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Software Engineering Manager Interview Experience

December 1, 2015
Negative ExperienceGot Offer

Process

I had two rounds of phone interviews.

The first involved the hiring manager, who discussed my current job and posed some architectural design questions, followed by a couple of simple algorithm questions.

A few days later, a software engineer asked technical questions, many specific to Java, and a couple of simple algorithm questions.

The on-site interview was six hours long and comprised five interviews, each with a panel of two interviewers, plus lunch.

The hiring manager drilled down on architectural design questions, followed by two interviewers focusing on database-related questions and seven interviewers assessing algorithm skills.

Positives: I felt the interviewers respected me as a candidate, and their body language was mostly positive. A brief tour around the campus was also very good. The recruiting process was quick, and no repeated visits were required.

Negatives: I was treated like a robot for solving algorithm questions. Despite nearly 20 years of coding experience in server-side Java, no one asked about my resume, the technologies and processes I've used, or my leadership experience. Some interviewers didn't even read my resume before the interview.

When I asked about the technologies they are currently using, the answers didn't excite me very much.

Finally, a note to the Apple engineers: Smile! You are human beings, not robots. And you are hiring human beings, not robots.

Questions

Find the element(s) in an integer array such that if it's removed, the rest of the array can be divided into two sub-arrays of equal sums. The sub-arrays need not contain contiguous elements.

There may be zero or more answers.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 9 interview experiences for the Apple Software Engineering Manager role in United States.

Success Rate

11%
Pass Rate

Apple's interview process for their Software Engineering Manager roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive22%
Neutral22%
Negative56%

Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Apple's Software Engineering Manager interview process in United States.

Apple Work Experiences