Apple’s decades of game-changing product launches have helped it become a top employer for tech talent globally.
But candidates hungry for a role at the iPhone maker might find it harder to get a job there than ever before.
After years of surging growth, Apple’s head count has been contracting. At the end of last year, Apple employed about 161,000 people, down nearly 2% from 2022. But Apple remains a force: Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has predicted that the tech giant will become “the gatekeepers of the consumer AI Revolution” with the launch of Apple Intelligence and the upcoming iPhone 16 and clear a path to hitting a $4 trillion market cap.
So, what can set you apart from a sea of Apple candidates? We asked an Apple employee and four tech career experts and recruiters.
They said the ideal Apple candidate should demonstrate curiosity, energy, and a collaborative mindset during an interview.
“What Apple is looking for in candidates is workhorses, not show horses,” said Marc Cenedella, career expert and founder of work advice site Ladders, Inc. “Working at Apple is all about burnishing and improving the Apple brand, not tooting your own horn.”
One Apple employee said tried to show brand identity by matching the font on her résumé to the company’s own typeface. She said this likely helped her résumé stand out during the hiring process.
Depending on the leadership level, the application process for a corporate position at any large tech company typically includes a rigorous vetting process, conversations with hiring managers, technical interviews with coding tests for software engineers, and a series of conversations within the team known as an “interview loop,” ex-Meta and Amazon recruiter Daniel Harten told BI.
Harten said the first stages of interviewing for a job at a Big Tech company are “transactional, focusing on technical abilities,” and the second half is situational, “with behavior-based questions.”
The interview process at Apple is “generally straightforward,” Theresa Park, a former creative recruiter at the company, said. An elevator pitch and an anecdote summarizing your experience are sufficient for the introductory call with a hiring manager.
According to Glassdoor, Apple’s software developers can earn well over $300,000 a year, and human resources specialists and recruiters can earn from $40,000 to over $100,000 annually.
One Reddit user said that during a monthlong interview process as a software engineering candidate, he was asked to design a vending machine. Another Redditor who said they applied for Apple’s hardware team in Munich described an hourlong interview with no behavioral questions and technical questions that “felt very cherry-picked to my resume/experience.”
Apple has shared some interview tips for hopeful candidates on its own careers site. They include:
Harten emphasized Apple’s tip on recruiters, telling BI they’re meant to be “your partner in the interview process.”
Harten said candidates should leverage their recruiter’s expertise ahead of their interview. According to posts on the anonymous employee forum Blind, some Apple recruiters might even disclose the exact questions that will be asked in an interview.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has also shared advice on what the company looks for in candidates. In a podcast last year, he said everyone he works with at Apple believes that “one plus one equals three.”
“It’s an incredible feeling to work with people that bring out the best in you, and fundamentally, we all believe that one plus one equals three,” Cook said. “Your idea plus my idea is better than the individual ideas on their own.”
He said he favors candidates who are curious, creative, and not afraid to ask questions.
Cook is known for grilling employees with questions, according to the book “Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level” Leander Kahney.
“He’s a very quiet leader,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told Kahney, according to the book. “Not a screamer, not a yeller,” he said, adding: “He’s just very calm, steady, but will slice you up with questions. You better know your stuff.”
Former American Express talent manager and career coach Arianny Mercedes said she advises her clients to network proactively via social media to build relationships within the company and gain insight into its culture. Her advice helped one of her clients secure a role at Apple, she said.
Park said professionals should also update their LinkedIn profile if they’ve been inactive for a while — even if they aren’t actively looking for a new job.
“As an experienced recruiter, I can tell you that we often actively source candidates, so it’s crucial to have your LinkedIn profile updated with relevant keywords to make yourself searchable,” Park said.
But getting too candid on social media about Apple, or any company you’re interviewing for, is “a surefire way to get dinged,” Cenedella said.
“No posting on Instagram. No lip-sync TikToks. Do nothing that draws attention to yourself or to the workings of Apple’s processes,” he told BI.
Representatives for Apple didn’t immediately respond to BI’s questions about working at the company.
