time around 4-6 months old is challenging, with a lot of developmental milestones and sleep regressions along with a 5 year old in summer camp only for a few weeks.

It all sounds straightforward, right? It’s simply like going on a few long vacations with a lot of heads up. Well not quite, just like at any other fast moving company, a lot of unexpected things happened in 10 months.

- - -

I took 4 weeks off after birth as expected, but a couple months before I was set to be on my second paternity leave break, discussions were initiated to move our team to a different organization within Netflix. The goal was to broaden the scope and impact of our work and serve more teams within the company. While it was a great opportunity for the team, it also meant leaving our “comfort zone”. For the past 5+ years, we had a clear identity and focus in our current organization and this change meant treading into uncharted territory for us. Things moved along quickly and the reorganization happened right before my paternity leave started.

The timing was unfortunate since as a team we had a lot of ideation, navigation and partner communication to do to shape our future appropriately. We had to redefine our identity and charter to reflect our new challenges and scope. And yet I didn’t change my original plans. I did get involved in these team activities to some extent before I left, but as soon as I was on paternity leave I disconnected from work and completely trusted my team to navigate the reorganization.

Independently from this, a few weeks after I started my leave, a long time teammate decided to pursue new challenges and move to another team. My manager had been working with him on his transition and gave me a heads up before I left. The team would be down 2 people (out of 4 working on a specific project) and yet neither he nor my teammates ever pressured me to change my plans. What happened instead was that the team stepped up to spread the load and rebalance priorities and commitments.

I told everyone to not hesitate to contact me if something came up and they needed my help or input. No one ever sent me emails or slack messages that could subtly pull me into regular work. I was the one generally initiating contact in the first couple weeks and was simply told to focus on my paternity leave.

Looking back, taking such a long break was a good forcing function to reap long-term benefits for the team. I worked with my teammates to better share knowledge and ownership of specialized projects I was working on by myself. This helps generate better quality of ideas through shared ownership and collaboration, but is also good to avoid potential burnout in the long run by not having a single expert (a.k.a. single point of failure) in specific areas.

- - -

Now that those 8 weeks have come to an end, I am immensely grateful for the time I got to spend with my family.

I was able to be there when our baby started rolling over, held his head up, crawled backwards (yes it counts, at least he’s going in some direction…), started laughing, babbling, sitting up, “swam” underwater for the first time and so many more things (like sleep regressions…).

I was also there for our 5 year old who just started Kindergarten and could come with him to his first day of school. I could see how he has been such a wonderful big brother and how much he has grown in maturity in just 2 months.

Finally I was there to support my amazing wife who has given me 2 wonderful boys and has been taking care of our family so well for so many years. 

I would have missed a lot of things if I had not had the chance to be on paternity leave and only see them in the early morning, late afternoon and weekends.

- - -

I am so grateful to be part of such an amazing team at Netflix and work for a company that cares about its employees. I will definitely miss being at home with my family, it was a huge privilege to be able to spend so much time with them and see my children grow so much in 2 months. But now I’m re-energized (only slightly sleep deprived) and excited to be back at work and tackle my team’s new set of challenges.

I would love to hear from you about how your parental leave worked out and how your company and team were supportive of it. Feel free to leave some comments or reach out on LinkedIn or Twitter.

And while I have your attention, if you want to be part of an awesome team and entertain the world, my team is hiring! :)

#ParentalLeave #WeAreNetflix

Ludovic 2

My Parental Leave Experience at Netflix

OLIE 1

My name is Ambrogio Ferrario, I am the senior marketing manager for Italy and Greece at Netflix. Simply put I couldn’t be happier with my current job. I consider myself lucky to have had a successful career so far that brought me from entertainment (MTV) to lifestyle products (Nike) and back to entertainment in what I consider the most challenging and rewarding company, where the boundaries of marketing are redefined on a daily basis.

I had a huge expectations on the company and as I went through the lengthy hiring process figuring out that the job was going to be very demanding but extremely satisfying. So much that a title downgrade I had to go through transitioning to Netflix was not a problem

I feel like in my current position I am leveraging my experience bridging together the creative approach I learned marketing entertainment at MTV with the data driven approach I had to have when I was in charge of the growth of Nike.com in Italy and Spain. At Netflix we marry the art and science of marketing and communication, mixing the highest creative freedom with a rigorous and scientific approach to numbers and data. Like the “Basta Netflix” campaign I have worked on where starting from consumers behaviours (analysed through data) we built a creative campaign that took over Milan and Rome.

Transitioning from my past job to Netflix took some time. This was expected as Netflix culture is extremely unique and adapting to it requires dedication, patience and the ability to accept change. What really has proven to be different is the propensity in Netflix to give and receive feedback in a fruitful and unbiased way. Along with the adoption of Netflix culture I had to reacquaint myself with a more hands on approach. At Nike I had a large team to lead spanning 3 countries, which has been a very fulfilling experience but had brought me away from getting deep into developing projects and campaigns. In my current job I oversee the launch strategy of several shows in the market from beginning to the end (targeting and positioning approach, relations with the agencies, implementation and budgeting all the way to the execution phase).

This focus on executing campaigns hasn’t taken away the strategic part of my job as I find myself challenged with big questions and the creative freedom to answer to them.

The freedom aspect is crucial in my experience in Netflix. After working in companies where process was really top down giving me small head space to operate freely, I felt very liberated and effective. This great potential in being proactive and make important decisions is by far the biggest quality I find in this job, so much that regardless of a scale down in my title I feel the scope of my job is way wider.

Personally I am also enjoying my experience in Amsterdam, thriving city, where my family (wife and 2 young kids) and I are flourishing, regardless of Dutch weather that sometimes tests my southern European blood.

I have just passed my second year in Netflix and look forward to the challenges and complex tasks I’ll have to face in the coming future.

Ambrogio 2

2 Years at Netflix

Ariska 2

I have been fortunate to grow up in a metropolitan city like Amsterdam, which has given me beautiful exposure to a melting pot with diverse cultural backgrounds, history and a variety of great cuisines. I am fourth generation Dutch from Indian descent, while my mother was born and raised in Surinam, my father was born and raised in Amsterdam, just like me. My upbringing always gave me a multicultural identity, especially as I had the privilege of travelling the world from a very young age and discovering many countries and cultures, thanks to my parents.

My strong connection with Surinam (a South American country with Indian, African, Creoles, Chinese, Indonesian and Europeans inhabitants) contributed to fostering my awareness for multiculturalism, as it is a racially and culturally diverse nation with a history of diverse immigration. It thrives on the inclusiveness of its various cultures, races and ethnicities in every way.

These experiences made me develop a passion to discover how food, traditions and festivities, music, art and social norms connect people and how they form us as human beings.

When I started my job at Netflix EMEA in Amsterdam in late 2017, one of the things that intrigued me was the representation of so many countries and cultures amongst our teams. It still fascinates me to hear so many different languages, and see our cross-functional and country teams work closely together and embrace each other to keep the Netflix culture while staying true to themselves.

As we continue to grow rapidly in EMEA I’ve seen many new hires joining the business from all over the world which lead me to think how great it would be to have a joint platform for us all to share and discuss our experiences, stories, knowledge and challenges to optimise together.  

With this in mind, we created the Multicultural Employee Resource Group within the Amsterdam office in late 2018, to form a space for our colleagues from different cultures and with different values to feel included and heard. The main value of our ERG is to increase our global IQ, find ways to apply our storytelling and experiences then translate these to recognize both conscious and unconscious biases. I found it important in our fast-paced environment that our personal needs which resonate on the business are covered and reflected back in the actions of our ERG, which found wide acceptance among the team. Within a short time period, we have been able to action visible changes, including providing more diverse meals in collaboration with our Food & Beverage team to meet dietary, cultural and religious needs as well as the establishment of a Meditation/All Faith room in Amsterdam.

Every day I count my blessings to be part of this astonishing company’s culture where I personally truly feel appreciated and being heard.  I am genuinely enjoying working with so many colleagues on these activities and aligning with HR, facilities and the Inclusion & Diversity team and know this is just the beginning of many more great things to come.

