Get a job at Apple not easy—But according to CEO Tim Cook, people who possess four specific qualities are more likely to find themselves at work.
Speaking at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy – where he received an honorary degree in innovation and international management – Cook told students that it is important for incoming employees to be mindful of the world around them. .
“We have a group of people in the company that really want to change the world, want to enrich people’s lives, want to leave the world better than they found it to be,” he said. “It’s that feeling that drives people to do their best work and I’ve seen it happen over and over again and the results are unbelievable.”
He then dives into the specific traits Apple looks for in new hires, revealing that the tech giant awards four specific traits.
Cooperation
Cook told an audience in Naples last week that a key skill anyone hoping to work at Apple needs is the ability to collaborate with colleagues.
“We believe strong individual contributors are really the key, but two strong individuals working together can create incredible work and small teams can do amazing things,” he said. amazed,” he said.
“So we look for the ability to collaborate with people — the basic feeling that if I share my idea with you, it will grow and become bigger and better.”
Recalling that different perspectives help ideas flourish, Cook noted that collaborative processes are responsible for Apple’s ability to create new products.
“It’s not someone going into a corner or a closet and figuring something out about themselves, it’s a collaborative effort,” he said.
Creation
Cook added: “Creativity is another trait Apple looks for in prospective employees.
“We look for people who think differently, can see an issue and don’t get caught up in the dogma about how it should always be seen,” he told students. “And so [we look for] someone will go around the problem and look at it from different angles and use their creativity to come up with solutions. “
Curiosity
“It’s a cliché, but there’s no such thing as a silly question,” Cook said, when he said that Apple values curiosity and seeks out people with an inquisitive nature.
“Curiosity is being curious about something that raises a lot of questions, whether you think they’re smart questions or stupid questions,” he says. “It’s amazing how when someone starts asking questions as a kid, how pressured that person is to think about the answers really deeply. And so we looked for this innate curiosity in humans.”
Specialize
Finally, Cook noted that Apple wants people with the right expertise to join its workforce.
“If we are doing something in the field of industrial design, we need someone who understands industrial design and is skilled in it from their college days or through their days,” he said. their work.
Cook suggests that people with these four traits have gone on to be successful at Apple, and that the company will therefore continue to hire people who can bring these traits.
“That’s what we look for in humans, and that’s a very good recipe for us,” he said.
However, he notes that getting the job done well is a two-way street, and working on a job that leaves you unsatisfied is not a recipe for success.
“People have to work for a cause bigger than themselves,” he said. “So you want a vision for a company that is to serve customers and somehow improve their lives. You want to do it ethically.”
He argued that without those ingredients, no amount of money would make a job worth doing.
“There’s no gravity from that – gravity always is, what are you doing for other people?” he say. “And with a purpose like that, it’s amazing what people would do from a work standpoint.”
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