Very Difficult Interview – Overall Negative Experience – No – Wed, 28 May 2014
Interviewed Jul 2013(took 4 weeks)
Apple recruiters found me on linkdin and asked if I would be interested in talking about a job. I spoke with a recruiter over the phone at first. Then had a call with a hiring manager to discuss the role and what they do. Then I had another call with another manager that was a technical talk. I discussed my previous work and we talked some technical details. He then emailed me a circuit with some questions which I solved and sent back to him. The circuit wasn't too difficult and I solved all the answers correctly in about an hour.
I was then flown out for an onsite interview. Apple paid for all expenses. The interview lasted all day long and I met with many different people for about a half hour at a time. Some of the interviewers just talked and asked about what I did. Others asked me some technical questions. The level of difficulty varied drastically from one person to the next. A number of the people I found to be very arrogant and snobby. They often made me feel as if I should be grateful to be in their presence. This turned me off very much. Towards the end of my day I was definitely warn out and started making stupid mistakes, so I figured I wouldn't get the job.
Weeks went by and nobody contacted me. Finally I contacted them and they told me that they found somebody else. It took me nearly 6months to get re-reimbursed for my expenses though, They give you a hard time about every little thing and I had to go back and forth with them many times. Finally they did pay me back though.
Interview Questions
They ask lots of aloof questions to see how creative you are. Like giving you two black boxes and asking you to draw a circuit between them that does some function. I guess its fair game but I can't imagine many people can think that complex right on the spot like that. They probably weed out some good people like that.
Answer Question
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, 1:1 Interview, Group/Panel Interview and a Skills Test