Ariska 1

Being Multicultural at Netflix

Yorick

One year ago, when Netflix called and asked if I would accept their offer to work for them, I almost said no. I had never worked in a company in-house and had no desire to. My life as a freelance executive producer was ideal - I was fortunate enough to be called more than I could work, which allowed me the precious luxury to choose my projects. I also had a company for production services and I was making good money.

I was curious to learn more about the opportunity at Netflix, so I decided to interview. The more I interviewed with different people and learned about the opportunity, the more I was excited. First, the idea of managing several shows from low to high budgets was refreshing and exciting, as my career was limited more and more on high budgets for French and International shows and feature films. Second, I met passionate and open people. This was my first time experiencing interviews like this. I quit high school early , at 17, before graduating and I do not have any diplomas, nor the necessary corporate language expected. During the course of my interviews, however, no one ever asked for my diplomas or age - they only cared about my 30+ years of experience.

They were only interested in what we could do together for Netflix. What a challenge! This was of course a risk not only for them, but for me as well - not being sure that I would be able to adapt to an in-house role at a company. For me, it was a triple culture shock - working in-house at a company for the first time, working at a global company, and in particular - working for a global company that has an incredibly unique culture.

Netflix has a very unique culture with very little hierarchy and a lot of cross-functional communication. To be honest, it has not been an easy path these last 9 months and there have been plenty of ups and downs. There were times when I wanted to go back to my previous and comfortable world and then one hour later, I would be excited and want to stay at Netflix for a very long time.

Even with tough times, there has been so much learning. At my age, 30 years into my career, you might pretentiously think you have nothing more to learn, but that was not the case! I am evolving and growing into a very different person than I was before. It’s challenging to feel like you don’t know anything anymore - I used to manage a large group of people and was in charge of making quick decisions. I thought I did not have an ego, but we all have one to some degree. It took time for me to understand how I needed to reorganize my work to fit the needs of this very lively, ever growing ecosystem at Netflix. It meant work more, share more, be less self-conscious, and rely more on the teams.

I pushed myself to listen to others more, make agendas for meetings, share information proactively, and come up with a well-thought out collegial decision. I’ve learned so much and if I were to ever go back to my previous world, I would surely take that with me. What helped to bear the cultural gaps are my great colleagues. After being overwhelmed with all the new information, I decided to take my time and go step by step. I organized my on-boarding in circles from the most useful to the core of my job, to projects, to what would be helpful more long-term. And I am grateful that at Netflix, there is space to fail and time to learn from those failures.

Then, came the joy and rewards. Being a part of great projects that I felt I could bring my share to it. I found a company and people with a profound respect for other human beings. In my opinion, Netflix cares and fights for equality and inclusion to improve work conditions. We are not perfect, but we want to be better and be great partners to the people we work with in the business.

I want to be a part of that. As an individual freelancer, I could do very little for the entertainment community. At Netflix, we have the support of a great company and we can elaborate in the long term. Together we can raise the bar and share great projects; it feels like we have no limit and it will always evolve. The truth of today is not the one of tomorrow, which is hugely exciting. It is often intense, but it keeps everything alive. My biggest win this first year at Netflix is the feeling that I can still work for many years to come. That I am different, not only how I work, but who I am as a person. I am more mindful of others, more candid, and I’ve become more open-minded.

I am a part of something bigger than myself.

What I’ve realized is that, together we are better.

Netflix 1

From Freelance to Netflix: My First Time at a Company

Meriem 2

I’ve been working in the music & entertainment industry for 13 years. I started my career in Montreal and New York and came back to Europe seven years ago. I’m from Paris and I’m now living in Brussels with my family. When Netflix approached me, we discussed a visual communications position dedicated to the French Netflix originals. Meaning, producing, editing, curating photo and video assets for the French title campaigns.

The position was linked to publicity. I’m a former video journalist. However being on the other side, the publicity side, I was unsure. I was not really looking for a new job, but I went with the flow and did all the interviews with curiosity and honesty. I wanted to know more about Netflix, which has been on my dreamboard for a few years. And the more we discussed, the more it grew: yes, I wanted that job! Visual communications is actually a pretty unique role and I had never heard of such a job anywhere else. It is a mix of all the experiences I had, from journalist, to video producer, content creator, editor, asset curator, and being a great communicator. It requires someone with a creative mind, yet organised. A perfect match!

The tricky part was when the topic of relocation came on the table. My husband, my daughter and I have an amazing quality of life in Brussels - a beautiful home, garden, parks around, daycare, easy commute, etc. Life is simple and we chose to make it that way. So I was a bit skeptical regarding the relocation process, especially since Netflix asked me to temporarily move to Amsterdam for a few months, until moving permanently to Paris as we’re opening the French office this summer. The thing is: Amsterdam is really close to Brussels, and my husband and I are fans of this city. Spending spring season in Amsterdam? Why not. We had to make a couple of adjustments in our schedule and Netflix handled everything with a lot of flexibility to match our needs. And the Paris move makes a lot of sense from a personal and business perspective: I’m French, it’s my market, Paris is home, my friends and family are around, my husband works in music and tons of opportunities are in the city. I’m not even worried about the move part as I know it’s going to be handled with care while I can focus on being successful and not pack a thing nor look for an apartment or a daycare as yes, a team is dedicated to this. So…homecoming I guess!

I’ve started three and a half months ago. Life in Amsterdam is as good as I thought it would be. Very peaceful and family friendly. The job is challenging, obviously, because it's Netflix we are talking about. Forget about your comfort zone, forget about anything you experienced before - Netflix doesn't work like any company I’ve worked with. The culture is very strong, yet, it is for the better. It makes you feel welcome, heard, understood. The content I’m working on is amazing -I mean, my next project is The Eddy, the new Damien Chazelle series, hello-. And the French team I joined is simply the best. Like really. We’re killing it. One of the first impressions I had is: I belong. I belong in this multicultural environment. In this multicultural French team. In this multicultural EMEA headquarters. Diversity is a bold choice and it is not an easy one. It’s for the long run. It’s having everyone’s voice in the room. And I was often the only diverse voice in the room. It is now over. I’ve never seen so many talents from so many different backgrounds and from so many countries. And visually, I mean, this makes me smile everyday. People of every color, every shape, every age, every religion, every orientation, every style. And the cherry on the cake. Women. So. Many. Women. More than men. Many of us have a family - one, two, three, four kids! I mean, having my daughter clearly changed the course of my career. So arriving in a company where women are all the way up, in every layer of leadership, well, clearly, my happiness value is at its top level.

Looking back on the last few months it has been intense, but intense in a good way. Our life on paper might be a bit complicated at the moment, but I’ve heard so many stories at the office from other employees that have been also traveling, relocating - that I feel it is pretty common. Netflix requires a lot, yes, but working here is also very rewarding and giving. I would never have imagined a company with so much freedom and flexibility. Being heard and understood as a mother was a priority for me. And Netflix did everything to make my family comfortable. This definitely set me up for success. So now, let me go get it!

Meriem 1

Paris: I'm Coming Home

Luke 1

I’ve suffered from depression on two occasions previously, and it is truly horrible. It saps a lot of what I think makes “me” the person I am, and I isolate myself from things that previously have brought me joy. I’ve had employers in the past who have been great at giving me time off to recover, but the journey beyond that has always been a very individual one.

Late in 2018, I began to recognise some of the tell-tale symptoms that, for me, indicate I might be becoming unwell again. For me, depression takes away my motivation to act; almost immobilising my ability to make decisions which, when I’m well, are simple. Added to that are feelings of insecurity, along with an emotional darkness from which it’s difficult to see a way out.

As I noticed all this, I also felt something that I’d not experienced before; a genuine panic about how my mental health might affect my professional life. Up to the point of my depression returning, I had no doubt that I was doing an amazing job (although my Britishness makes admitting that pretty tough, but that’s another subject). When I knew I was becoming depressed again, I had doubts about how I’d be able to deliver my best work, and also how I’d be perceived.

