"Really intense work environment. Unique culture."
StarStarStarStarStar
Work/Life Balance
Career Opportunities
Comp & Benefits
Senior Management
Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Cupertino, CA (US)
Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Cupertino, CA (US)
Doesn't Recommend
Approves of CEO
Pros
Really interesting work in most areas (very little dull routine). Outstanding opportunity to work with really smart people in your field. General helpfulness of colleagues is almost uniformly present across teams. Really cool leading-edge products and services you can be proud to help develop. Very intense focus on understanding and helping customers. Lots of opportunity to become "expert" on a subject for the company. Financial health of company is excellent. Very good handle on cost management. Benefits are very good. Equal opportunity is apparent everywhere. Very diverse workforce. A truly international company and workforce.
Cons
General rule: You will not know if you really "fit" the culture until about a year on the job. Managers mostly work higher level projects and negotiate resources and priorities (as opposed to develop their people). Experience of working at Apple is hugely influenced by your direct manager and his/her style. Some buffer the craziness, others amplify it. Company is now huge but still trying to act lean like a start up. Teams are getting moved off main campus with little regard to who they need to interact with. "Campus" feeling only applies to core business groups. Work-life balance can quickly become terrible for those who really understand systems and processes and how to manage them. The better you are, the less balance you can expect. Management planning process - continual over-committing continues. Really stove-piped planning structure. Very little cross-functional planning below VP level. Regular surprises from project work in other areas for which you had no visibility.. Secrecy bordering on paranoia can be a pain in the neck especially when it delays notice on necessary (and unplanned) changes in other areas. High turnover in the areas I worked with. Less during the recession. Burn out is common. Fear of being the team/individual that delays or messes up a project is ever present. Absolutely no professional development outside a modest number of internal courses. Don't even think about trying to publish a paper, or speak at a conference! Growing inequity in business team perks and facilities is an annoyance.
Advice to Management
Relentless product and service focus is fine, but growing company complexity means brute force changes (forcing deadlines, etc.) is becoming more difficult. Less recovery time between waves of project work is stressing people and systems to the extreme. Very few people will tell you how they really feel about the growing workload.
Current Employee - Apple Advisor HBA in Austin, TX (US)
Current Employee - Apple Advisor HBA in Austin, TX (US)
Approves of CEO
Pros
Great opportunity to work from home as a Student. Managers are understanding of school and work balance. Discount is great!
Cons
Our managers was sometimes incompetent, always assuming that students had no real work experience. Treated the college students like incompetent employees.
Advice to Management
I would go ahead and state that you hire more experienced managers if they are to take the role of Manager for the HBA program.
Current Employee - Apple Specialist in Providence, RI (US)
Current Employee - Apple Specialist in Providence, RI (US)
Recommends
Approves of CEO
Pros
Good benefits, and great EPP
Cons
Tough to advance, it seems they don't hire management from within, even if the employees have management experience. They always seem to look at places like the Gap, or Banana Republic.
Advice to Management
Try looking at your current staff for advancement opportunities
Apple
"Great benefits, OK pay as you work over years" (in 1282 reviews)
"Work from home, great benefits, great team" (in 298 reviews)
"Work life balance is sometime hard to maintain" (in 972 reviews)
"Poor management, no work life balance" (in 179 reviews)
Employee Review
Employee Review
Helpful (21)
"Really intense work environment. Unique culture."
Pros
Really interesting work in most areas (very little dull routine).
Outstanding opportunity to work with really smart people in your field.
General helpfulness of colleagues is almost uniformly present across teams.
Really cool leading-edge products and services you can be proud to help develop.
Very intense focus on understanding and helping customers.
Lots of opportunity to become "expert" on a subject for the company.
Financial health of company is excellent. Very good handle on cost management.
Benefits are very good.
Equal opportunity is apparent everywhere. Very diverse workforce.
A truly international company and workforce.
Cons
General rule: You will not know if you really "fit" the culture until about a year on the job.
Managers mostly work higher level projects and negotiate resources and priorities (as opposed to develop their people). Experience of working at Apple is hugely influenced by your direct manager and his/her style. Some buffer the craziness, others amplify it.
Company is now huge but still trying to act lean like a start up. Teams are getting moved off main campus with little regard to who they need to interact with. "Campus" feeling only applies to core business groups.
Work-life balance can quickly become terrible for those who really understand systems and processes and how to manage them. The better you are, the less balance you can expect.
Management planning process - continual over-committing continues.
Really stove-piped planning structure. Very little cross-functional planning below VP level. Regular surprises from project work in other areas for which you had no visibility..
Secrecy bordering on paranoia can be a pain in the neck especially when it delays notice on necessary (and unplanned) changes in other areas.
High turnover in the areas I worked with. Less during the recession. Burn out is common.
Fear of being the team/individual that delays or messes up a project is ever present.
Absolutely no professional development outside a modest number of internal courses. Don't even think about trying to publish a paper, or speak at a conference!
Growing inequity in business team perks and facilities is an annoyance.
Advice to Management
Relentless product and service focus is fine, but growing company complexity means brute force changes (forcing deadlines, etc.) is becoming more difficult. Less recovery time between waves of project work is stressing people and systems to the extreme. Very few people will tell you how they really feel about the growing workload.
Apple Response
seconds ago
Edit • DeleteOther Employee Reviews
Other Employee Reviews
"College Intern Program in Austin"
Pros
Great opportunity to work from home as a Student. Managers are understanding of school and work balance. Discount is great!
Cons
Our managers was sometimes incompetent, always assuming that students had no real work experience. Treated the college students like incompetent employees.
Advice to Management
I would go ahead and state that you hire more experienced managers if they are to take the role of Manager for the HBA program.
Apple Response
seconds ago
Edit • DeleteHelpful (1)
"Fun place to work"
Pros
Good benefits, and great EPP
Cons
Tough to advance, it seems they don't hire management from within, even if the employees have management experience. They always seem to look at places like the Gap, or Banana Republic.
Advice to Management
Try looking at your current staff for advancement opportunities
Apple Response
seconds ago
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