This is my last week at Netflix. I am satisfied with my experiences and contributions at Netflix. But I do have a couple of learnings that I wish I had known before joining Netflix.
- First, because my manager at Netflix has complete freedom in setting my compensation, it is critical to work with the manager that fits my style.
- Second, at a large company like Netflix, not all teams are created equal. Some are given more spotlights (and pressure, too). Find the team that suits my priority.
- Third, I should broadcast my aspirations so that people will think of you when they see an opportunity. I need to talk to my direct management chain AND the leadership of the adjacent teams.
The first is probably specific to Netflix, but the other two apply to any large organization. I hope these experiences will make me a better leader.
Software Engineering ⚙️
Elasticsearch from the Bottom Up, Part 1 and Elasticsearch from the Top Down
Elasticsearch probably is the most popular search technology. I’ve heard of Elasticsearch many times and used APIs built on top of Elasticsearch throughout my career. But I haven’t learned how it works. Since my new team owns an Elasticsearch service, I finally decided to read about it. These two articles were good introductions.
I completely ignored the front end development scene for 6 months. It was fine
I agree that we don’t need to follow up on every new framework and library in the web development, but with a caveat.
It’s unnecessary to learn everything, but it is important to keep up with the major trends. They can affect our employability, especially after the early stage of our career. A shift toward component-based development was one (jQuery to React), and a shift toward a strongly-typed language is another. The good thing is that these shifts happen over a few years, so we don’t need to study everything all the time.
People ❤️
Guide: Understand team effectiveness
Measuring team effectiveness and creating an environment for it are both priorities for a manager. This study from Google answers both.
Gateway Teams
How one gets introduced to the new environment largely determines their future performance. Organizations should pay extra attention to whom the newcomers meet in their first few months. The newcomers should also seek out the high-performers and learn from them.
The Seniority Roller[c]oaster
When one moves between companies, especially after an entry-level role, their title or compensation is not always transferred. That’s because the same titles in different teams will have different expectations. “Lead Engineer” could be a purely technical role or management role. The above-senior roles require deeper domain knowledge and relationships, which makes the hiring managers more conservative. The article has some good tips for dealing with disappointing down-leveling.
Rejected internal applicants twice as likely to quit
As a rejected internal applicant, this was an interesting study to read and reflect on.
Business 💸
S. Korea passes bill to curb sway of Google, Apple in app store fees
The South Korean government will force Google and Apple to allow alternative payment systems when the users purchase digital goods within the apps. This issue can get more complicated as this bill benefits Korean app developers at the expense of Apple and Google.
youngk.im 