- Apple CEO Tim Cook recently talked about what the company looks for when hiring.
- Tim Cook says that Apple employees all believe that “one plus one equals three.”
- He also said coding is important in general, but Apple has hired people who don’t code or have degrees.
What does it take to work at Apple?
Tim Cook talked about the characteristics that strong hires at Apple share in a recent podcast interview hosted by Dua Lipa.
About three minutes into the interview, Cook said that everyone he works with at Apple believes that “one plus one equals three.” Poor math skills don’t sound like they’d be ideal for workers at a top tech company, but Cook broke down what he meant by that.
“It’s an incredible feeling to work with people that bring out the best in you, and fundamentally, we all believe that one plus one equals three,” Cook said. “Your idea plus my idea is better than the individual ideas on their own.”
Do you need a degree or know how to code to work at Apple?
Cook said in the interview that Apple hires people from “all walks of life,” including those with and without college degrees. He also listed some other traits that help one find success at the iPhone company.
“I think one of the characteristics that I look for in people is collaboration,” Cook said. “Can they really collaborate? Do they deeply believe that 1 plus 1 equals three?”
Cook said that he also looks for employees who are curious and not afraid to ask questions. Other traits he looks for include creativity and someone who is a team player.
He said that while he believes coding is an important life skill even outside of work, Apple has hired people who don’t know how to code, or those who don’t code often or as part of their daily job.
In 2016, Business Insider took a dive into what Apple employees have said about their jobs on forums like Glassdoor and Quora. The application process is very rigorous, with some job candidates reporting as many as 13 total interviews. Apple was also described as being very protective of its upcoming products, monitoring trash cans, using code names for new products, and covering windows with black curtains.
Cook also talked more about what it takes to work at Apple back in a 2015 “60 Minutes” interview. He said that he wanted employees who are passionate, idealistic, and don’t take no for an answer. He also said it was important that his employees want to change the world and aren’t satisfied with things the way they are.
He also mentioned that it was important to hire people with a diverse range of perspectives. Cook told “60 Minutes” that Apple wants “wicked smart people who have a point of view and want to debate that point of view…People that want to make things better.”
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