When I knew I was becoming depressed again, I had doubts about how I’d be able to deliver my best work, and also how I’d be perceived.
It scared me to know that I was entering a phase where my health might preclude me from delivering my best work. That’s not to say that working had anything to do with my own depression; as mentioned previously, I've been unwell before, and I most likely will be again in the future. It’s unfortunately the reality of the situation of living with a mental illness.

At Netflix, my experience was different. Everyone I’ve spoken to has been incredibly supportive and allowed me to figure out what I needed to succeed. Using sports as an analogy (which is not the most natural fit for me, but a comic-book analogy isn’t coming to mind right now), I found that in work, much like in a sports team, sometimes people get injured. And when they do, they don’t carry on playing. They take the time to recover properly, using coaches and healthcare professionals who can assist them on that journey. Even while they are on the mend they aren’t put straight back into the team full-time, they take it slow and build back up to full strength, with the support of team members and coaches.

Being open about mental health is not easy. It’s really, truly hard to do. But for me, being candid and open about my mental health was the right decision. That was entirely my choice, but I’ve found that it has paid dividends in terms of the connections I’ve made, and the kindness that has been shared with me. Turns out, that sports teams want everyone to be their best at their job, but also be in the best possible health.

So here we are. I am starting to feel better. I’m not worried about work, because for the first time in my career I feel like I’m working at a company which not only wants me to succeed, but wants me to feel well and happy while I do it. They have their eyes set on my long term success here.

This blog is about my own experiences of working whilst being unwell, but I hope that it might be helpful to other people who may recognise some of what I’m talking about. 

Luke 2

My Journey With Mental Health

Mariana 2

Best things come when you least expect them. I wasn’t actively searching for a new job opportunity when Netflix came along, but the surprise turned out better than I imagined.

Career shifts aren’t easy. Most of my background has been focused on digital journalism, from writing to editing to social media and people managing. Shaping the voice of a brand wasn’t something I had really done in the past, and I was so excited that Netflix was summoning me to be part of an international editorial team that hopes to make entertainment shareable, relatable and part of people’s daily conversations.

Netflix also knocked on my door when I wasn’t interested in moving away from home. After almost five beautiful years in the US, learning a lot at BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, Univision and CBS Interactive, I was happily back home in Buenos Aires leading TKM, a millennial outlet.

But the challenge Netflix offered me was so compelling that ‘yes’ was the natural answer. I think the most difficult part was changing location, again. Brazil seemed like a close foreigner to me, only a couple of hours away from Argentina but a different language that I am still learning. In the end the moving part didn’t feel like moving at all: I come back to Buenos Aires every other month, I talk everyday with agencies and freelancers down there, and I fly often for business purposes.

Netflix offers a candid, honest feedback environment, the company values high performance, and it seemed the perfect spot for an entrepreneurial spirit, because we are given the opportunity to try out new things, experiment and learn by doing. There’s also free Uber for those like me who hate driving, and the flexibility to manage your own schedule and holidays. The company offers lots of travel, the chance to meet new people and to learn all the time because each team shares learnings publicly. I never seen so much exchange of information, it is eye-opening.

We aren’t given a job description but a challenge to solve, and peers and managers support you. Decisions are all yours. It sounded too good to be true on paper, but it actually works on a daily basis. I could produce this Argentine-specific social viral video about Bandersnatch, we tested editorial assets like this video of several experts talking about harassment in the series You, and I was given the freedom to publish pro-LGBT narratives like this piece posted on the day of pride. Let alone women empowerment pieces like this video. And fun is always there, like asking the Stranger Things cast to learn Argentine slang.

If I weren’t here, I would probably be trying out my own thing. But at Netflix I feel part of a culture that values the same principles that I look up to, and that’s amazing: respect for others, creative freedom and direct feedback that aims at improving your work, no grudges attached. People never tell you “no”, or try to constrain your action in any way, so the feeling that you are being trusted is really empowering.

All in all, joining Netflix in Brazil meant a great opportunity for me to grow, both professionally and personally. I am, of course, facing challenges while getting to know one of the most innovative companies in the world and --- at the same time --- all of this is a chance to reflect back on my own country, my own culture and values. Every month looks like six months in a business that changes so fast, and I am glad I am also evolving with them as we move forward together.

Mariana 1

Venturing Into New Waters at Netflix

Dana

I have quite an interesting career trajectory; spanning television, music, tech, and streaming...and true to my military upbringing, change has presented itself quite consistently. To rewind to the beginning, before joining my current team, I began in the world of television...in front of the camera. In true struggling artist fashion, I did some acting, sang hooks for other struggling artists and freelanced at various entertainment companies in an attempt to find my footing. To say my parents were nervous for me, particularly during my “what do I want to do with my life...oh that!...wait...this!” years, is an understatement. After 5 years of auditioning, landing a few roles and doing my artist thing, I discovered that I had a longing to be creative in other ways and decided to take a peek behind the curtain and really educate myself on the “industry” part of the entertainment industry. 

Again, my career trajectory has been interesting and has not been a ladder by any means. A bifurcated staircase is a more appropriate description - me climbing and turning left, then running back down and going right...but in the end, I reached my destination...NETFLIX. 

I vividly remember walking out of my first on-site interview panel and calling my father in the parking garage...“Dad...this is it. I’m claiming this”. After much preparation, studying the culture memo and interviewing with future cross-functional partners and teammates, I was both sold and smitten. This was my dream company and this community of people understood my background, diverse skill set, goals and work style. I’m continuously thankful that Netflix is that unique company that will look for creatively additive employees and break from the hiring norm and I know the qualities I’ve gathered is what is currently boosting me in my current role in Creative Marketing (Original Films).

Netflix is unlike any other company I’ve worked for and there is an essential on-boarding/adjustment journey on which each and every employee embarks. For me, the transparency and feedback culture wasn’t as much of a shock. For most it is, but I previously worked at Def Jam (Universal Music Group) where both internal and external feedback was a constant. Surprisingly, particularly because of my military upbringing, the biggest culture shock for me was the constant change. Change can always be a bit intimidating and yet the exciting possibility of tapping into unknown talent, learning a new skill set and having global impact made the decision to get comfortable with my anti-comfort zone a no brainer.

Speaking of comfort zones, Netflix is a company stacked with top performers. Literally my first month, I would sit in meetings thinking “what the HELL does that even mean?” on a loop in my brain. You know the GIF of the little blonde girl smiling uncomfortably and looking from side to side...that was me in meetings. Anything anyone said seemed to go completely over my head and that space was very unsettling. Little by little, however, the memos began to make sense, the seemingly millions of acronyms started to connect and before you knew it, I was “aligning”...and right in that moment is when another change occurred.

Knowing our leadership team has good intent and is always going to seek out ways to ensure we are working in styles that will only highlight our strengths & innovation, while being efficient, is something I had to trust. To go into more detail, this change only a few months into the job, was the best thing that could have happened to me - from a creative and internal visibility standpoint.

Within a few months, I went from developing and managing global scale social marketing campaigns to becoming a 360 creative marketer...overseeing the creation of trailers, key art (film posters), developing strategy/positioning AND social campaigns for each of my titles.

To date, some proud moments for me include: co-leading the creative for The Irishman surprise teaser that launched the night of this year’s Academy Awards; witnessing The Kissing Booth [creative marketing lead] and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before [co-lead] birth new, rabid fandoms, launch careers and literally hijack the internet and hearts of many (and their moms...let’s be honest); and seeing Nappily Ever After [creative marketing lead] pierce the zeitgeist and educate broader audiences on the nuances and emotional complexities of self-love vs perfectionism. With each project, I bring my experience in talent & filmmaker relations from Nickelodeon, my work ethic, creativity and grassroots marketing experience from Def Jam and my insight on fandoms from Tumblr. It’s all there and Netflix is making it possible for me to showcase what I’m truly capable of, with leaders who encourage and empower.

A thrilling experience, a collaborative and innovative team, leadership who leads and listens to feedback, curious employees who aren’t afraid to take big bets, recruiters who understand how important it is to see yourself both in the content and in the halls...and for me, an opportunity...that only Netflix could have provided.

