My Experience Interviewing with Apple as an Engineer

Over the last 6 years, I’ve applied to hundreds of job openings at Apple. Out of those, I was selected to do an interview for 9 different positions. I’ll explain what the 9 roles were for when I was interviewed by them and the lessons I learned from being rejected. That way you can take these lessons and prevent yourself from getting rejected.
It’s not easy to share your rejections publicly online, but if being transparent helps you make progress in your engineering journey, then it’s worth it! Timestamps are as follows:
00:00 Intro
00:38 The 9 Roles
05:30 Understand Your Own Resume Very Well
06:47 Know the Interview Format
08:21 Create Engineering Summary Notes
09:18 Practice for Your Interview
11:14 Show your Work
12:09 Use Glassdoor
12:40 Understand your Why
MY SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: / tamerxi (feel free to DM me!)
LinkedIn: / tamershaheen (feel free to connect!)
Twitter: / tamerxi (new account, feel free to tweet @ me!)
Email: [e-mail]
Discord: / discord (let's chat there!)
ABOUT ME:
My name is Tamer Shaheen and I am a recent mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo, currently working as a Mechanical Design Engineer. I like to make videos about university/college, engineering, and personal development. Thank you so much for watching!!

[@Ghostxvii]

As a computer science major, I admire people discussing internships/ job offers they didn't get. Often as engineers, we speak highly of the internships/jobs we did get. But few people discuss the emotional impact it had on them, not hearing back from an opportunity they wanted. You are a true engineer, sir; keep up the hard work. The world needs more engineers!

[@brinckau]

I think there is a correlation between the number of engineers and the environmental crisis. More engineers more pollution. Tamer is young. Some day, he will probably suffer greatly from at least one environmental issue (global warming, loss of biodiversity, phosphorus crisis, etc.). And realize that actually, he doesn't really care about creating a new model of smartwatch for Apple.

[@Ghostxvii]

@@brinckau That is an interesting perspective. I tend to learn to take a more positive approach to things. If there are problems like that in the world, it is an engineer's duty to try to solve those complex problems.

[@brinckau]

@@Ghostxvii Those problems can't be solved. That's why the situation is getting worse even though the entire world is focused on those problems. But explaining why would take too long, so let's say they can be solved. Even if they could be solved, we should not try to solve them. Would you tell your kids that they can smoke and try to find a cure for lung cancer in the meantime? No, because it would be ridiculously risky. So why take a big risk, when the stake is the entire mankind? « Well, we may exterminate a significant part of life on our planet, and we are doing it already, but at least we'll have smartwatches and Playstations for a while, so it's definitely worth the risk. » As an engineer, you must understand how absurd this is.

[@Ghostxvii]

@@brinckau all problems can be solved. If you disagree you are a small minded thinker. I understand your points, but if you do not take risks you will forever be stuck in a situation you won’t be able to escape.

[@brinckau]

@@Ghostxvii Not all problems can be solved. Try expressing the square root of 2 as a ratio of integers, for example. As it has been proved by mathematicians, that's not possible, no matter how hard you try. We have exterminated 58% of wildlife populations of earth since 1970 (source: Living Planet assessment, by the Zoological Society of London and WWF). It's not a risk, it's something that is happening right now. To do this because it's cool to have a new Apple Watch or whatever is insane.

[@mereitlepbergen]

I am 22 years old and by looking at you I see that I don’t work enough. I should start doing something to realize my potential

[@gursimransingh8726]

same here 22 and did nothing good

[@makoto2287]

Same 22, i done nothing

[@shadia4710]

Same...another 22 year old

[@AhmedSalah-sl8xp]

Same here bro

[@alirava9865]

Don’t get discouraged by someone else’s success. Use it as motivation!

[@nicholasdoyle7342]

As a former IT Contractor, I applaud you for scrubbing Apple for their unprofessionalism and lackluster communication. It’s a testament to what you may end up dealing with should you accept employment with them. Here’s to you @Tamer 👏🤙

[@akshy471]

He accepted his fate

[@DayTripTookItTo10]

@@akshy471 💀

[@coogeetech3110]

A lot of it comes with LUCK and a lot of preparation. If I work for Apple, I won't go around and tell people that I work for Apple. You always have to watch yourself left and right, then you fail sick. I mean really sick because you work too damn hard. When the doctor told you in your face you may die then you realize what's the hell for what. I love coding. I want my health back so I can keep coding. I will not kill myself for a job at Apple, Google, or Tesla.

