Apple Interview Question for Software Engineer / Developers


Team: Wireless
Country: United States
Interview Type: Phone Interview




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1
of 1 vote

You presume to know how Apple's HR works, and there's not a good answer from the HR person's side. The HR person probably was resisting the urge to make certain commentary, such as you only just realized that you have to be the best (or near best) at what you do? If you didn't believe you had to be extremely smart, then why do you think you have what it takes to fit in at a company like Apple? And then talking about work experience? If you did your research, you would know that companies like Apple value critical thinking a lot more. There is also the lack of self-confidence in your response in your abilities regardless of what other people have done. If you believe you have what it takes to work at a company like Apple, why would you worry about what other people have done?

These are huge warning signs.

Personally, I would say that I learned that I needed to mature, and spent some time discussing with others about how I should act professionally.

I'm going to be honest - if that was your serious response, then you have some work cut out for you. Responding to snark with a cynical know-it-all attitude was unwarranted, especially when you're a suitor for an in-demand company.

- wesley.cho April 09, 2012 | Flag Reply
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0
of 0 votes

Thank you for taking the time to write a very good response.

My comments:

"The HR person probably was resisting the urge to make certain commentary, such as you only just realized that you have to be the best (or near best) at what you do? If you didn't believe you had to be extremely smart, then why do you think you have what it takes to fit in at a company like Apple?"

There is a differenence between being extremely smart, and being the best at one specific job function. You can be extremely smart and your strengths lie in software engineering rather than automated testing.

"There is also the lack of self-confidence in your response in your abilities regardless of what other people have done."

I think you misinterpret lack of self-confidence, as simply being realistic. I'm still in college, and given that I have no work experience I obviously have to consider that the other people who are applying for the same job have greater than zero years of work experience.

"I'm going to be honest - if that was your serious response, then you have some work cut out for you. Responding to snark with a cynical know-it-all attitude was unwarranted, especially when you're a suitor for an in-demand company."

My statement above was almost verbatim my actuaI response. At the time, I did not view my statement as cynical, but it does help me in knowing that you view it as cynical. Next time I'll just keep my mouth shut. I did still get another interview, so I did live to see another day.

- apple-maybe? April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 votes

Well, a response is warranted - you don't want to just ignore it because it was asked and had a serious element to it. Keep in mind that it could have been a bit on the improper side for that person to take that tone.

There's a difference between realistic and putting yourself down. Companies like Apple hire people with no experience all the time. Experience doesn't capture what these high profile startup-like Silicon Valley companies look for. It may help the job candidate get to the point of being of interest, but they are looking primarily for the ability to think critically. Do some searches on the interview process and various people's fortunes or misfortunes on companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. Acquaint yourself with the hiring process for these types, since these companies are a lot different in their hiring than most companies out there. Know the type of people you're going to be surrounding yourself with.

The most important thing about the job search/hiring process with companies is that you and the company in question are a good fit. Interviews are meant to capture that. How you carry yourself and how you act is a huge part of that.

- wesley.cho April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 votes

I'm not sure that Apple hires people with no experience all the time. Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft all have "new grad" positions, but Apple does not. From what I've been told from people who work there when I interviewed is that there are not very many new grads that come in each year.

- apple-maybe? April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 vote

I mostly agree with what Wesley said -- your answer was not a good one. What you basically said was that you learned that the best qualified person gets the job. Of course they do!

You also seemed to blame your failure to get an offer on being a student. It's not true that they're going to give an offer to a student over someone with work experience because generally they aren't competing for the same spot.

Instead, think of how you could have given an answer that reflected positively on you. For example:
- "I realized that I wasn't great at explaining technical problems, so I spent some time with classmates getting their constructive suggestions."
- "I realized that I needed a better foundation in operating systems, so I re-read my operating systems textbook and spent a weekend building a toy OS with its own file system."

- Gayle L McDowell April 09, 2012 | Flag Reply
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0
of 0 votes

Hi Gail,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. The reason I had mentioned the work experience issue was just because when I met the team at Apple, everyone was at least 5+ years older than me, and the last new hire to the team, who would have the same job, had five years of work experience and was 30 years old.

I guess my follow up question, and related posts all fall around the general behavioral question of, what do you do when the interviewer has comments that are perceived to you as negative or condescending?

Is it true when I assume that most people have uncertainty about whether they can perform a certain job or not? Or is that a sign that you probably aren't a good fit for the position?

I'm interviewing for a fourth and fifth job with Apple this/last week, and I had interviewed with the search team at Twitter in NYC, and each time I've been uncertain about whether I could do the job.

Also, I have your book and downloaded all of your videos on my iPhone. Could you make more of those 99 cent videos covering operating systems and computer networks, they're really helpful. Even though I didn't get a job at Facebook, Twitter, or Microsoft I was really prepared for the interview.

- apple-maybe? April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 votes

If the interviewer's behavior comes off as negative or condescending, ignore it. Smile, put on a good face, etc. Do not react harshly.

It's possible -- likely, in fact -- that you're misreading their response. Perhaps other people would have interpreted it the same way, but it still may not be how the interviewer feels. Sometimes people come across poorly. To be perfectly honest though... I read some of your reactions to other questions and I do wonder if you're perhaps overly sensitive.

Regardless though of whether or not you're misreading things, it is never in your best interest to react negatively.

In response to your other question -- uncertainty means a lack of confidence. It may mean that you can't perform the job well, or it may be that you're just not a confident person.

- Gayle L McDowell April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 votes

Thanks again for your great feedback. I really really appreciate it.

- apple-maybe? April 09, 2012 | Flag
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0
of 0 vote

I believe that saying you have no experience coming out of college is a mistake, since there are usually many student opportunities at universities, which many not be job related, but will give you many good non-class related skills.

And I think the interviewer was caught off guard by your response, he/she was probably expecting to hear how you grew and changed through your interview process. The interviewer may have felt that your response was making assumptions about, or even challenging, their hiring policies.
Anyways,
Good bye. : )

- Vlad May 01, 2012 | Flag Reply


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