DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO WORK AT APPLE?

Want a job at Apple? 

Sure, you’ll need a skill set that matches the job description.  You’ll need to put together a resume that lists all your qualifications and training.  You’ll need to have letters of reference.

But do you want to know the most important part of the job application process?  It’s the job interview.  The employer wants to know what the potnetial employee is like as a person and also how the person thinks/solves problems.  

Gone are the days where employers ask the boring, standard job interview questions:

"Why are you a good candidate for this job?"

"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"

"How do you deal with challenges?"

How will you contribute to this company?

"Why were you fired from your last job?"

Employers like Apple, in their quest for innovative team members who can think outside the box, have started developing outside-the-box questions to probe an interviewee's mind.  Here is a sampling of the questions that they have used:

"How do you handle people who are not responsive to emails?"

"How would you explain to an 8 year old what a router is?"

"Apple Watch will only work paired with an iPhone.  How would you estimate how many units will be sold?"

"What's the most efficient way to determine if a number is a power of 2?"

These questions are designed to reveal both who you are and how you think.  The element of having no idea of what you’re going to be asked prevents you from giving a canned, prepared, rehearsed response.  Instead, you are forced to analyze, think on your feet, draw upon what you know, and then clearly and articulately communicate your idea to the interview panel.  

Effective math practice follows a similar process.  While there is a time and place in learning for repetitive practice, the most powerful and effective practice results from direct application of learned principles in different contexts.   

In the olden days, there was a “plug and chug” model for math homework/practice where students were given 25 problems to solve that were in the exact same format, just with different numbers.  This is what I would call mindless number crunching, a mere “rehearsing” of same process over and over.  In that era, I found that students who had seemingly mastered a concept while doing the repetitive homework were thrown for a total loop when they were tasked with applying that exact same concept in a different context.  They had no idea what to do even though they had just practiced the concept...

Best practice in math instruction dictates that students should employ the principles that they have learned in varying contexts.  When our students practice or when we give tests, we assign problems that students have not seen before, but ones where students utilize the principles that they have already.  Thus, the first step that a student must take when a problem is posed is to analyze the problem and figure out what is being asked of them.  Next, they must dig into their “mathematical toolbelt” and figure out what tools they need to pull out to start working the problem.  The final step is finding the solution and then checking the reasonableness and accuracy of the answer.

This process of problem solving that we are having our students practice reminds me of these outside-the-box interview questions from Apple.  You are expected to not only possess knowledge and skill, but you must be able to figure out how and when to utilize your knowledge and skills.  Furthermore, you must be able to adequately communicate your ideas to others.  

The end goal is not merely knowing the math, it is the ability to figure out when and how to use the math.  Math is not the goal in and of itself, it is a tool that you use to help you reach your goal.  

In this day and age where there’s an app for everything (including solving complex equations), there is less need for strict number crunching in the job market.  Instead, employers are looking for people who are able to innovate and solve problems.  Numbers, equations, and mathematical principles are among the tools that people are expected to utilize to innovate and problem solve.  

All this being said, in both math learning and in life in general, it is important to be able to think on your feet.  Problem analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, and organizing/articulating your ideas on the fly are important skills in today’s world, both when it comes to learning math and interviewing at Apple.

Read this article to see what other questions Apple job candidates have been asked in the past (scroll through the image gallery at the top of the article to see the questions).  Then try answering some of them for yourself and see if you would hire yourself based on your answers!