Now, I sit here a year and a half in, more smitten than ever. All of the creativity that I was internalizing before now has an outlet...it’s in the trailers, the key art, the strategy and even the copy. It’s in pitch meetings with filmmakers, internal brainstorm sessions, team meetings and calls with creative agencies. It’s everywhere...in the air, all around me...circulating in and out of these air vents and everyone is inhaling.

Facing My Anti-Comfort Zone at Netflix

Screen Shot 2019-03-21 at 5.14.21 PM

As I left Marines Corps boot camp in 2006, many of my fellow Marines knew exactly what they would be doing in support of our nation. Many were infantry, some were administrative, and then there was me. I was slotted as an “Intelligence Marine.” Admittedly, I had no idea what I would be doing after boot camp and combat training. So, I asked around. Surprisingly, no one could offer me any details of what my life would be like for the next five years. When I arrived at my duty station, I quickly learned the responsibility that had been placed on me.

__National Security Agency__

I had heard of the National Security Agency (NSA) in movies and television before I enlisted. But here I was, a young Marine, entering a building with so much history. It is here I would learn skills that I will carry with me for a lifetime. There isn’t much I can elaborate about this time of my life, but I will say the tradecraft I learned here made the life I live today possible. It was also where I had the privilege of having strong Marine leadership that gave me the freedom to forge my own path (I will get back to why this experience is extremely valuable today later in my story).

__The Right Place at the Right Time__

After completing my five years in the Marine Corps, I took a contractor role at the newly formed United States Cyber Command. Again, before my first day at work, I had no idea what I would be doing on a day-to-day basis. All I knew was I was to be called an All-Source Cyber Intelligence Analyst. After learning what my job was, I grew concerned. My job was to know the state of the cyber threat environment and to make assessments and predictions based on my knowledge. In my mind at the time, I was learning a skill reserved for government staff and virtually useless in the private sector. I launched myself into college and cyber courses, fueled by the fear that if I ever lost my government job or had to move, that I would be starting from square one. I could not have been more wrong. It was about this time a new field called Threat Intelligence Analysis became the hottest trend in cybersecurity. There were several companies and self-proclaimed experts sprouting up everywhere. When I looked into what these people were doing, I realized that is exactly my skill set. I had hit the proverbial career lottery.

__Betting on Myself__

I started a small firm with a few friends and we decided to focus on building threat intelligence capabilities for organizations. It was here I learned how fast threat intelligence was changing the way the world thought about cybersecurity. We stood up programs for financial, high-tech, and even Capitol Hill organizations. Although my company only lasted a couple of years, the experience and network I built prepared me for the amazing challenges that lay ahead. I continued to build advanced analytic and intelligence programs at several organizations as a consultant and full-time employee. But there was a place that eluded me and many of my compatriots that come from the military, Silicon Valley.

__Are You Still Watching?__

Attaining the experience and skills that could garner the interest from a company in Silicon Valley is no easy task. When Netflix approached me about building and leading the threat intelligence program, it gave me the validation that I had made really good decisions in my career. Every step in the recruitment process, I said to myself, “Just to get an interview would be an honor” or “to see an offer from Netflix with my name on it, would be life-changing.” I never expected that one day I would find myself doing what I love at one of the most ground-breaking companies the world has ever seen. At this very moment, I am immersed in my new environment, it's culture, and technologies. Netflix seems years ahead of most companies in so many aspects. The level of cultural inclusion here is spellbinding. I feel more celebrated here, as a minority, than I have felt in any other organization. I feel like I have been living in a dream-state over the last few weeks. I can't even begin to explain the technological advancements produced by the company. This is rewarding and also very challenging for me. I feel I am creating something that doesn’t exist anywhere else. This challenge motivates me to a great degree. I am given a level of responsibility similar to what I had during my early days in the Marine Corps, tasked with building this function to protect Netflix and our mission. I anticipate this will be my greatest challenge, but also one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.

From the Marine Corps to Netflix

Screen Shot 2019-03-24 at 9.44.53 PM

Today is my one year anniversary as a member of the Netflix Legal Team in Singapore. I had an interesting journey to Netflix because I didn’t know exactly how or why I joined until much later. For starters, my legal path was a bit unusual for an American lawyer. I attended a small Christian international law school and began my career working at a law firm in Korea. As such, I often asked myself the same three questions: 1) Why did I end up working in Korea? 2) Why did I go to a small Christian law school? 3) Were my decisions part of something bigger? I never knew the answers but I always reminded myself that I made these decisions based on my personal faith and convictions. So I trusted my gut, believed in myself, and worked hard.

While working in Korea for a number of years, I got married, and soon expected a baby. This turning point made me explore new opportunities for my budding family. After a long process of tailoring over 500 resumes -- I garnered 10 interviews, and received three offers. For various reasons, I did not accept any of them. But I did learn a lot from rejection. For example, when I came across Netflix’s amazing culture memo, something prompted me to apply confidently despite fully knowing how competitive Netflix was. I promptly got rejected in the second round. I worked on my resume and tried again. This time, no response. I questioned whether it was because I was an American lawyer working in Korea or because I didn’t attend a renowned ivy league law school. Instead of making excuses, I decided to focus on performing well in Korea. But oddly, I still had faith.

Much later, I surprisingly received a call from a Netflix recruiter. He saw that I had applied before and asked if I would be interested in applying for a position in Singapore. I was fully aware that being contacted out of thousands of candidates was a miracle so I did not take the opportunity for granted. In the road ahead, I researched earnestly about the company, internalized what it would mean to live and breathe the Netflix culture, and practiced countless mock interviews. Day and night, I prepared diligently and meticulously. My goal was simple: to respect each interviewer’s time. After several rounds, I received an offer.

At the time of offer, I was freshly working at one of Korea’s top law firms. In weighing pros and cons, my primary concern as a soon-to-be father was financial. Frankly, law firms paid more than companies. But two subsequent conversations with Netflix changed me. First, my recruiter detailed the relocation package, tax and lifestyle benefits of Singapore, the compensation philosophy, and he framed every detail in a manner that was focused on my family’s well-being rather than just the job, and he meant it. Next, my would-be manager was simply honest. As a previous law firm lawyer, he said if I truly enjoyed being a private practice lawyer then I should not accept the offer. However, if I wanted to experience being part of a culture that would be supportive of my ambitions as both a lawyer and father, he vouched for Netflix. He explained the offer openly, concisely, and respectfully. In the end, it was the culture both individuals exemplified in their words and actions that won me over.

Today, it is very clear to me why I chose to join Netflix. Even after a year, I’m still amazed by the people and culture. Everyone is extremely passionate about doing what is in the best interest of Netflix. All the time. No one is ever slowed down by a web of political hierarchy or obstructed by someone’s personal agenda. Everyone is sailing the same ship and in the same direction. For example, I remember a meeting when one of our leaders openly shared how he strongly disagreed with the informed captain. He opened a debate, farmed for dissent, and invited other perspectives so we could make the best decision possible as a team. In the end, the informed captain still decided against what the leader felt was right. Then, the leader immediately emphasized that now the decision was made, it was in the team’s best interest to wholeheartedly support the informed captain because that’s how we achieve growth at Netflix. I witness this kind of selflessness everyday. You never have to look far to discover a moment of truth or capture a constructive take away. As a result, the environment consistently motivates me to be the best version of myself so that I can contribute back into the ecosystem. The culture is both enriching and humbling.

Recently, I personally asked my manager why he hired me among all the stellar candidates he could have chosen from. In a nutshell, he said he liked that I would contribute to the team’s diversity (Korea), he respected that I went against the grain for something I believed in (law school), and lastly, he had strong confidence that I would be a stunning colleague. I walked away from the conversation completely shaken because I could finally answer the three questions I asked myself over the past decade: (1) Why did I end up working in Korea? (2) Why did I go to a small Christian law school? (3) Were my decisions part of something bigger? Looking back, the most difficult decisions I made in my life were the decisions Netflix respected most. Ultimately, my choosing of diversity, and going against the grain, sparked the privilege to work with stunning people. This is how I found myself at Netflix. #WeareNetflix

Screen Shot 2019-03-24 at 9.42.18 PM

How I Found Myself at Netflix

Screen Shot 2019-03-24 at 9.46.27 PM

I was hired by Netflix nearly a year ago to develop a training program for attorneys with little or no experience in the business. The program, now known as the __Production Legal Lab__, was devised for the purpose of addressing a dilemma that arose as Netflix continued to scale its in-house productions. This is the story of how that adventure began and where it stands today.

