How I Got Into Series: Apple

The text below is a summary of a video in our How I Got Into Series.

Who is this person?

Neil Sharma is currently a student attending the University of Waterloo where he studies System Design Engineering. His passion for program management and enthusiasm for working with others to solve problems and deliver solutions made him a perfect candidate for the position of Engineering Program Manager on the Siri Team where he worked for the well-known tech company — Apple.

How did this person get into their company?

Before Apple, Neil participated in two co-op terms where he was a junior project manager for a Canadian bank called BMO financial group — Neil spent his time involved in research and development where he worked with robots and designing innovation labs to improve employee engagement. He later went on to get an internal promotion which promoted him to Associate Program Manager in DevOps and payment solutions. After gaining quite a bit of experience, Neil decided to extend his work to Fortune 500 companies, after experiencing many rejections and declining referrals, he finally got offers from companies like Apple and Tesla.

How to get into that position?

Neil’s greatest advice is to build experience in the field of program management before you apply for the position. There are certain elements of a Program Manager that cannot be taught in school, therefore real-life practice is needed to prepare to take on the job. If you are currently working at a company, you can ask the program managers at your workplace for advice or to help them with any problems they might have. You not only build your credibility as an employee but you also learn what a good program manager does on a day-to-day basis. This gives you an opportunity to leverage those insights into your interviews. Neil also advises that before the interview, you should always study the role you are applying for and what kind of questions they might throw at you.

Tips for anyone who wants to join the company?

Niel suggests researching the team beforehand to prepare yourself for the interview. If you are applying to the Siri Team like Neil, it’s beneficial to have a good understanding of the Apple products and integration of Siri into them. This allows you to leverage that same information into any design questions you might come across as a P.M. (Program Manager). He also recommends reaching out to other Engineering P.M.s in Apple and asking about their daily routine or challenges they face while working — this gives you insight into the work culture in Apple and you can even talk about it in your interview. The best way to learn is from people who are already working in the career that you want.

Any additional advice?

Neil’s last advice to those applying to Apple is — pursue your passions and build upon them. It’s easy to fall into a trap where you feel like you have to push yourself to do everything, therefore he recommends focusing on 2-3 things that you really care about and just pour your heart out into mastering those things. If you work on developing your skills and mastering your craft first — the jobs and opportunities will make their way to you as a byproduct of your own personal development.