In the summer of 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to be a Netflix x Formation Fellow. Below is a comprehensive review of my experience in the program, which I will update as I get questions. This page serves as both advice for applying and my overall experience in the program.

Advice for the video essay:

1. Pick which questions to answer wisely. I chose to answer the question "What do you love about a career in software engineering?" I felt that this question encompassed a lot of the other questions, and allows you to showcase what personal experiences you have faced that make you excited to learn SWE and be a part of this program.

2. Emphasize experiences where you have worked with diverse people in a technical setting. I talked about my experience in a University of Washington club called CSEED Buildspace, where I talked with students from different majors and years about projects we were passionate about. A big part of Formation is that you will be coding in groups of people ranging from those who have zero technical experience and and are pivoting into CS, to Senior SWEs looking for their next role. So I think showcasing that you are familiar with and thrive in this kind of environment would show that you are a really good fit for this program.

3. Not only emphasize what you like about SWE or Netflix, but talk about how this program specifically will help you achieve your career goals. Maybe mention the mock interview aspect and the ability to fail in an environment that will help you learn quicker than ever before. Or talk about how you thrive off of structure and having a routine to learn. The reality is you could very easily learn the content in this program on your own. But Formation offers the support to keep you accountable and pushes you to learn as much as possible in the few short months you have in this program. Netflix wants to invest in eager students such as yourself. Talk about how you will take advantage of it!

4. Be thoughtful in your physical presentation. I'm guessing a lot of applications will be filmed in an applicant's room against a blank wall. If you can, I would suggest filming against a background that showcases your personality. For me, I had a lot of fun posters on the wall in my room, and I wore a colorful shirt. So mixed with being engaging in the video I think that helps make a good impression! You can see my video thumbnail on the right ->

Advice for the online coding benchmark assessment:

Know your basic for-loops and know how to read syntax to derive what the method is doing. It's not difficult, just gauging that you have foundational knowledge of CS. I would be mindful that the test was only offered in Javascript and Python when I took it, which I wasn't familiar with at the time. But because these two languages are very pseudo-code like, it wasn't difficult to guess the meaning of the code.

Now for my experience in the program itself:

What was your experience like as a Netflix x Formation Fellow?

So much fun! And definitely very rigorous. I was completing a full time internship alongside this program, so time management was important. The expectations are pretty high, but that's because they want you to succeed and they have structured the program in a way that allows for communication and adjustment as needed. For example, we couldn't miss any classes, but that's because you can reschedule meetings and have them any time 5pm to 9pm PST. We are given 1:1 mentorship from a Netflix engineer, so that's nice to get an inside look into how the company operates and they can mock interview you as well. At the end of the program Netflix flew us out to their LA office on an all expenses paid trip. Definitely a sweet reward for all the hard work we had put into this program! They really treat you well and want to wow you into interning with them.

How was coding in Python?

Yes, be mindful that Formation teaches in mainly Python and JavaScript. So you'll have to learn one of these two languages. But this is a good thing because learning Python is the best thing I could have ever done to increase my speed in coding interviews! I went from a ~400/600 to 536/600 CodeSignal score which in no small part was due to my increased speed at getting through problems.

What did you do in a typical day?

It's a minimum of 15 hours of work a week, up to 40 hours. You have one or two synchronous hour long sessions a day (consisting of either group programming, pair programming, code review, or mock interview), and these sessions cover either algorithm or system design topics. My typical day looked like working remotely at my internship 9am - 5pm. Then taking an hour break, then doing a synchronous session 6pm - 7pm. Then having dinner, then studying and doing more practice problems for another hour or two. You can only take a full week off during the program. Other than that you are expected to meet the 15 hours every week, have 100% attendance, and make consistent progress towards the "Netflix interview requirements" to stay in the program. At the end of the program, if you meet their requirements, then you pass the first round of the intern interview process which is just bypassing the CodeSignal assessment. Then you are in the regular candidate pool for interviews.

Did being a part of this program help you find an internship the following summer?

10000% YES. After interviewing at many companies (Netflix, Pinterest, Notion, Apple, Amazon, Capital One) in the Fall of 2024, I decided to sign an offer at Pinterest to be a Mobile Engineer Intern. I do think being a part of this program helped my resume get passed the initial screenings because of the Netflix name and the amount of technical work that I did in the program. And because Formation has so many resources to practice interviews, interviewing became second nature to me. The only caveat to this program I would say that is I got burnt out from interviewing because of the intensity of this program. It is 15 hours "minimum", so there is a lot of work you need to complete in order to meet the basic requirements to stay in this program. But I think if you don't have an internship alongside this program, it is doable!