[@coogeetech3110]

@@akshy471 It is a healthy ego to reject Apple once after they reject you eight times. It is like trying to get a date with the most popular girl. She suddenly wants you because you work for Google.

[@SaitamEel]

24 yr old mech e post grad here, youre videos both give me reassurance that its not just me, and also inspiration to work harder and smarter! Love your advices and content.

[@EngineeringGoneWild]

Great video Tamer! Grilling you over welding for 30 min definitely fits Apple's style. Having worked with Apple engineers myself, they definitely like to focus on the minute details, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when designing quality products.

[@roywastaken]

Bro your resilience is truly admirable! I'm an engineer of 4 years of experience and I can learn from you. I got rejected by Apple 3x for MD/PD positions and I just gave up entirely.

[@aldogutierrezalcala3047]

This is one of the best videos I ever seen on making suggestions for interviews, pretty natural and really showed the process about how you are improving your innterviews, thanks sir!

[@mohammadjadallah9813]

Perfect example of why going through rejection doesn’t mean you should stop doing what you’re doing! Love it bro keep inspiring the engineering youth. 🔥❤️

[@daviddavid-up1jc]

I appreciate you sharing the mindset of these companies and how they eat and breath so to say and what to expect. It provides a clearer direction to move towards.

[@pawanraghav5178]

Hey Tamer! thanks again , your videos are becoming more knowledgeable with time.

[@1HourOf.]

so glad you're back, I thought you had ditched the channel. It was a very informative video like always

[@giotranchida]

Great video Tamer! Love these insightful tips, keep on going!! 😉😉

[@michaelangeloparkinson5055]

The stuff you described was exactly how my Apple interviews went! I think a lot of it boils down to being great at what your resume says and being a person that fits the team well. I got the offer for next January - August so hopefully I can give more feedback soon ;) Very informative! Thanks for the video.

[@Usith]

Hey man, how did it go? Any updates or tips?

[@itsJoonsung]

Thank you for sharing your stories. This came at a good time as I’m on the job hunt fee inadequate after every rejection. My end goal industry is tech but I feel like I’m not good enough. Watching this video gave me more confidence that everyone goes through rejection and to keep pushing forward

[@user20517]

Thanks Tamer! These are great tips and points to consider in next job interview. Amazing a video as usual

[@REOsama]

Man your videos are just different, thank you

[@osleon11]

2/28/23 I just got informed that I am rejected by Apple for the second time. I will keep applying, and I will update this comment if I get another interview with Apple. P.S. You are worth more than a job!

[@naeem5071]

thanks for the great content you are my mentor

[@vijayshankar22]

Thanks for all the help and support 🔥🙌

[@elmass3662]

Great video once again Tamer! I saw you got robbed a few weeks ago, I hope all is well now. Take care!

[@yasiral-hilali7855]

Tamer, this is fantastic content. I've interviewed for the same role twice over the 2021 calendar. There were a total of 9 interviews (7 & 3) with the second ended up ghosting me for a EPM role (both by referral).

[@alialani8192]

Thanks Tamer, very valuable info!

[@omerozbay1815]

öyle

[@dosgos]

That was a well-prepared, well-educated interview seminar.

[@daudietongano7395]

He came back when the world needed him

[@salehalghamdi8315]

Hi Tamer, very good video and amazing journey you did. Also, at min 8:33 you showed your technical notes for the mechanical engineering concepts would it be possible if you share those! It would be amazing since I can build on that instead of building one from scratch? Thanks 🙏

[@coogeetech3110]

An honest storyteller deserved an Oscar nomination for the best script writer. And with the best tips for any interviews. I did learn a lot from you. Thanks for posting.

[@comcastlover]

That's so CRAZY you had 9 different positions for Apple!! You are like their golden children hahaha. I was actually ghosted after my first EPM interview which made me really sad because it went well, but I did not have hardware experience. 5 months later, I got another interview invite for a PM role from another team and aced all the rounds after a month of interviews. I finally signed my offer letter today! So definitely your experience can be very team-dependent. They are also known to be veryyy slow with the process. Thanks so much for the insight and spectacular advice!! This video is extremely helpful :)

[@Gabriel-pd8sv]

That's really helpful, thanks!

[@Kevin_Ng974]

Perfect timing, co-op job applications start tomorrow for us.

