What It's Like To Be Headhunted By Apple

​Landing a dream job at Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) usually requires a gruelling series of interviews and a lot of luck.

But one tech industry analyst who was headhunted by the firm has revealed what it's like to be wooed by the tech giant.

Michael Gartenberg was asked whether he was willing to relocate to Cupertino, California - without even being told what his role would be.

And the notoriously secret company warned him not to talk to the media, with one executive saying: "Apple speaks with one voice, and you're not the voice."

The process started when he was on a regular conference call with Apple to talk about sales and trends.

At the end of the call, Apple Vice President Greg Jozwiak asked Mr Gartenburg for "five, 10 minutes of your time".

Mr Gartnerberg said: "Apple VPs don't call analysts just to schmooze. I'm going, 'what on earth did I do that I have totally annoyed Joz?'

"So the phone rings, 408 number, coming from Apple. I pick up the phone and he goes, 'Hey Michael, it's Joz. 'Look, I don't have a lot of time to talk right now, so I'm going to cut right to the chase. Would you like to come out here and work with us?'"

Mr Gartenberg explained the process on a podcast with The Mac Observer.

He was told he'd have to move out to California from New York, but was given few details.

He told the podcast: "I said 'You're asking me if I'm interested in a job, if I'm willing to move out to the West Coast, but you're not willing to tell me what the job is?'

"He goes, 'Yeah, that's pretty much it. Phil (Schiller, Apple's marketing boss) will give you a call in the next couple of days."

After agreeing to fly to California, he was whisked off to a series of meetings and the proposed role - senior director for worldwide marketing - was revealed to him.

But even though he has now left, he's still sticking to Apple's policy of secrecy - and won't reveal exactly what his role involved.

He said: "What happens at Apple tends to stay at Apple."