Apple

Good training, and Apple will employ people at entry level. Great experience for your resume. Facilities, salary, and benefits are good – above average.

Management structure is all wrong. Managers receive too much pressure from above and do not take enough pressure from below. Employees are given more responsibilities every quarter without any pressure being lifted, or salary raise, etc. Management does not take ownership of this, try to change or apologize. There is no responsibility taken for issues that affect the lower tiers; management believes that all issues come from above. This is unfortunate because Apple otherwise has a great culture, but I had 5 managers in 2 departments in the time I worked with Apple, and it is all the same. No matter how nice the manager, the minute you have a problem, they do not want to hear from you. This can quickly turn any team into a hostile environment.

It is difficult to experience any professional growth. There is no support for self-driven learning; you can only follow one of the pre-defined career paths and navigate through the Apple chain of advancement.

A good manager finds satisfaction in keeping their team motivated in difficult times.

This does not mean shirking responsibilities, slacking, or pushing back. It means understanding, listening, and trying – really trying – to find solutions for discontent.

If you cannot act as a moderator between senior management and your direct reports, you are not a good manager.

Your primary role is negotiation: motivating your team to work hard to hit targets they can achieve, but equally convincing upper management to slacken when the expectations are too high.

Your secondary role is to ensure that your team has the ability to run smoothly. This could mean resolving internal disputes, coaching and training, or organizing motivational weekend trips.

Do these two things, and you could be the change Apple sorely needs.