[@kv8824]

Thank you very much for this information!

[@OODASMR]

I am an engineer in korea. I really enjoyed your video. It is so helpful to understand to get a job at apple. I hope we are co-workers at amazing coperation in the future 🙏

[@cucaipa5833]

Good job bro when i become famous i will say your channel was the voice

[@RonanTyler]

Woowww.. He's back

[@sebjoe3752]

THANKS FOR THIS VID ITS VERY USEFUL

[@bhuuthesecond]

Digging the attire Mr Shaheen

[@GChief117]

Step 1: Review DSA (know the data structures first then the algorithms which coincide) Step 2: Make sure to go over Big O Notation for both space time complexity for any algorithm created Step 3: Practice without an IDE, this is universal for both Google and Meta as well(I got a freakin oral question with Meta for god sakes...smh, it's subjective per interview. My logic was on the right track with the first interview) Step 4: Know how to sole various problems from the basics which build up to matrices and graphs, widely used. Can be solved with BFS or DFS, and explain thought process for each step Algorithm Design is a good book to go over and helps with step by step instruction if need a refresher on math (Discrete mathematics)

[@curtisblue5652]

Thank you 🖤✨

[@MannPatel1999]

As someone who’s interviewed at Apple and in fact worked at Apple, I think this video is a little loaded. There are literally 3 things you need to be successful in interviews - know your basics, show you’re a good person to work with, and know your resume really well. And of course luck.

[@dm6368]

Rubbish. I was grilled at apple in California and i was accepted for sde intern.

[@Lemurai]

People always want to go for the big ticket companies without combing the market, there’s a whole lot of niché ventures you can get into as an engineer. My best friend worked for Daiwa, a Japanese company that makes fishing rods and reels, he ended up enjoying what he did and he had perks like traveling to out of the way locations abroad and testing the products he helped design, not many companies will let you go deep sea fishing for fun on their dime, he went to Japan many times and other locations in Asia and Latin America, to test equipment for new product lines, all this because he took a chance and did the opposite, ran away from the bright lights that attract moths only to get burned. Working for Tesla, Apple or Google is not the end all and in fact those companies don’t give a crap about you because their leadership is trash, look elsewhere there are way too many companies to count that need engineers in place ready to work and you can still get the experience you seek.

[@Poisoned2010]

I did an interview with Apple for an engineering position, having been currently employed at the time too for several years in the same job title role. The HR interview went really well. The second interview was with the team's manager which also went really well. The third interview was with the manager's boss. This person during the interview seemed very uninterested from the start as if they had already made up their mind on a different candidate. I am however happy that I didn't get ghosted and got a rejection email about 2 weeks after the third interview, no reason as to why they did not pick me though. Overall, not too bad of an experience.

[@TamerShaheen]

That sounds very similar to my experiences. I've definitely had interviews with engineers that seemed very uninterested from the beginning too lol

[@michaelromefelt762]

So, if anything, this is more based on the position... from if you are a tech spec all the way to a Lead Expert...all I will say is that a Google engineer got a job as Pro and had 6 "lengthy" interviews before he got the position...

[@hike9133]

Stanford University.......shm

[@starwrs3468]

Hey I was wondering if you had any tips as far as workload for students going into first year. So far I haven’t had much of a problem understanding concepts it’s just the workload. I feel like there’s not enough hours in a day to complete everything that I need to. Do you have any tips for efficiency when it comes to reading textbooks especially? Also my course is a modified one where all of the learning is don’t by ourselves form textbooks and videos. Class time is for collaborative work on different things and it’s only half days. But the rest of the time I have to watch videos and read the textbooks and do questions and I feel like there’s way too much.

[@BedsheetGhost_]

I’m a freshman in Computer Engineering and looking to work Apple retail to start building Rapport with the company. This is insanely solid advice!

[@panspans5764]

What I’m doing rn, 1 year in and just finished my first year CPE, goal is to either get experience or intership as I’m in the retail alr, still very hard

[@nelsonclements9966]

First! Thanks for the vid man

[@coogeetech3110]

The point is to keep shooting for the top companies and be smart enough to understand that by doing so it may help you land a good job somewhere else that will give you true joy to use your creativity and skills. An old engineer I ran into passed FOUR Amazon AWS certification tests. Anyone who took any of these tests will tell you they are difficult. He finally landed a job at Amazon AWS and then got let go six months later. He was depressed when I talked to him. You fought hard to get in, and then you fought hard to stay alive. When there is big money, there is pressure. You have to be mentally tough and emotionally intelligent, and of course, you have to be a good engineer to survive.

