How to score a job at Apple

Updated: October 2, 2012

For most fans of Apple and its products, contributing to the company and the community is an important part of being a fan. It could be said that Apple fans need to swim in the kool aid or ought to if they want to work for the company. Contributing can take a wide range of forms. It can vary from contributing a cool app to the app store down to giving out advice free of charge on the forums. For a lot of people, working for Apple is their Mecca. It does not have to be at a development center or HQ in California, it could be in retail, whether helping customers or working on the genius bench. The question is, how do you make the long walk through the desert to reach the Apple Mecca?

Masters of the Techverse

With the economic problems from 2007 onwards, the tech industry struggled, but Apple went from strength to strength. It continues to hire highly qualified tech graduates and those working for rival firms, who meet their personality and skill requirements. Getting an Apple job is insanely tough for techies. The third biggest growth skill required by the tech industry in America is iPhone development, which has grown by 220 percent in the last two years. Apple has around 300 software engineers, 220 iPhone engineers and 900 other jobs going in America at any one time. Of course this fluctuates depending on the time of year and the need to fill positions.

There are three main things Apple are looking for in terms of engineers and it is not just a good degree. They want a reference from inside the company, an active member of the Apple Developer Program and a passion for Apple products and design. When preparing to work for Apple or to at least try to, the future applicant needs to make decisions from day one of college. This means selecting the right programs and modules of study including data mining, artificial intelligence, web analytics, user experience, technical communication, business and also project management. Think ahead and plan ahead.

Apple Retail 101

The Apple retail operation, which has grown extraordinarily fast in the last decade or two, places more interest in personality than tech skills for its face-to-face helpers. This is not necessarily the case with the Genius Bench. This means that enthusiasm for customer service and for Apple counts for more with many store managers than inside technological information. Apple is looking for friendly, outgoing, kind and generous staff who are able to talk well and excite customers in wanting to buy something or to sooth those with a problem. They want employees who are able to ask questions and who are able to find out which member of staff to ask about a broken iPhone when they do not know the answer themselves. The interview process has been likened to a puppy sale by some, but is also similar to the process for an air hostess. Intelligence and tech savvy is useful, but personality rules too in retail.

Resume and Reference Building

Apple is a company that places a lot of weight on knowing people. This is not to say that it is insiders only, but getting noticed helps. As a developer, you will need to do two things to get noticed in Apple. First, develop something. The obvious way to do this is to develop an app of some kind. This acts not only as a means of getting noticed and some money, but also it is an electronic reference and resume. It is a “see what I made.” Second, help users out on the forums. No trolling, but polite, kind, helpfulness that people like. Personality is very important for Apple.

Resume building also means finding internships, summer jobs and part-time work not just at Apple (using the retail store as a job platform will not hurt), but at big and small rivals or associated companies. Get to know members of staff at your local Apple Store. When a new job comes up you might find your shoulder getting tapped. Also consider the power of LinkedIn, this is a great tool for promoting yourself, your cyber-resume and for building links. Do any of your professional links work for Apple? They could be former classmates, summer job co-workers or some other relationship. Work them. Get them onside and get them to give you references. Apple will be impressed.

Smart Application Strategies

The big three tech giants; Apple, Google and Microsoft hire in different ways. Each one starts off with its own jobs website. Here is the Apple jobs site. They then farm out vacancies to online recruitment agencies to help them find additional members of staff. The former strategy tends to be used for permanent staff at non-retail sites for development or corporate management. The latter strategy is used for temporary, contract and part-time work. Apple does outsource a lot of its recruitment to agencies after it expanded at an unexpectedly fast rate in the 2000s.

Working for Apple requires a smart strategy. This is especially the case for HQ and development work. Future technicians and engineers will need to develop not just their skills and persona, but also their contacts. This is where resume and reference building come in handy. Where possible, Apple still recruits through internal references. Second, you need to own Apple products. Retail workers do not have to have an inside knowledge of how everything works, but a passion for customers is a bigger selling point, but for everyone else, knowing and owning the products really helps. Next up, be active in the Apple community and do not be afraid to flaunt it.

Working for Apple is rarely going to be something done by accident. This is especially true for software engineers, technicians and so on. Mould yourself into the right shape for Apple, acquaint yourself with the logic puzzles and questions they use based on the Khan Institute, foster a happy, smiling and outgoing image and prepare yourself for up to a dozen interviews before you get the name badge, the company parking space and the staff discount.

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