I received a cold contact through LinkedIn. The personnel manager was very nice and accommodating of my work schedule and the time zone difference.

The initial interview was more to determine if:

1. I was willing to move to CA.
2. I was willing to travel.
3. I had ever stopped a line and how I would handle it should it be necessary.

The next two interviews were with my potential peers. It was through these that I learned that a lot of travel actually translated to living a third of the year in China in 2 to 3 week chunks every 4 to 6 weeks. I was also told that though you were not discouraged to take vacation time, there really was no opportunity to do so.

Questions consisted of:

• How have I stopped a line in the past?
• Could I give examples without giving out proprietary information?
• How would customers use a product influence the recommendations I would make for testing during development?

There was also a belief by the interviewers that the job was very different from anything I have ever done, but it really wasn't.

Lastly, they wanted to know what questions I had about Apple. This is a pitfall question, and probably where I lost any chance of continuing the interview process because I tried to get the interviewer enthused enough to sell me on the company, and the interviewer was audibly insulted by my questions. So be careful how you respond to this type of question if you want the job.

Have you ever stopped a line for a quality issue? How did you go about it?

Can you provide examples?

What do you want to know about Apple?