__The Dilemma__

From a hiring standpoint, it's almost impossible to find attorneys with experience and skills that precisely correspond to the job in question. This is especially true for production legal work, wherein the attorneys preside over the sensitive and often complex engagement of services and procurement of rights from creative professionals such as actors, writers, directors and producers. Here’s why:

1. The competition among employers to find and hire seasoned attorneys to do this work is fierce.
2. The proprietary nature of feature film and episodic series production and the associated fast pace, high stakes, confidentialities and risks are such that few employers offer entry-level attorney positions; for this reason it’s difficult to find and hire even junior attorneys with applicable experience.
3. While studios share the same mission of producing and distributing filmed content, they each have their own culture; they in addition adhere to differing policies and procedures, and further organize their business and legal affairs responsibilities, workflow and teams in different ways. Over time, production attorneys can become quite bespoke to a particular studio as a result.

And herein lies the dilemma that arises from the foregoing dynamic.


1. There's more work to be done than there are qualified people to do it.
2. There are brilliant attorneys out there who are passionately interested in this work, and who could excel at it if given a chance and the proper instruction and mentorship.
3. However intelligent and experienced they may be, a small and exclusive pool of professionals with uniform attributes are disadvantaged in terms of fostering innovation in the workplace and the industry because there's insufficient diversity of personal and professional experience, intellect and resources among them. Diversity and inclusion in the form of fresh eyes brought to bear on the modus operandi bring new ideas and vantage points to the fore; free of ingrained long-standing industry customs and routine workflows, they're more likely to ask "why" or “why not,” and challenge leaders to rethink how things are done.

This dilemma is what ultimately inspired Netflix to create the __Production Legal Lab__: a learning and development program wherein talented and motivated attorneys with little or no experience in entertainment law may be hired on a full-time basis and trained to hold their own as production attorneys at Netflix. But how to go about it?

Contracts associated with the production of a film or series impact dozens if not hundreds of professionals working together on the same project; a motion picture and/or television production is nothing if not a team effort. In order for a production attorney to make a meaningful contribution to the team, it’s important that he/she develop an understanding of the contributions of other professionals to the production in question: who does what, when in the production cycle do they do it, and what are the expectations of these professionals with respect to the attorney’s contribution to the production. 

To this point, the development of the Production Legal Lab first required a deep dive into how feature length and episodic productions evolve at Netflix, from start to finish, for the purpose of establishing detailed learning objectives for the training program. It was during this early phase of the program’s development that I was hired and first experienced the shock and awe of what it’s like to work at Netflix.

Netflix, I learned, does things *differently*. There were many times I encountered an internal business or legal policy, procedure or principle and thought to myself: “that’s wrong, that’s crazy, you just can’t do that.” On a good day, I’d succeed in holding my tongue, reserving my judgment, and leaving my preconceived notions of the production process at the door. On a bad day, I’d test the patience and goodwill of my colleagues.

As I endeavored to understand the reasoning behind these differences, it helped me to keep firmly in mind that Netflix is primarily in the relatively new business of [Subscription Video On Demand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_on_demand#Subscription_models) (SVOD), which entails an array of concerns that are vastly different from those of the theatrical studios and television production companies I’d served over the years. More significantly, it helped me in gathering my bearings to keep in mind that Netflix was the first organization to commit to the SVOD space *at this scale* and so it was left largely to them—working together with the industry’s other key stakeholders (e.g., creative partners, artist representatives, other studios operating as production and licensing partners)—to innovate and hammer out the landscape and the blueprint for a working business model. But the biggest distinction for me, and the most exciting and meaningful one for me personally, was that Netflix isn’t limited to curating stories and nurturing motion picture productions in the English language for an American audience. They’re passionate about discovering stories and showcasing artistic endeavors from *motion picture artists around the world, in their original languages*. It helped me to keep in mind that this initiative in particular brings with it a host of international business and legal considerations that naturally departed from my more limited experience. The overarching lesson I learned in my first few weeks at Netflix was that outsiders and new employees can’t possibly *intuit* the reasoning behind everything that this company does; this understanding and acclimation requires the application of *curiosity, communication, tenacity and time*.

Another challenging aspect of my introduction to the company was that it’s a highly innovative, collaborative and meeting-intensive work environment that values people over process and constantly pivots to improve. This made it very challenging for me to gather a notion of who is responsible for what with respect to the process of development and production. In the end, curiosity, communication, tenacity and time prevailed, and over 90 seasoned film and series professionals at Netflix stepped up to devote their time as Production Legal Lab instructors in their various areas of production related expertise. Poet William Butler Yeats once remarked that “education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” The generosity and care with which these subject matter experts stoked the passion of the brilliant attorneys hired to participate in the inaugural edition of the Lab has been and remains touching to me on a deeply personal level that words fail to describe. What I found is that the people at Netflix are extremely passionate about what they do, they’re proud of what they’ve built, and they’re excited to share what they’ve learned and done with those folks who elect to join the company’s ranks. They truly live and breathe the company’s culture.

__What’s Next?__

For the inaugural edition of the Lab, Netflix identified and hired a diverse group of 5 exceptional attorneys with varying types and degrees of experience. Some were seasoned transactional practitioners, others were accomplished litigators, but all had achieved 3-6 years of solid legal work, and most joined the company from large firms or renowned boutiques. They’ve completed their formal training sessions, and are rotating through several business and legal affairs teams to apply what they’ve learned and obtain further knowledge and skills through mentorship and hands-on work experience. In the meantime, everyone participating in the design of the Lab is busily incorporating enhancements to improve the program for the next incoming “class.”

As for me, I feel enormously fulfilled in continuing to listen, learn and apply what’s needed to assist Netflix in equipping the Lab’s participants to succeed in this exciting new chapter of their careers.

*Applications are now open for the 2nd edition of the Netflix Production Legal Lab; see [link](https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/869005).

Screen Shot 2019-03-24 at 9.23.18 PM

The Netflix Production Legal Lab: Cultivating Business & Legal Affairs Expertise

Erica Kram

When I started working at Netflix nearly four years ago, I felt all the emotions you would expect to feel starting a new job: excited, nervous, optimistic. During the interview process, I heard so much about the culture but had no idea what to expect. Months after settling into my role on the Content Operations team, I thought I had a good understanding of what the ‘Freedom & Responsibility’ culture meant. I found that I was trusted to do my job without being micromanaged, I was able to set my own schedule based on the work that needed to be done, and I had a strong relationship with my manager in which I could give and receive open and honest feedback. I had seen it for myself -- working for Netflix really does live up to the reputation in all the ways I had hoped for.

However, it took a while until I was able to find my way around this unique work environment with seemingly no limitations on what you’re able to pursue and accomplish. For the most part, I had my day-to-day role down, as much as one would expect in the first few months, but I wanted to do more -- I just didn’t know how to go after it. I was surrounded by so many talented people and everyone was moving a mile a minute. Netflix is different. If you want to be a part of something, you are encouraged… to just go for it. You don’t have to jump through hoops to get things moving and it’s because of the culture that exists that I was able to do so with my foray into the world of Accessibility.

It was just a few months into my time here at Netflix when I had heard hallway conversations about an initiative my colleagues were working on, something called Audio Description. I had never actually heard of Audio Description until that day. For those that don’t know, Audio Description -- or AD (and sometimes referred to as Descriptive Audio or Video Description), is an optional narration track that describes what is happening on screen, including physical actions, facial expressions, costumes, settings, scene changes and more. The track is primarily used by the blind and visually-impaired audience to help them better understand and connect to a story by filling in the missing pieces that a sighted viewer would otherwise understand through the visualizations on screen. If you’re curious, try it out for yourself. Within the Netflix service, select the ‘Audio Description’ option in the Subtitles & More section on your device.

By April 2015, my colleagues had spent the better part of a year preparing to release a catalogue of about 100 titles with Audio Description for the first time -- and by the time I had heard what they were working on, they were just a few weeks out from the big launch. The enthusiasm and anticipation from the team was infectious.

