So, a while back, I threw my hat in the ring for a gig at Apple. Big dream, right? Went through the whole song and dance – application, interviews, the lot. Then came the part where they ask for your professional references. And that’s where this whole “do they tell you before they call ’em?” question really hit me, ’cause you obviously want your references to be ready.
My Experience with Apple and References
Alright, so after a few rounds of interviews, which honestly felt like a bit of a marathon, I got the email. Something like, “We’d like to move forward with checking your references.” Pretty standard stuff for these kinds of jobs. They asked for the contact details – names, emails, phone numbers, how I knew them. I remember I triple-checked every single digit and letter before sending it over. Last thing you want is for them to have trouble reaching someone because of a typo on my end.
Now, I’m the type who likes to have a clear picture of what’s happening next. So, I didn’t just send the info and pray. I actually replied to the HR person and asked, “Just wondering, will you let me know before you actually reach out to my references?” I figured it’s just common courtesy, you know? Plus, it gives me that tiny window to shoot my references a final, “Hey, Apple might be calling you today or tomorrow!” kind of message, so they’re not totally caught off guard by a call from Cupertino.
The HR contact was pretty cool about it, replied pretty quickly too. They said something along the lines of, “Yes, we will inform candidates as we proceed with reference checks.” Sounded good enough for me at the time. So, first thing I did was call up each of my references, gave them the rundown, told them Apple would be in touch, and to expect an email or a call.
What Actually Went Down
Here’s the interesting part, the actual play-by-play from my end. I didn’t get a specific, “Okay, Mark, we are calling Professor Jones this afternoon and Ms. Smith tomorrow morning” email from Apple. It wasn’t that granular. What happened was, maybe a day or two after I got that general “we’re moving to reference checks” confirmation and had submitted all their details, one of my references actually messaged me. He was like, “Hey, just had a really nice chat with someone from Apple HR about you! Went well, I think.”
So, in my particular case, Apple didn’t send me a separate, super explicit “we are contacting them right now” notification immediately before they dialed each reference. It was more like:
- They told me the reference check stage was starting.
- I gave them the names.
- I told my references to expect contact.
- Then Apple just… went ahead and contacted them over the next few days.
My references were actually the ones who let me know they’d been contacted, mostly after the fact. One emailed me, another texted. It wasn’t Apple giving me a heads-up for each specific call to them.
About a week later, the Apple HR person did circle back with me directly. They sent an email saying something like, “We’ve completed the reference checks, and the feedback was very positive. We’ll be in touch about next steps shortly.” So, there was communication from Apple, just not the “alert, we are calling reference X now” kind of ping for me, the candidate, beforehand.
So, Do They Notify You? The Real Deal From My End
Based on my journey through their hiring maze, it’s a bit of a “yes and no” situation, or maybe a “yes, but not quite how you might imagine it.”
- Yes, they absolutely tell you that they are going to contact your references. You get a clear notification that this stage of the process is kicking off. No surprises there.
- No, they didn’t, in my experience, give a detailed heads-up or ask for permission again right before contacting each individual reference on my list. Once they said they were starting, and I provided the info, they proceeded.
Honestly, it wasn’t a major issue because, like I said, I’d already prepped my references thoroughly. They knew a call or email from Apple could come at any point after I gave Apple their details. And that’s probably the biggest piece of advice I can give from this: always, always give your references a personal heads-up yourself as soon as you know a company plans to check them. Tell them what job you’re up for, why you think you’re a good fit, and what kind of things Apple might ask. Don’t just rely on the company to manage that initial heads-up for your people. They’re doing you a favor, after all.
It was a good learning experience about how these massive, well-oiled machines like Apple operate. They have their processes, and they stick to them. You just gotta do your part to make sure everything is smooth from your end, especially for your references. They’re gold.
