Experience Apple

I just recently applied to Apple for several openings for user interface engineers, usability experts, and software engineers. As you would expect from such a sophisticated computer company, their job application process begins with the web, at http://jobs.apple.com.

The first thing a potential employee needs to do is create an account. Actually, you don't need to create an account to search for jobs, and this is cool. So, I searched through the listings and started to make note of some potential good fits. After a while, I noticed that the site provided a mechanism for storing the details of jobs of interest. Bonus! So, I start adding jobs to my 'job list.'

But this process is time-consuming, and the way they have their system setup is - I kid you not - about the least efficient way of searching for jobs. So alas, my session times out, I have to re-log in, and guess what... my job list is completely erased.

Bastards! So, I create an account. I search for jobs again. I start to get annoyed that I can't press the 'back' button without resubmitting my search critera, and if I do, the server resets my page position back to the top (searching through a list of 509 jobs... keeping the same place is important!)

The alternative is to manually resubmit search critera (instead of having the browser do it) and that just yields the same results, except with more effort.

Interestingly, if I search for jobs in London, I get *MORE* jobs than if I search for the UK. Undeterred, I keep saving potential jobs to my list and begin to create my online resume for Apple (they won't accept PDFs of CVs like every other rational technology company does).

I start to create the resume. I avoid the temptation of the 'cut and paste' option; surely it will look better if I fill in their forms, right? Erm... I get strange errors trying to avoid the timeout issue... double postings of information... most forms handle, but some create problems... like adding schools. Bah!

I keep going and I keep getting timeout messages and finally, it ignores my request and times me out anyway. I lose my saved job list.

$@#@$^*%^$#$@#$^#&*$^%#$@#@%^&*(*&^%$#$%^&*(*&^%$#

...

I refine my online CV; it keeps treating it like I've created a new one and notifiying apple of the changes. (ick!)

...

You can send applications to multiple jobs in your job list at once; I plan to do in two batches, one for the software engineering job, one for the usability jobs. After doing one, the system deletes the saved jobs that I didn't apply for, so I have to add them AGAIN!!!

...

A friend of mine who works for Apple as a head engineer once proudly told me how all of Apple only has like 20 engineers. They should have spared one for their application system. Apple would be blessed to have someone like me working for them, and GOD AS MY WITNESS, I TRIED, but dammit, Janet!

In the end, I withdrew everything after seeing Apple HQ in Cupertino and having lunch there. Do you remember high school? That's *exactly* what it felt like. I repeat, I have not felt like I have been in high school that much except for the time I was actually in high school. Yeah, funk this, I hated high school, the last thing I want to do is work at a place like that.

Funny, cause I would have thought it would have been more like a college.

Apple? iGlad iNot