However, just as the excitement was building, we had launched the first season of Marvel’s *Daredevil*, a story about a blind superhero, *without* AD. As you would expect, the public response wasn’t great. After understanding and acknowledging the impact of the mistake, the team quickly made AD for the series available on Netflix and it became the first Netflix Original with AD. In the weeks following, our team released AD for several more titles as the tracks were completed or delivered by our studio partners.

Not making the *Daredevil* launch was a miss for us, but it was the way in which my colleagues came together in response to the public feedback that inspired me. There were honest conversations and quick solutions. If anything had exemplified the Netflix culture to me thus far, it was this. But more importantly, this event made me realize how impactful AD was to those who used it. For many who are blind or visually-impaired, having access to AD means having the opportunity to participate in conversations about their favorite TV series or movies and sharing in the same joy and excitement that comes with watching something great. The fact that we were starting to produce all these wonderful, global, culturally-relevant stories across age, race, religion, culture, geographic background, and language, but that not everyone could enjoy them equally was disheartening. Fortunately, there was something we could do about it -- and that meant working to make our content accessible for all. This was a monumental realization for me and in that moment, changed my path at Netflix.

After all this, the prospect and excitement of getting to work on something so meaningful had my attention. At the time, my manager was incredibly supportive when I told him I wanted to join these efforts. I jumped in where I could and started reaching out to our studio partners and others to try and find AD wherever it existed for content that we were already licensing. In some cases, AD is made available during TV broadcasts and theatrical releases. It was my goal to bring as much of that AD to Netflix as I could. What started as a one-time project three and a half years ago has turned in to so much more. Since then, a few others with the same dedication to making content accessible, have formed a small, but mighty, Accessibility team here at Netflix. We have made it our priority to help find AD for our licensed content and to ensure that our Scripted Originals launch with AD. We’ve since positioned ourselves as a go-to resource for all things Accessibility within our team and across the company, and that’s all because we are given the freedom and trust to pursue our passions within Netflix. We all have our day jobs -- but we’re on a mission to make sure our amazing stories reach all audiences. We meet regularly to share news, updates, the projects we’re working on, and my favorite part -- pie-in-the-sky ideas for what’s possible in the future.

Since the Daredevil days, we’ve come quite a long way. What started with AD for one series has expanded to over 7,500 hours of Audio Description available on Netflix. And just as exciting, we now have AD available in 28 languages around the world. In 2017, the American Foundation for the Blind honored Netflix with the Helen Keller Achievement Award for our efforts in Accessibility.

I’m proud of the progress that has been made since I joined the effort in 2015, but I know we have so much further to go. In the next year, we will continue to move forward and try new things. We’re experimenting with new technologies that would allow us to provide AD across a greater number of titles. We’re also exploring creating AD in multiple languages across the same title, which is a challenging and exciting endeavor. And, most thrilling for me because I work in this area of content, we’re expanding our offering to add AD for our Unscripted series as well. Coming soon, you’ll start to see AD for some of our favorite shows like *Queer Eye* and *Nailed It!*, among others.

The work that I do with Audio Description and Accessibility is not my direct role at Netflix, nor was it work assigned to me by someone else, it’s just something I do because I love it. But the amazing part is, I am not special or unique in this regard. Everyone at Netflix is given the opportunity to work on things that mean something to them -- and I see it everywhere. It’s inspiring, it’s contagious, and it’s how we get great things get done.



audio description

My Journey into Audio Description At Netflix

Screen Shot 2019-03-24 at 9.46.59 PM

Go to any cocktail party and you are inevitably going to be asked what you do. However, as a publicist, I find I’m often asked this follow-up: “Yes, but what do you *do*?” It’s a question that could easily devolve into an existential crisis (Is my job really just haggling over glam budgets?!) if not for the frequency of the inquiry and the opportunity to dispel common myths about PR (broadly) and more specifically about PR at Netflix. Myths like thinking PR is the same as marketing, that publicists control what journalists write, or more recently since joining Netflix, that being on the PR team is akin to signing up for the Hunger Games. Spoiler alert… it’s not. From a macro level, the opportunity with publicity is to to create impact and connections through strong storytelling; publicity at Netflix is a challenge to turn that connection into joy. But before I dig further into the utility of PR, a bit of background on how I got to where I am today. It took me some time to realize the true impact of publicity — and the ability to transform moments of recognition to moments of joy

I left college with a degree in saxophone and music education, with a clear path to becoming a band director, so there was absolutely no thought given to the whole publicist versus marketer debate. That would come later after I survived a year of student teaching with a profoundly deeper appreciation for educators, but only to realize I didn’t care much for kids. I quickly needed to come up with a new plan and thankfully had a good friend who evaluated my strengths and love of content (films, TV, comic books, video games, etc) and pointed me to entertainment publicity. It takes a certain amount of grit and patience to get a foot in the door for most jobs, especially when you’re trying to get into PR without a communications background or the ability to claim course credit for an internship. Nevertheless, months of LinkedIn networking yielded my first PR internship and a first taste at creating impact through publicity.

I was fortunate to work at an agency early on in my career. Agency work forces you to be nimble, typically allows for more diversity in the work and the opportunity to punch above your title. Admittedly, a big priority in agency work is pleasing the client and that isn’t always aligned with the broader campaign goals. The way that I think about impact and success in public relations has evolved as I have changed companies and gained experience from working on an array of projects… everything from a Holiday Fire DVD and a reality series featuring Sheriff Joe Arpaio to YouTube originals, syndicated daytime series and Emmy-Award winners “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Queer Eye.”

The publicity team at Netflix spends a lot of time thinking about impact. We don’t quantify it in terms of counting coverage breaks or dubious impressions. Instead we ask ourselves how can we create consumer joy and get fans to organically buzz about our content. That work is done in collaboration with our cross-functional partners in marketing, social and product who all take an “earn before you buy” approach. It’s one of our core values - engage fans organically and creatively and you’re far more likely to earn their time than by serving them ads. We look at impact also in terms of the share of voice and the quality and depth of the coverage. For me, success is a single, well-placed feature that tells the full story versus a dozen outlets that simply regurgitate lines from a press release (we actually don’t do many traditional press releases for this very reason). 

So, what does it look like to “create a moment of joy?” I joined the Netflix publicity team in December 2017 and jumped onto “Queer Eye” almost immediately. We knew we had something special, but it was tough getting press to pay attention prior to launch. A couple of weeks post-debut, it was clear fans couldn’t get enough of the new Fab Five in looking at social engagement alone. We immediately began thinking about ways to fuel that fire and pulled our resources to create a [Netflix Nerds Makeover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BiK0rNpFxg) asset. It gave fans more Fab Five and also generated dozens of headlines, broadening the show’s reach and helping to further build audience. We intentionally did a fast follow for the series’ second season to launch in June for LGBT Pride Month and decided to recreate the show’s opening theme song with pop artist Betty Who. The surprise drop of the remixed song and accompanying [music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VgOGzBcMIg) gave us a massive boost going into our premiere. Also, fan response to the first season showed us that there was an appetite well beyond the available eight episodes. So we brought the Fab Five to the town of Yass, Australia to offer a [makeover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM2zD5FtrkQ) of a hard-working local farmer. Again, we were able to deliver a moment of joy to fans and give them something to buzz about that likely could not have been achieved through paid media alone. Not every creative swing will be a home run, but the goal here is to learn from each hit and miss to improve our average.

There are exciting challenges ahead for Netflix as a global company and for publicity as a discipline. Thankfully, I’ve had the benefit of working with some of the most strategic and creative minds in entertainment through agency life and now in-house. Netflix can absolutely be a challenging place to work given the size of our mission (entertaining the globe) and the extraordinary culture which requires you to be highly capable, collaborative and a creative thinker. It’s not the Hunger Games -- we are a team and in my 11 months on the job, I’ve felt the support of the folks around me every step of the way as we work towards our common goals. 

