Apple recruiters found me on LinkedIn and asked if I would be interested in talking about a job. I spoke with a recruiter over the phone at first. Then, I had a call with a hiring manager to discuss the role and what they do. Next, I had another call with a different manager that was a technical talk. We discussed my previous work and some technical details. He then emailed me a circuit with some questions, which I solved and sent back to him. The circuit wasn't too difficult, and I solved all the answers correctly in about an hour.

I was then flown out for an onsite interview. Apple paid for all expenses. The interview lasted all day, and I met with many different people for about half an hour at a time. Some of the interviewers just talked and asked about what I did. Others asked me technical questions. The level of difficulty varied drastically from one person to the next. I found a number of the people to be very arrogant and snobby. They often made me feel as if I should be grateful to be in their presence. This turned me off very much. Towards the end of my day, I was definitely worn out and started making stupid mistakes, so I figured I wouldn't get the job.

Weeks went by, and nobody contacted me. Finally, I contacted them, and they told me that they had found somebody else. It took me nearly six months to get reimbursed for my expenses, though. They gave you a hard time about every little thing, and I had to go back and forth with them many times. Finally, they did pay me back.

They ask lots of aloof questions to see how creative you are.

For example, they might give you two black boxes and ask you to draw a circuit between them that performs some function.

I guess it's fair game, but I can't imagine many people can think that complexly on the spot like that. They probably weed out some good people that way.