[jedberg]

It's interesting that your experience is so different from mine (I work at Netflix now).

for #1, I've never heard of someone being let go without having any idea. When a manager goes to HR and says "I'd like to let this person go", they ask, "will it be a surprise?" and if the answer is yes, they send you back to have the hard conversation first.

for #2, I have lots of friends from Netflix. And some of them have even been let go and we're still friends. I was even friends with my boss, but like any company, when it is a relationship with a manager it must always be reserved.

[blazespin]

This is an example of survivorship bias. I think you need to consider the fact that Netflix has massive employee churn compared to its peers.

One of the reasons no doubt they're constantly pestering me on LinkedIn to interview with them even though they have just 2100 employees or so. They're running out of people who will actually listen to them.

Facebook, on the other hand, has 5700 employees and I've never heard from them even though my resume is definitely suited to their needs. Why? They don't have to. People want to work at Facebook. They don't have to recruit.

[elq]

re: friends - I think people are just put off by Patty's "we manage the company like a sports team, not a family" philosophy.

[jedberg]

That's probably true, but even the sports guys are friends. :) Even when they get traded and have to play against each other.

[weisser]

I'd say the best sports teams share a close bond of friendship. Look at the Red Sox this year. They came back after two dismal seasons to win the World Series and the team culture was largely responsible for that. Little was expected from most of these players but the right group of people can make the seemingly impossible happen.