So that is what I do! Whether it’s at a cocktail party or here on LinkedIn, I want to hear what impact looks like for you.

publicity

Publicity & Impact at Netflix

Aaron Blohowiak

*This doc captures my current-point-in-time approach to [hiring](https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/866321) for the [Demand Engineering](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-demand-engineering-aaron-blohowiak/) team at Netflix. Every team at Netflix does it a bit different because we value localized decision making. As hiring manager, I am the [Informed Captain](https://jobs.netflix.com/culture) for how and who we chose to hire for the team.*

[What we do](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-demand-engineering-aaron-blohowiak/) is quite niche. Frequently, people ask: "How the heck do you hire for that?" This post describes some of our thinking and the process we have developed for technical evaluation. I hope to encourage a conversation around interviewing and if it leads to a few people [applying](https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/866321), well, that'd be great too. ;)

__What we're looking for.__

In terms of technical skill, we're looking for people who can write code, have an interest in reliability and efficiency, and experience with [distributed systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_computing). The last one is negotiable if they have deep experience in some other *complex* niche like DSP, kernel hacking, etc. We are on an on-call rotation so you have to be cool with that, too. Beyond that, we're pretty open.

__What we're *not* looking for.__

While the current team is made of amazing individuals I would fight to keep, we explicitly __do not__ want to hire more people that are just like any of the current members. Each *viewpoint* sheds some light on the space of possibilities and by adding different viewpoints we can attain a more full picture. Without a variety of *ideals*, teams tend to pathologically focus in what they optimize for. Diversity of thought helps us make better decisions.

__Repeatability__

In tension with this desire for variety is the desire for repeatability. Repeatability in evaluation helps [counteract bias](https://hbr.org/2016/04/how-to-take-the-bias-out-of-interviews) that might lead to either false positives and false negatives. Repeatability also helps streamline the process, which is economic and de-stresses the team. Finally, repeatability helps us to be deliberate in changing our hiring process if it isn't giving us the results we want.

__Depersonalized Technical Evaluation__

The only programming part of the interview is a homework assignment, between the non-technical phone screens and the on-site.

We have a homework problem because work-sample is the [best predictor of job performance](https://hbr.org/2016/04/how-to-take-the-bias-out-of-interviews). We don't write code on whiteboards, and don't expect candidates to. We don't use any special programming take-home software. We let the candidate do it at home with full access to the internet so they are in the coding environment they're comfortable with. The whole point of this is to have an experience that mirrors "real-life" programming.

We consider the homework a mutual investment. It takes between 2 to 4 hours total for two independent reviewers to evaluate the submission, and we *suggest* that the candidate should spend about this much time authoring their submission. *"If you pass the homework, we bring you onsite."*

Two calibrated reviewers independently score the code against a [rubric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)). Due to our rubric and calibration process, we have high [inter-rater reliability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter-rater_reliability), which is important for establishing fair and consistent scoring. To ensure that we have the right background to correctly score the homework, we ask the candidate to use a mainstream programming language.

We expect you to learn what you need to in order to get the job done well, so the problem is easily googled. We describe it in a couple sentences with the main "gotcha" pointed out. We aren't testing for the ability to solve previously-open problems on-the-fly. We are seeing if you can look up a solution, pick the one you think makes the most sense and then code it up. The solution strategy is a factor in, but not a determinant of, success.

Part of working together is establishing expectations. So, we provide evaluation criteria: *"In addition to correctness, we're looking for a sense of craft and elegance in the implementation. You’re welcome to use any mainstream programming language. Give us enough documentation so we know how to run the program."* We further provide candidates with the areas of evaluation and their respective point values.

__On-Site Technical Evaluation__
After programming in the small, we want to explore coding in the large and have a 45-minute session during the on-site interview devoted to an architectural problem. *How would you design a system to implement this feature of Netflix?* All of the interviewers in rotation for this segment ask the same question and have been cross-calibrated.

The question unfolds in complexity and detail and the evaluation is around how the candidate approaches the problem, the kinds of questions they ask and the kinds of solutions they propose and how they respond to refinement of the problem. If the candidate falters, we provide scaffolding where needed to allow the candidate to progress so a single "hang-up" doesn't derail the whole interview.

The other technical evaluation session in the on-site interview revolves around the intersection of technology and The Culture Memo. From our pre-interview email: *"Since our work involves being deep domain experts that serve a wide variety of service owners, we often find ourselves in a position to teach them about how our system works and why it works the way it does. Please prepare a brief ~10 minute talk on a technical topic to present in the second technical interview. You don't need to have slides or materials (though feel free if they'd help you,) just be prepared to teach us something technically interesting. Also come prepared to discuss some of your technical missteps (don't hold back here -- I have brought down Netflix more than once...) and also your greatest technical achievements."*

Telling people what we will chat about in each on-site session helps them prepare and feel more at-ease. As we ask some historical questions, it also gives them time to come up with examples. We don't try to trip people up, quiz them on language arcana or expect any kind of algorithmic cramming. We try to set people up for success in the evaluation, just like we do day-to-day.

__Conclusion__
Through this collection of practices, we are trying to build the best *team* possible. Our process isn't perfect -- we've likely had false negatives -- but we are continuing to learn and improve as time goes on. What do you think? Also, if you or anyone you know find this kind of approach to people and hiring interesting, [we still have open roles](https://jobs.netflix.com/jobs/866321).

__Acknowledgement__
This process for evaluation has evolved over time and is the product of many great colleagues here at Netflix. One person sticks out as taking us to the next level. I would particularly like to give credit to [Lorin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lhochstein/) who took our initial conversations around creating a rubric and made it a reality. Thanks Lorin, you make us better!



Paris 5

Interviewing for Demand Engineering at Netflix

Adriane McFetridge

On March 8th we will celebrate the 108th International Women’s Day. As I reflect on how far we have come on this journey to gender equality, I am heartened by the progress made by our mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers to build the foundation of a world where women are able to be the best they can be. As I look toward the future and the world my daughter will inherit, I realize there is more to do.

About ten years ago I read an article stating that women will never truly break the glass ceiling if they don’t start helping each other. The article explained that women don’t help each other in the same way men do. You see, there was no “good ol’boy” network for women. I remember thinking how disastrous it was that there was truth in the statement! As I thought about my own career at the time, I realized my male colleagues were the ones who had helped in my career and not the females. In fact, I could not think of a single woman leader who I considered my mentor or coach. As I sat there and continued thinking for a longer time I realized I had two choices - do nothing and keep the “status quo” hoping it would change or I could do something to make it change.

Our mothers and grandmothers had fought for and won us our rights and the legal protection of those rights with landmark legislation such as Equal Pay Act (1963), Title IX (1972), and the grandmama of women’s rights legislation, the 19th Amendment (1920). Yet there I sat in my chair reading how it was not enough. I realized it takes more than laws to affect lasting change. You have to change the hearts and minds - a far more difficult challenge.

While I am not a politician, policy maker, or judge whose decisions can impact hundreds of thousands of women, I am a senior woman leader in an industry dominated by men. If I can change the heart and mind of a single woman or man and get us one step closer toward lasting change of gender equality, I will. My personal mission is to mentor and coach the next generation of women. I will give them the benefit of my experience so they don’t have to repeat the same mistakes. I will champion them with my bosses so they can move higher and farther than I have. The glass ceiling will shatter because of the hundreds of thousands of cracks being made by women pushing harder and moving higher.

But, how do we accomplish it?

To be completely candid, while it is one thing to make such declarations, it is entirely different to actually do it and I had no idea how to actually do it. It is not like you can walk up to the next female engineer you see and say, “Hey, I want to mentor you” but actually, that is just about what happened. Fortunately for me, the company I was at had just started a "women in tech" affinity group and one of the areas of focus was mentoring. I began my journey and volunteered my experience, strength and support to these aspiring leaders by becoming a mentor. Each time a woman reached out to me to for guidance or support, I said yes. I joined groups whose purpose was to help women find women who would coach and mentor. I have had the great fortune to mentor dozens of women over the past 10 years

Most recently, I joined Netflix, where I lead a team of highly talented engineers. All employees at Netflix are encouraged to challenge the status quo but to do so respectfully and inclusively - no brilliant jerks allowed. It is the candor, openness and the notion that we can always get better that gives me hope that we will reach the aspiration of gender equality. I have found that this very culture that attracts a diverse group of talented engineers also fosters the opportunity for senior leaders to help mentor and coach new female technology leaders. As I continue my journey here at Netflix, I am surrounded by highly talented, accomplished and inspiring women who travel with me on a similar journey. My fellow women leaders at Netflix have been a great source of inspiration, guidance and energy as we each in our way strive to bring us all closer toward a time when gender equality is the reality and not the aspiration. 

