Apple Interview Questions

Interview

Around 2 months after I submitted my resume for Apple software engineer position, I got a call from the hiring manager. He asked me what was the good day for the interview. It took half day for meeting 5 people. It was long hour interview for me. Each interviewer spent ~ 30 minutes and asked ~ 4 questions. Each interviewer asked questions in the different areas.

Application

I applied online. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Apple.

Interview

Hey guys! Here's my review of Apple's interview process. I hope this helps any potential Apple employees in their quest to join Apple! So I applied back in September actually. I didn't hear back at all. I then re-applied at the beginning of this month again and I heard back within a week about attending the hiring event.

Hiring Event: I read so many articles and nearly all of them said that the hiring event would have 70+ people. Mine only had 15 so I guess I lucked out a little. We were told to sign in and wait. Make sure you start smiling and greeting every Apple employee you see as soon as you enter the hotel?banquet hall, etc. They will start grading you the moment you enter. Start up a conversation with a couple people. This shows you're a people person and not a wallflower. We were lead in shortly after and we had introductions. All of the Apple employees introduced themselves and then we introduced ourselves. We were asked to say something about ourselves that is unique. After introductions, we were broken up into groups of 5. We passed around an iPad that had questions on it and took turns answering the questions. Make sure you seem engaged and try to tell a story with your answer. Don't just give a one word answer. Once that was over, we re-convened in the big group. We were shown videos about Apple and everyone gave a rundown about their role. After that, they asked if we had questions. Make sure you have some ready! Good ones too. Questions that will get them thinking and challenge them. They like that. I was offered the next interview right after the hiring event. It took roughly 45 minutes.

Second Interview: I had the second interview two days later at the store that I will be working at. It lasted about 30 minutes. It was all personal questions. They want to get to know you so make sure you have good answers for questions such as, "What's your hobby?", "What are you passionate about?", "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", "Why Apple?". Don't give one word responses. Again, craft a story with your words. Think of a personal experience and relate that to the question. I was offered the the interview right after.

Third Interview: I had this interview 2 days after the second one. I expected to have a one on one but I had an interview with another gentleman. Keep in mind this isn't meant to be a competition and chances are the person you are interviewing alongside didn't even apply for the same role as you so don't get nervous. Try to speak first when possible. This interview had harder questions but if you remain calm and think for a second, you should be okay. I was asked questions like, "Name a time where you had to deal with an unruly customer", "Name the most profound experience you had with a customer", "Name a time where you were overwhelmed with projects and how you dealt with it". Again, not to awful. All in all, this interview challenged me to think outside the box and craft my answers accordingly. I got a call 2 hours later inviting me to attend the fourth interview.

Fourth Interview: This is usually the last interview for most people unless you are applying for a higher role. This interview was days after my third interview. It took place with the market leader, myself, and two other gentlemen who also applied for jobs. This one was more technical in nature so heads up. They can ask you anything from the 3 Mac's Apple offers, difference between android and iOS, difference between an SSD & HDD, explain RAM, Hard Drive, & Processor, etc. If Apple is launching a new product, know that product inside and out. I was only asked one technical question however. I was also asked what my passion in life is so when asked that, let the passion soak up the room! Let your passion take over and encapsulate everyone! I was told I'd get a response within 24-48 hours and I got one 4 days later with an offer. Don't worry if you don't get a call within the 24-48 hour time frame. Apple prides themselves on reaching out to their applicants. You will get a call.

In conclusion: Apple looks more at how you talk than what you know. Their whole mantra is, "we can teach you about technology but we can't teach you to be confident, talk to people, not be an mean, etc." So keep that in mind. It's okay if you don't know the answer to a question but don't just say "I don't know". Apple loves stories so let your inner J.K. Rowling out! All in all, be confident, smile a lot, don't be nervous, and stay calm! That will take you very far in the job process! Good luck everyone!

I posted the interview as "difficult". My reason was not that the questions were difficult, but rather that you have 4+ interviews so it becomes difficult to keep the energy going, not to repeat yourself too much, come across personable, etc. Hope that helps!

Interview

First did the online application didn’t hear from them after 2 weeks or so and first I’d the phone interview then face to face and after is offer it was a great experience and I applied through the college program

Interview

Applied through university career portal, interviewed a lot of people on the finance team. Each interview is only 30 minutes, sometimes there are some behavioral and technical/scenario questions, but the main emphasis is on fit. Some interviewers were very nice and engaging, others not so much. Used Webex meetings, would switch to facetime if there were any lags.

Interview

Long but worth it. You truly get to understand the company culture and what they are looking for in a candidate. At the end of the day, it is a sales position, so the company expects sales staff that want to help people.

Interview

A lengthy interview process that is more focused on your work ethic and your soft skills. A majority of the interview process is to allow them to determine if you're an approachable person who can handle a stressful floor environment.

Application

I applied online. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Apple (Bethesda, MD (US)).

Interview

Spend a lot of time asking you questions about yourself, and how you would handle customers on the floor. I wish they put more emphasis on the technical background they are looking for in the interview, instead of just the customer service aspect.

Application

I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Apple.

Interview

The role was on a team that manages cosmetic coatings for several Apple products. The process started with a phone call with the recruiter in which I was asked about my most recent employment. We also went over the job description and I was asked if I'd be ok with travel since there would be a lot of it. I then talked with the hiring manager in a more technical phone call. I was asked about my grad school research and we talked about what I did in my most recent job. I was also asked to explain a processing technique from my resume and how I would react in a common technical situation which the manager's group encounters often. Lastly, I spent a day in video calls (would have been on-site if not for COVID) with various members of the team and managers/directors who asked about my background and questions directly related to the role. I was not asked to go into detail about any single technique on my resume, but rather how I would solve various problems which would call on that experience. I was ultimately not given an offer because they found someone whose experience better matched the role.

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Apple.

Interview

It was a basic phone screen with quite a lot of questions to code on for Verilog, SV and UVM. Overall, the nature of the questions were not too difficult but a lot of emphasis was given on syntax

Interview

Two recruiters reached out to me. Initially had a good phone call with an apple recruiter from a different region as I was planning to move out of state. When I saw someone local pop up I reached out to a recruiter (who had messaged me) and set up a time to chat.

She forgot about the interview then called me after I emailed and had a pretty rushed call. Seemed uninterested and questioned where I saw a posting for the role and kind of implied I was mistaken. Well, the post is still up and that conversation made me change my mind about wanting to join Apple. No thanks.