On working for Apple, or how to mail lots of people without them knowing
Chuq writes about a note he received asking him politely about what it’s like to work for Apple and how to find a job there. People ask these questions all the time yet the answers don’t change very often, so it’s helpful to have his answers online.
But that’s not why I’m writing this. You see, Alexei and I received the same message last week (from the same person). Before I talked to Alexei, I figured it looked like a personal message to me, so I took some time — there are a lot of questions — and wrote a detailed response.
As soon as I found out that it was sent to multiple people, I was a bit annoyed. I’m not sure if I should be upset at that, though; after all, it’s just a college student trying to find a job at the company he loves, and it’s tough to fault him for that. Somehow I feel misled in a way, since at least three of us spent some amount of time (and I don’t know about Alexei, but both Chuq and I spent a lot of time) answering these questions, thinking that we were the only source of input.
After I sent my response, I got a polite note back from the student asking additional questions. I’m torn — do I take time away from the other things that I need to get done to answer, or is the aggravation of not being told that the note was bulk-mailed enough to keep me from helping him out further? I’m not sure.
I’m sure of one thing, though. If you’re looking for help from a group of people who know each other or work together, don’t mail everyone in the group and act like you’re mailing each of them individually. If anyone wants advice I’m happy to offer it — I’ve helped three people get jobs at Apple in the past five months, after all — but I’d rather the person asking be upfront about who they’ve asked. I don’t fault anyone for wanting multiple perspectives — that’s a great idea — but I think they should mention it.
Or maybe I’m just being childish.
(On a related note, this is one reason not to have a publicly available list of Apple bloggers. I wonder how many people bulk-mail all of the known Microsoft bloggers.)
Teal Sunglasses Said,
September 21, 2003 @ 4:08 pm
more on working for Apple.
Eric carries forward on On Working for Apple with his own piece. Turns out the person who wrote me wrote other Apple people. Eric’s upset, but wonders if he should be. I find it hard to be upset at someone who seems to really care about my company. If …
Louis' Ramblings Said,
September 21, 2003 @ 4:12 pm
Thoughts on blogging
Eric posted a very interesting story, but the last comment is what I want to talk about: (On a related note, this is one reason not to have a publicly available list of Apple bloggers. I wonder how many people…
Alexei's Weblog Said,
September 21, 2003 @ 5:11 pm
On working for Apple (me three)
Chuq and Eric both write about an email they received recently from someone interested in working at Apple (see Chuq’s…
Erik J. Barzeski Said,
September 21, 2003 @ 5:34 pm
He emailed me too, and I simply wrote back and said “I’d rather not discuss that, and in fact, I may not be allowed to” or something like that. I had the feeling that he’d written to many people, and now you’ve shown that to be true.
It was a long email, and had he IMed me, I’d have probably given him more information, but email is not something I can do “piecemeal” as much as an IM session. Given the length, I couldn’t devote the 30 or 60 minutes it’d take to draft a useful reply.
Buzz Andersen Said,
September 21, 2003 @ 7:56 pm
Yeah–I got one too :-). I can sympathize, personally, because he reminds me a bit of myself. He wants to work for a company he admires a lot, and he’s trying to get an “in” any way he can.
I do agree that the mass emailing is borderline cheezy, but, then, just about everything else about trying to get a job is equally cheezy (you can tell I’m a jaded job searcher :-).
Ryan Said,
September 29, 2003 @ 1:49 am
I can understand you feeling slighted. I would too.
I don’t know what questions he was asking but it is one thing to ask for info about the company and employee perspectives.
It’s something else to disguise it and send the same thing out to a billion people. I think that says something of the integrity of the person asking for help.
Is the fact that he/she e-mailed a dozen people something that he should hide? I can’t see a reason why, but then again I’m sitting on his end. Being a college Senior looking for a job. I’m not on your end where people are asking for my advice.
Oh yea… just stumbled across your blog from stevenf @ panic.
JOHN R CHANG > Weblog Said,
September 30, 2003 @ 5:06 pm
It’s that time of year again
Autumn leaves ar efalling (ok, we mostly just have evergreens here in California), sweaters and jackets are getting pulled out of storage, and college students are emailing me about jobs at Apple. I feel compelled to help students and staff…
Scott Said,
October 31, 2003 @ 10:52 am
I’m on the MSFT bloggers list referenced in this post, even though I left the company more than six months ago. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a bulk mailing aimed at this list, and I get few hits from there. I think Mary Jo Foley put the list up hoping to find someone revealing a secret in a blog. Now that Microsoft is actively encouraging blogging, it’s even less interesting.
Robert Said,
January 10, 2004 @ 11:54 pm
Interesting, I almost feel like an idiot. I just e-mail chuq because i read his e-mail correspondences with whoever it was and was compeled to write him to see if he could answer a question or two for me. I am also seeking a job with apple. Although, I am a softmore in college and more seeking how I can go about aquiring the assets I need to be something that Apple wants, I still want to know how get the job. I know its been a while since the last blog so I hope people are still paying attention, I may as well put myself out there. Anyone who has any advice for me, please talk to me, I would love to chat about it. (holmes18@mac.com)
Anyway, at least I didn’t try and bulk mail my questions and pleads, and I am certainly not a “disney fan” as Alexie was talking about. I want to be a part of the team, I want to make changes and help people with everything and anything apple. Anyway, if theres anyone out there, please, please shout me out or point me in the right direction. Thanks so much
-Rob