Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
It’s not impossible to land your dream job at one of the nation’s biggest tech companies — but be prepared for a long and rigorous process.
To gain insight into the interview experience at some of tech’s most important companies, career data site Comparably surveyed 6,463 current employees at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.
Comparably found that the process varies considerably from company to company. At Apple, candidates should “expect to be turned away a few times,” and that it might take “a few years” to land a job. But at Facebook, engineers can show up for an interview in “whatever is most comfortable,” including a t-shirt and jeans.
Here’s how current employees rated the interview process at five of the biggest tech companies in the world.
Employees rate Apple and Microsoft as having the best interview process overall.
A visitor at Apple Park, Apple’s new headquarters in Cupertino, California.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Employees gave Apple and Microsoft the highest ratings when it comes to the overall interview process:
Apple — 90 out of 100
Microsoft — 90 out of 100
Google — 88 out of 100
Amazon — 87 out of 100
Facebook — 83 out of 100
Google employees say their interview process was “difficult.”
An employee at Google’s headquarters.M. Spencer Green/AP
Most Google employees surveyed found the interview process to be difficult or very difficult. In contrast, 30% of Amazon employees rated the interview process “easy.”
Amazon
Very difficult — 17%
Difficult — 24%
Average — 29%
Easy — 17%
Very easy — 13%
Apple
Very difficult — 12%
Difficult — 36%
Average — 32%
Easy — 12%
Very easy — 8%
Facebook
Very difficult — 16%
Difficult — 26%
Average — 37%
Easy — 5%
Very easy — 16%
Google
Very difficult — 19%
Difficult — 30%
Average — 25%
Easy — 18%
Very easy — 8%
Microsoft
Very difficult — 11%
Difficult — 36%
Average — 48%
Easy — 5%
Very easy — 0%
Most people end up working at all five companies by simply applying online.
An employee works at Amazon’s headquarters.Courtesy of Brittany Stanton
Most current employees companies said they landed a job interview by applying online, with a few notable exceptions: a larger percentage of Facebook employees, for example, said they got an interview by networking.
Amazon
Applied online — 39%
Referral — 14%
Recruiter — 32%
Other — 12%
Networking — 3%
Apple
Applied online — 34%
Referral — 29%
Recruiter — 10%
Other — 17%
Networking — 10%
Facebook
Applied online — 29%
Referral — 24%
Recruiter — 19%
Other — 9%
Networking — 19%
Google
Applied online — 23%
Referral — 18%
Recruiter — 39%
Other — 11%
Networking — 9%
Microsoft
Applied online — 17%
Referral — 26%
Recruiter — 30%
Other — 13%
Networking — 14%
Microsoft has the quickest average response time after an interview.
A Microsoft employee at the company’s headquarters.Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
Expect Google to take a few weeks after your interview to get back to you. At Microsoft, however, you might hear back the same day.
Amazon
Same day — 12%
Within a week — 47%
1-2 weeks — 22%
2-4 weeks — 10%
4+ weeks — 9%
Apple
Same day — 11%
Within a week — 42%
1-2 weeks — 31%
2-4 weeks — 4%
4+ weeks — 12%
Facebook
Same day — 15%
Within a week — 42%
1-2 weeks — 16%
2-4 weeks — 11%
4+ weeks — 16%
Google
Same day — 11%
Within a week — 5%
1-2 weeks — 35%
2-4 weeks — 30%
4+ weeks — 19%
Microsoft
Same day — 23%
Within a week — 55%
1-2 weeks — 10%
2-4 weeks — 10%
4+ weeks — 2%
Employees at Facebook and Google go through the most interviews before being offered a job.
Facebook employees work in the company’s Hyderabad, India offices.Facebook
At both Google and Facebook, job candidates may have to go through five or more interviews before getting a job offer. At Amazon, however, potential employees may only have to do one or two interviews.
Amazon
One or two interviews — 61%
Three or four interviews — 11%
Five or more interviews — 28%
Apple
One or two interviews — 53%
Three or four interviews — 30%
Five or more interviews — 17%
Facebook
One or two interviews — 40%
Three or four interviews — 36%
Five or more interviews — 24%
Google
One or two interviews — 34%
Three or four interviews — 27%
Five or more interviews — 39%
Microsoft
One or two interviews — 49%
Three or four interviews — 19%
Five or more interviews — 32%
Employees at Facebook and Google overwhelmingly said the interview process gave them a good idea of the company culture.
Google employees march in San Francisco’s Pride parade.Noah Berger/Reuters
While 85% of Facebook employees say they got a good sense of the company culture, Apple employees were more split:
Amazon — 67% say yes, 33% say no
Apple — 46% say yes, 54% say no
Facebook — 85% say yes, 15% say no
Google — 79% say yes, 21% say no
Microsoft — 70% say yes, 30% say no