[@dill_will21]

Thanks so much for the info

[@shimaalcarrim7949]

You are the man

[@kensfilmbits]

Hey I’m the same age, class year and also a mechanical engineer! I interviewed for internships with apple and everything you said is spot on. They grill you on every bullet point as much as possible to gauge your expertise on the area of interest they’re in

[@SpaceXX71]

The bullet point thing, one reason could be that maybe they are trying to catch people who exaggerate things on their resume.

[@kensfilmbits]

@@SpaceXX71 yup exactly you said it simpler and better than me

[@joshuakattapuram7430]

@@kensfilmbits hey man, any tips you got that helped you in your resume? I'm starting to apply for jobs soon and anything particular that you believe gave you an edge?

[@kensfilmbits]

@@joshuakattapuram7430 I think something really helpful to keep in the back of your head is to make sure your resume shows a consistent and positive trend in a direction towards what you’re trying to specialize in! I like viewing résumés kind of like as a story in one’s personal development. I believe nothing in particular really gave me an edge to land an interview. It just so happened that my story had potential to begin a new chapter on their team. So really, find something specific to specialize in, and you’ll be way better off and much more marketable! The job search would be much easier as well

[@joshuakattapuram7430]

@@kensfilmbits thanks a ton my guy! Do you think projects play a big role in how you're viewed? My situation is a little weird. I'm a cs student, but I've been doing a business related job for the last year or so. But they've made me work on complicated business projects and even UI/UX design. I'm worried, it may not display a consistent view with business and cs being two different branches

[@murk959]

Very useful video!!

[@coolmonkey619]

Holly Molly , I really have under prepared for interviews

[@startdetailing3031]

Very good vid!

[@PlayCrafted27]

Hi any tips on how to write a CV? I have heard that you should only have one page for your CV. Furthermore, in your video you ince said too include pictures of all projects you have worked on. I have some models I have made for school on fusion 360 and for personal use as well. Should I include all that if applyin for a mechnical engineering job?

[@jendlti]

Most big companies target people with experience, then if its an internship they would want the best of the best. try gunning for contractors that work with apple then so you will get in easily with useful experience. in engineering your school will only factor in the first 3 years then after that its a battle of experience. this is because it is very expensive to invest in a young engineer that might just jump ship later which happens 99% of the time, so they try to at least get somebody who can do the job day 1 without supervision with little loss after the employee leaves for a better opportunity.

[@arupduttabappy3284]

thanks, tamer

[@josec8896]

Can you share the engineering notes? They seem well written and organized

[@supersaiyan2]

Yo u got me into mech Eng at UW thx bro

[@hansbleuer3346]

Very helpfull. Tx.

[@morganchandler5126]

I'm a 37 year old student with 20years welding and fabrication experience now I'm going after my engineering degree.... Following you for tips .....

[@satiricalpataphysician8938]

Good Luck Man!

[@morganchandler5126]

@@satiricalpataphysician8938 Thanks 👍

[@maalikserebryakov]

Definitely put that 20 yr welding experience in ur resume

[@maalikserebryakov]

How is your degree going? Have you studied machine theory yet

[@morganchandler5126]

@@maalikserebryakov I haven't even started school yet registration starts in about 3 weeks or so and the semester begins January the 13th I believe

[@RDD5547]

Though I am not an Engineering major (currently a psychology major), I think about majoring in Physics and working in the field of defense contracting for companies such as GD and LH. This video was very insightful in the process of finding an internship

[@zerere_]

Physics is a spectacular major! Incredibly hard but also incredibly rewarding

[@rajatsinghthakur2455]

suoer insightful as a PM aspirant

[@leavemealoneplease652]

I really catch a very important lesson/ habit That I always tend to forget is that...... To understand your subjects/ Course wholeheartedly, make a ton of questions of that theory and rehearse it from time to time for avoiding the forgetting curve in action.... Ohwww

[@leavemealoneplease652]

I Applaud!! *

[@AhmedSalah-sl8xp]

Hey tamer could you make a video about the most frequtnly engineering interview questions?

[@abdullahalmasud9511]

Hello Tamer, great video. Will it be possible to share the technical notes?

