Speaking to students at the University of Naples Federico in Italy, the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, stressed the significance of new hires caring about the work environment.
Getting a job at Apple is not easy, but according to CEO Tim Cook, people with four specific qualities are much more likely to be considered.
However, he made the point that success at work required effort on both sides and that working a job that made you unfulfilled was not a prescription for success.
“We have a group of people in the company that really want to change the world, that want to enrich people’s lives, that want to leave the world better than they found it,” he said. “It’s that kind of feeling that drives people to do their best work and I’ve seen it happen again and again, and the results are just unbelievable.”
Cook asserted that individuals who have these four characteristics had achieved success at Apple and that the company will continue to seek out candidates who possessed them since they fit well with the company.
1. Collaboration
A major skill anyone hoping to work at Apple needed was the ability to collaborate with colleagues.
“We believe that strong individual contributors are really key, but two strong individuals that work together can do amazing work, and small teams can do incredible things,” he said.
“So we look for the ability to collaborate with people—the fundamental feeling that if I share my idea with you, that idea will grow and get bigger and be better,” stating once more that diverse perspectives foster the emergence of fresh ideas and that Apple’s success in developing new products was a result of collaborative approaches.
He claims that it takes teamwork rather than someone going into a closet or a corner and discovering something about themselves.
2. Creativity
Another quality Apple looks for in potential workers is creativity. According to Apple’s CEO, the corporation seeks employees who have unconventional ideas and who aren’t bound by conventional wisdom when approaching a challenge.
The organization searches for candidates who would approach a problem from several perspectives and use their imaginations to come up with solutions.
3. Curiosity
There are no dumb questions as inquisitive and curious people are valued.
Cool says, “Curiosity is about being curious about something to ask lots of questions, whether you think they’re smart questions or dumb questions”.
“It’s amazing when somebody starts to ask questions as a kid would, how it puts pressure on the person to think through the answers really deeply. And so, we look for this innate curiosity in people.”
4. Expertise
Cook concluded by saying that his company looks to hire people with relevant experience.
“If we’re doing something in industrial design, we need somebody that knows industrial design and has a skill set in it either from their college days or through their work days,” he said.
“People have to work for a reason bigger than themselves,” he said. “So you want to have a vision for a company that is about serving the customer and somehow improving their lives. You want to do it in an ethical way.”
He maintained that without these components, no amount of money could make a job worthwhile.
“There’s no gravitational pull from that—the gravitational pull is always, What are you doing for other people?” he said. “And with a purpose like that, it’s amazing what people will do from a work point of view.”
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