Apple Design On-site - what to expect

Google
Oksure

Go to company page Google

Oksure
Sep 19, 2018 18 Comments

Anyone who’s been through through the Apple HI on-site care to share? How was portfolio review? Any tips or hints?

Thanks!

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  • Google
    Salinger

    Go to company page Google

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    Apple
    Salinger
    The answer is highly dependent on which “HI” team you are referring to. Apple does not have a uniform/company-wide hiring process, or any established formal interview/selection process.

    Apple has 6 consumer product oriented “HI” teams.

    Apple also has a team literally named the “Human Interface Design” team, or, “HI”. Internally, other product design teams refer to them as “Platform” HI. Externally it’s all seen as the same, but this couldn’t be more far from wrong.

    Historically, the “Human Interface Design” team was Apple’s only software design team, and thus, the name. This team is embedded with ID, and is responsible for designing and evolving iOS/MacOS/WatchOS platform. This includes most native apps like Messages, Photos, Camera, Mail, etc.



    Now, to your question. Sometimes teams follow the typical industry process mirroring most places, but there is no “hiring committee” or a concept similar to it. If a manager wants you, they hire you. That’s it.

    Portfolio review varies by team, sometimes requiring design challenges, depending on your seniority, and how confident they are in you as a design candidate.

    You can safely guarantee the room you have your presentation in will have a cold, dead, dickish feeling to it, full of seeming-to-be assholes. Usually graphic designers. Even if they like you, they’ll act like a dick to play the “we’re Apple” card.

    You *will* (without a doubt) be asked mostly visual design oriented questions, and be grilled on very small details. Apple is a super detail focused company, and the product design teams aren’t full of experts with a long history in interaction design. Literally every design team at Apple is almost entirely comprised of people who used to be print designers, illustrators, editorial designers, and traditional graphic designers.

    Be ready to explain every single design decision you made, however small or large, for interaction, and *most* especially visual. Anywhere from systems thinking down to the smallest typographic details, colors, padding, etc.

    Your presentation needs to be equally beautiful, and should not only reflect your abilities as a designer but also show that you’re great at telling a story.

    ***Do not present yourself as a data driven designer***

    Apple is the opposite of Google when it comes to design. Decisions are not based on user data or metrics, and there is zero user testing or research, and the company does not have or understand UX Researchers.

    A good amount of candidates from FB/Google/Amazon/Microsoft are weeded out, as they are solid systems thinkers but shit visual designers, and speak about relying on metrics to drive and make design decisions.

    They want to see you’re a designer with intention, great natural design sense for making things beautiful, and care about the details.



    Apple’s “extended” HI teams are:

    Maps
    - Obviously maps

    iCloud
    - All things iCloud
    - Apple ID

    Siri
    - Purely voice interaction designers, no visual or interface design
    - Works on evolving logic of Siri as an assistant

    Consumer Apps
    - Pages, Keynote, Numbers
    - Logic, Final Cut Pro
    - Notes, News

    Media Products
    - Apple Music
    - iTunes
    - App Store
    - Apple TV
    - Podcasts
    - Remote

    For these teams, generally, a candidate goes through:

    1. Recruiter chat
    2. Director chat (some teams)
    3. Manager chat (some teams)
    4. Onsite interviews (5-6) starting with 45-min to an hour long portfolio review designers on the team

    This can be cut down, extended, etc. if the manager/director wants you. Some highly desired senior candidates are (rarely) hired without anything other than a chat with the manager.



    Human Interface Design

    This is the most selective design team at Apple, and is the only one I’d recommend leaving Google for. This team sits with Industrial Design, and reports into and works directly with Jony Ive. They do not post job listings for available roles, and hand selects candidates. The majority of external hires are for leadership roles, strangely often from magazines, and the vast majority of “designer” hires in general come from internal transfers from the Marcom team at Apple.

    Apple’s platform HI team has one single recruiter. They will chat with you very casually, usually take you out and discuss/sell the opportunity over dinner at a restaurant in the bay.

    They’re actually super cool. They’ll take the time to get to know you, tell you all about the team, tell you how hard it is to get hired, gauge if they think you’re good enough, and if so, then they’ll help you prepare for the process.

    They’ll provide critiques on your portfolio, often through multiple rounds of feedback/phone calls, and will help you refine it to make it attractive to the team.

    Once they think you’re ready, they’ll present you to the team. If team likes you, recruiter will have another phone call with you and interview you again.

    If you pass that step, they’ll bring you onsite to meet you. Usually this is a casual meet and greet.

    After, if they want to move forward, they’ll invite you for formal onsites, similarly with a portfolio presentation at the start.

    With this team, you will have a minimum of 9 onsite interviews, and if you pass, will have a round of interviews with leadership.

    All tips on portfolio presentation apply here, but just multiply them by a million.

    If you don’t make it, the recruiter from HI is really nice and will actually stay in touch with you. There’s no pushing at all from them, and they will often hire candidates after a few years of meeting them while they gain seniority.

    That’s all I can write. Good luck!
    Sep 20, 2018 5
  • Google
    Salinger

    Go to company page Google

    PRE
    Apple
    Salinger
    Also forgot.

    Source:
    I was at Apple for over 5 years as a Sr. HI designer, worked on multiple teams.
    Sep 20, 2018 1
  • Apple has hundreds of UX researchers and are hiring like crazy.
    Sep 21, 2018 4
  • Google
    Salinger

    Go to company page Google

    PRE
    Apple
    Salinger
    Edit: Also I’ve never heard of anyone ever having to do some stupid exercise on the white board at Apple.
    Sep 20, 2018 3
  • Google / Design
    TC247k

    Go to company page Google Design

    TC247k
    +1 curious as well
    Sep 20, 2018 0