On March 8th we will celebrate the 108th International Women’s Day. I am grateful to the inspiring and strong women who came before me and I am even more committed today to do what I can to keep moving us forward. I encourage you to start you own journey or join someone else on her journey. Every woman, every step, every crack in the ceiling gets us farther down the path. Let us all build on the great strides made by those before us and give to our daughters and granddaughters a better and equal world.

netflix gender equality

On the Journey to Gender Equality

Amiri Author Photo

As I am approaching one year working in recruitment at Netflix, I reflected on the progression of my career and wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with those who may be looking to make a career transition. One piece of advice I would give is that it is never too late to make a change and do something you love.

While at The University of Massachusetts Amherst, I was recruited to be a corps member for Teach For America, where I taught on a Native Hawaiian Homestead for two years. Following my experience as a Corps Member, I built a career around nonprofit fundraising working at a small arts organization, Free Arts, and then The Los Angeles LGBT Center; the world’s largest provider of programs and services for the LGBTQ community. It felt amazing to wake up every day and have purpose – to know that the efforts of today would help people in need tomorrow. I was paycheck-to-paycheck, but the impact we were making in our communities made up for that.

At the Los Angeles LGBT Center, I spearheaded corporate fundraising, sponsorships, and community engagement. I had the privilege to peer into the workplace culture of more than 150 companies and organizations including HBO, Snapchat, Buzzfeed, and most importantly, Netflix. The first thing I noticed about the employees at Netflix that I partnered with were how amazing they were. Every promise made was fulfilled, every goal was surpassed, and everyone there was humble and happy. Pieces of this existed at other companies, but Netflix was the only place that had the complete circle and that left a positive impression on me. I knew if I ever left nonprofit, Netflix would be my first choice.

For over a year, I continued to work with Netflix on various philanthropic initiatives. Whether it was supply drives for our youth experiencing homelessness or staff members participating in AIDS/LifeCycle, it was always inspiring to see how passionate employees at Netflix were to help. Once I came across their culture deck on LinkedIn, however, it solidified my desire to make a career change and join their team. Netflix was the only company I worked with that truly empowered and believed in the abilities of their employees – where people woke up more motivated to work there than the nonprofit sector. They encourage employees to speak their opinion, even if it is not the most popular of opinions. Their job was not to make their managers happy, but to better advance Netflix and the company’s success. Everyone was in the same boat together and working for the same goal – to make Netflix an incredible product with amazing content featuring diverse stories and characters that resonated with people. This was a mission I could get behind.

Once I knew Netflix was the company for me, I needed to figure out where my experiences and passions would be a fit within the company. I set up informal coffee meetings with a variety of my contacts at Netflix and ultimately every conversation came down to recruiting, since the skill sets of fundraising are aligned. My interview experience at Netflix was exceptional; the logistics were flawless and the passion each person contained was both authentic and contagious.

When I received the call from Netflix to let me know I was being offered a position, I was both elated and terrified at the same time. Leaving my career of nonprofit fundraising to start something entirely new was a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take. The first month was especially challenging because of a variety of adaptations I had to make including learning new types of technology, starting a career in recruitment with no prior experience, and going from a non profit to corporate setting. I remember feeling nervous my first week that I was in over my head, but slowly I became more confident and happier with the work I was producing. As I reflect one year later, I am so grateful I took that chance because Netflix has changed my life for the better. I work with stunning colleagues that build and inspire me to be the best I can be every single day and I am being paid top of market to expand teams on a global scale to continue Netflix’s amazing storytelling.

Some people were surprised by my career shift, but I feel confident about my decision. I think of our documentary *13th*  by film-maker Ava DuVernay and how it is getting people to discuss race and racism in our country. I think of our *She Rules* campaign, highlighting strong female characters from our originals. I think of the incredible content centered on LGBTQ stories that provides validation and representation of diverse voices in my community – voices that become accessible to nearly 100 million people around the world. We may not be directly saving lives, but we are impacting society for the better and that makes me motivated to do my job with dignity every single day. I couldn’t get that anywhere else.

Netflix Journey

From Nonprofit to Netflix: My Journey into Entertainment

Tennyson W Jones

I was not out to my colleagues when I joined Netflix in January 2015. In fact, I was not out to anyone.

Sexual orientation has been a little bit... *complicated* for me since the 4th grade. A boy and a girl were dared to kiss at school and as I stood there spectating, it was then that 9 year old Tennyson caught himself interested in both parties… “Uh oh,” I thought to myself.

Fast forwarding through my childhood I never quite understood how to identify. Honestly, it wasn’t until around the time of my college graduation that things like “bisexuality” and “sexuality being a spectrum” started to find their way into mainstream culture. Therefore, when joining Netflix, my identity wasn’t something I really brought with me into the office. Instead I focused on the incredible workplace culture, the passion seeping out of my coworkers’ pores, and the palpable energy of a growing company.

In June of that year I got to assist in corralling a group of Netflix employees to walk in the San Francisco Pride Parade. I had never been to a Pride Parade, and for some strange reason, I suddenly found something I was passionate about getting behind. That year the company’s float displayed characters from *Orange is the New Black*, *Sense8*, *Grace & Frankie*, and *Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt*. It was the first time I thought to myself, “Wow. This company cares about creating content for a diverse audience, including people like me.”

I realized then that I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) have to separate my work with my identity. I came out to my family as bisexual a few months later and it slowly bled into who I was at work. I would allow pronouns to naturally flow when talking about who I was dating. I raised my hand to help found an LGBTQ employee resource group. I supported our Queer content in team debates and conversations.

Today when asked if I’m able to bring my full self to work, my answer is a resounding yes. I feel as though coming out has not only been great for my personal well being, but it’s allowed me to thrive authentically in my work. There’s something about knowing who you are and having people accept it that makes you that much better at the little things. For me, it’s asking my candidates to be open and honest with me, knowing that I’m able to do the same. It’s connecting with my hiring managers on a personal level so we can partner effectively. It’s being a voice for not only my LGBTQ employee resource group, but for the values of Inclusion, Diversity, and Intersectionality as a whole at Netflix.

What I’ve realized through my coming out while working at Netflix is this:

__1. Authenticity Pays Off__

Being myself has allowed me to create truly authentic connections with my colleagues. Creating a space for vulnerability strengthened my partnerships at work. I’m unapologetically me and in the Netflix culture people are receptive to that.

__2. Culture Drives Inclusion__

I cannot repeat enough how #blessed I am for being able to work at Netflix. The opening lines of the culture memo don’t say, “we want you to come to work as your authentic self,” but it’s implied. The fact that Netflix welcomes (and searches for) employees of all ethnic, racial, gender, sexual orientation, educational, and thought backgrounds is a testament to the company’s success. We focus on having voices at the table, and ultimately films/shows, that represent all our viewers around the world.

__3. There’s Work to Be Done__

I don’t have enough time to unpack the subject of privilege in this post, but I do have to take a moment to realize that my story is not everyone’s story. I am incredibly lucky to have a family, friend group, and employer who accept me for who I am. I recognize that being openly gay in the workplace is not as easy as it sounds. I don’t know if had I been dealt a different hand that I would be where I am at today. So yes, I acknowledge that privilege, and I attempt to use it to bring my surrounding community, company, and industry further along in the conversation surrounding Inclusion.



As we enter Pride Month, my hope is that my story is a reminder to celebrate the stories that make us unique - not just in June, but everyday. The LGBTQ+ community is near and dear to my heart, and I can’t be more #PROUD to work at a company that has welcomed (no, dared) me to come to work as my full self. My company, my community, and myself are all better for it.

WeAreNetflix Blog