Was contacted by recruiter for a program manager role. I mentioned that I will not be the right fit. She forwarded my profile to Product Management recruiter who set me up for phone screening. Got feedback within 2 days for availability for on-site interview. After setting up the on-site the recruiter kept calling everyday till the day of interview in the name of 'prepping me for the interview'. On the day of interview met 6 people. 2 PMs, program manager (Will get to this in a bit), Business development manager, 1 engineering manager and Hiring manager.
Two interviews need special mention. Let me start with the program manager she started the interview by saying 'I've never interviewed a Product Manager before' and it showed in her questions. To make up for her lack of interviewing skill, she carried a wrong attitude through out the interview .
Another PM was only interested in Apple stock price. He was checking the stock price every 5 mins during the interview. Eventually we spoke only about apple stock and market fluctuation.
Was told by the recruiter that they would get back in 2-3 days. Dropped an email after 5 days, did not get any reply. Meanwhile got an offer from another company. After a week called recruiter from my number - no answer. Tried few times to reach by email and phone still no reply. 10 days passed and it was total silence. Called her from a different number and the recruiter answered immediately. It was totally unprofessional and did not expect it from company like Apple. I was told that the team is still debating whether I would be a fit. I made the decision easier for them and gave the recruiter some feedback about the process. Have interviewed at few other companies this was by far the worst.
The best interview I ever attended was at apple. It was easy and interesting at the same time. The panel was amazing, and the interview went like a conversation. They asked me to walk me through the process of improvements I did previously
I applied online. I interviewed at Apple (Cupertino, CA) in Aug 2024
Interview
I had a Recruiter screen by email, interviewed with the hiring manager, her manager, and the director of the PM team. Panel interview consisted of 3 relevant stakeholders that the role would be working closely with.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you handle communicating conflicting priorities between 2 different stakeholders?
Very rigorous. Recruiter was on their A-game and provided consistent updates as needed. Felt challenged during actual interviews based on the technical questions that were presented. Truthfully felt great about the entire process.