Six rounds. Two screening calls plus a full panel loop. Apple, ICT5 level. The recruiter was enthusiastic. Salary expectations were discussed and met with no pushback. A seventh round was verbally confirmed, to be scheduled with the Cupertino team.
Then the calendar invite never arrived. Follow-up emails went unanswered. Calls rang through to voicemail. The recruiter — who had been responsive through six rounds across multiple weeks — simply stopped existing.
The post appeared on TeamBlind in mid-July: "Apple ghosted after verbal confirmation of 7th round." Commenters were unsurprised. One noted Apple is "the master of ghosting candidates." Another had been ghosted on three out of four on-sites at the company.
Apple hiring guides now warn candidates explicitly: silence beyond three to four weeks is functionally a rejection. The company rarely sends formal rejection emails after an on-site. For this engineer, the silence has now stretched past a month. The role, according to the original post, remains unfilled.