Company: Apple
Date: 2018-07-23
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: current

App Review is a disgrace to Apple
Pros: Having worked in quite a few departments within Apple, this is by far the worst department. What are the issues? Oh gosh, no idea where to begin. Simply put, it is career suicide. If you are offered the iOS App Reviewer position or any other position in this department, deny it & look somewhere else. 

Now let’s get into the details...

The only pros are:

- Classy Apple badge
- 401K match & health insurance 
- Employee discounts 

*These are the perks for now, but will likely change in the future
Cons: - Apple culture does not exist here, but instead a toxic culture does! If you are expecting to work for Apple and experience real Apple culture, this place is not for you. The sole purpose of this job is to clock in, sit at your desk for 10 hours, and be a darn robot by simply just approving/rejecting apps all day, every day. Additionally, it is a very toxic/soulless culture since there is an incredible amount of negativity created among employees due to the way management treats its employees. It is to the point where people are even scared to talk to each other during the day since management has created a culture of fear...

- Career suicide. Whether this is an early job in your career or a job taken on later in your career, it is career suicide. There are zero transferrable skills you will gain from this job. Your best bet out of this organization is to go gain new skill sets on your own. 

- Management’s idea to ensure employees are productive is to micro management them like no other. Your clock in/clock out times, breaks, computer activity, and the amount of time you spend in the bathroom are monitored down to the minute. If management feels you are in violation of any of these categories, be prepared to get talked to/monitored consistently even if you are an employee that gets work done on a daily basis. 

You as an employee must salute management at all times. Unreal. This style of management is a very childish way to manage adults and such micro management tactics breaks an organization, creates a toxic culture, & makes employees rebel against each other. Due to this, you have a team where 200+ people are looking for jobs all at once, which is not something you see often...

- Lack of real managerial experience, arrogance, & competence among management is a huge problem. Employees on this team have some basic ideas to solve the organization’s problems, but the lack of real management experience, arrogance, & competence at a management level makes it impossible for changes to occur. If you have any ideas, they are simply not welcomed and will be shot down by management instantly. Essentially, you as an employee must accept management’s stupid ideas or go take a walk.

- Employee appreciation? Pffftt. What’s that? In this org, you are treated worse than animals. It is all about work! work! work! As mentioned earlier, you are a robot tied to your desk for 60/hours a week with zero flexibility in work hours. Also, expect to work six days a week all the time, work 12 hour days often, & be *forced* to work every national US holiday. Additionally, management simply does not believe in retaining its employees, giving their employees rest, & thanking employees for their hard work. Management has even taken away company events from its employees. Instead, the philosophy is to throw more work at them until they burnout & quit.

- Taking a vacation & falling sick in this department are considered to be a crime. If you as an individual wish to take a vacation, good luck ever getting the time approved. Everyone’s vacation time is closely monitored and it is up to the department’s discretion to decide if you are allowed to go on a vacation during the dates of your choosing. 

Also, during fall employees are told there is a strict “vacation blackout” period, which means you cannot take a vacation during September - December due to “business needs”. Such a restriction ensures employees can never enjoy a Thanksgiving or Christmas with their loved ones, which is cruel and inhumane. In addition, if you ever fall sick and can’t make it to work, expect your manager to guilt trip you for being sick the day you come back.

- Career growth? Ha, good luck. Expect zero guidance from anyone in  management on how to grow your career within the company. During your time in this department, you are expected to be an approve/reject robot & nothing else. In fact, many other departments at Apple have figured out the ugly truths of App Review, which make it almost impossible to transfer internally. If you do join this department, your best bet is to look at another company for a job.

- Nepotism like no other. In this department, the ones that get elevated are the ones that simply suck up to management & become close friends with them. If you are a hard worker on this team, you’ll simply be told to do more until the life is sucked out of you. Competence is not a required skill set to get elevated in this org.