[@padge1]

Love the video. Any chance you would be willing to share some of the documents you mention in the video? Thanks

[@Poohbify]

this is very good

[@damedemi4975]

Great video Tamer! Question about how you got the referrals. Was it from people you knew? Thanks love you content bro

[@TamerShaheen]

Ya just people I knew

[@benc2798]

If you are rejected by a company for 9 times, you should dump that company.

[@TamerShaheen]

Well I learned a lot from these rejections haha. The first few were definitely due to lack of experience.

[@agustingiudici8202]

Great video! How do you edit them?

[@darshann5372]

Hey, great stuff !! could you please share the notes u have made shown in the video? Thanks!

[@matheshmurugan8124]

For an product design engineer what are the technical skills are we needed for...

[@quadhd1121]

Can you explain how may years of work were required for this work? also what type of technical questions were asked ?

[@iftekharuddinshohan509]

Would you be able to make a tutorial on stress-strain analysis using SolidWorks?

[@nR-kv7xo]

yes to the bullet point thing, I put "jenkins" on mine, purely of exposure..... he grilled me on that one LOL

[@panic_seller]

What I realise is they really do interview your suitability for the job in every other position except Software Development, they look for specifically geniuses in this area regardless of your expertise

[@dylandesouza8280]

+++ added to my helpful playlist

[@JeromeDemers]

regarding the MIG welding story, here is mine: during my panel interview, I introduce myself and said that I fly FPV drone because it merge lots of my hobbies, electronic, mechanical, software and like to play around with PID settings.Then continued with the rest of my 20min presentation. I said "PID" once out of 20min talking. Well for 10 min I got ask about deep PID control questions!🤣

[@radon3292]

Because a lot of people don’t really actually know controls

[@theheroofthevirgins1487]

I think the best way to get actually hired in Apple by knowing someone inside the company will actually give good word of you and have a bigger chance to get hire. You wont be like other millions unknown with just a resume.

[@marcmaza2821]

I went in for cnc machine position for apple! Was probably one of the biggest joke interview I ever did! The guy I was interviewing would interrupt what I would say! At the end of the interview I said I don’t think this gonna workout I walked out! 😂

[@aphiwemagaya3279]

at least you got rejected 9 times in an interview at the same company, some of us get none and been job hunting :(

[@youssraank3614]

can you please share the notes thank you tamer you are an inspiration

[@LivingLarrystyle]

Hey is it possible to get a copy of your notes. I been studying but yours looks so much better 😅

[@quocdungamVNUer]

I also got rejected by Apple 2 times =D. The last time , I got into the final round and still got rejected and didn't know the underlying reason. But I prepare to apply the 3rd time this year.

[@f00kwhiteblackracismwarsh07]

Sorry no one seem to answer this since I am new. When you get rejected from a company say 2 or 3 times, don’t they say to themselves we gave this person so many chances and now we won’t take this person for next opening and let others who haven’t have a chance or fewer rejection get the job interview? I know it’s kind of lame question but I am really curious to know how it works.

[@KAZAM707]

Looking at your notes about yourself, and the way you express certain things, I think you can use some assistance to market yourself better.

[@maalikserebryakov]

What problems did you notice

[@electronic6774]

Which program you make the montage with?

[@psphacker57]

What happened to the video where you showed how the interviews went

[@danialcraig4702]

Thanks

[@Abdulrahman2]

Now it is 10 times 💔

[@mr.president6922]

Can you make a video why you left Tesla

[@jahanzebali589]

COOL!

[@carmellaking22]

Whoa, my birthday is also October 8th!

[@shivthedev]

Ghosting is the worst, that too from a company from Apple! Seriously! You got that dude to work for you for free!

[@spider-man3576]

Tamer what are your thoughts on Spider-Man, isn't he cool

[@ayandamathafeng1594]

Looking at entering into a electronic engineering course to work for companies like apple

[@FRAMEDSKATEKREW69]

I thought it was just me, 2 years in a row and never even got an email back saying I was denied lol I only ever got an email asking about my application process.

[@science_and_technology6]

What are the requirements to become an expert in creating a program, PayPal money adder

[@sidorios_]

i just noticed that the start of the video with the fast images made a nosea effect.

[@DevPrajapati10]

100K🎉

[@marknone5500]

Watching this as I'm doing my Apple interview design challenge lol

[@neomaster8739]

Can I get a copy of your notes 💁🏼 for research purpose