1) I applied through their website. Within about a week I received an email from recruitment to set up a phone interview. I was told to review the famous Culture Memo.
2) We spoke on the phone a few days later. Recruitment was very personable and believed my experience matched well with the position. She of course asked me about the Culture Memo; I knew the reputation of this interview so I had some buzzwords memorized and made sure I sounded engaged and impressed with this "unique" way of running a business. Before the interview concluded, she said she planned on speaking with the potential boss soon because she really thought I was a good fit.
3) Over a week later I spoke with the boss on the phone. Very nice, but 95% of the conversation was about the Culture Memo. I assumed this would happen, so I again memorized buzzwords and made sure my personal working style and experiences matched the Memo. She claimed to highly value empathy. She thought I was a good fit and wanted me to come in the following week.
4) Started off well. An assistant brought me to a small conference room and handed me a goodie bag of waters, mints, and a notepad. Then it took a turn when I met everyone.
*An onsite recruiter: a nightmare. She looked at her computer most of the time and responded to me with either a smirk or eye-roll. Then oddly she told me how she only moved to LA because she followed her boyfriend here and would really like to return to SF. And then she ended her portion by telling me that a lot of people don't abide by the culture and that the elevators suck. Great?
*An executive in the dept: a snoozefest, literally. Nice, but could barely keep her eyes open, slouched in her chair, very soft spoken, and even admitted she wished there were more hours in the day. So they overwork you here? Fabulous. And she also complained about the elevators. Ok, I get it. They stink.
*The boss: a complete 180. The fun person on the phone was now dull. She's a front facing person (often in their social media campaigns), but she must've taken some acting classes to get through them. The charisma and enthusiasm were gone.
*Current assistant: overtly bubbly. So much so, that I didn't quite believe her. This facade faded when I asked her how long this process to replace her was taking; she lost her energy and said months, admitting that she was overworked. She is currently doing multiple jobs. Yuck. (And again, complained about the elevators too).
5) The next day I did my due diligence and sent everyone I met with (including the original person I spoke with on the phone), a thank you email. No response from anyone. I checked in again after 14 days and received a voicemail saying I wasn't a fit for the position, but a good culture fit.
6) Lesson from this experience: the Culture Memo is nothing original: essentially trust your coworkers and treat everyone with respect. Duh, that's what every company wants and claims to follow. The people I met with seemed either bitter, exhausted, boring, or insincere -- or a combination of all four. Oh, and I learned that the Netflix elevators are lousy.