Here's what it's like to interview at the five biggest companies in tech, according to current employees

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Here's what it's like to interview at the five biggest companies in tech, according to current employees

Facebook employees Mark Zuckerberg

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It's not impossible to land your dream job at one of the nation's biggest tech companies - but be prepared for a long and rigorous process.

To gain insight into the interview experience at some of tech's most important companies, career data site Comparably surveyed 6,463 current employees at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

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Comparably found that the process varies considerably from company to company. At Apple, candidates should "expect to be turned away a few times," and that it might take "a few years" to land a job. But at Facebook, engineers can show up for an interview in "whatever is most comfortable," including a t-shirt and jeans.

Here's how current employees rated the interview process at five of the biggest tech companies in the world.

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Employees rate Apple and Microsoft as having the best interview process overall.

Employees rate Apple and Microsoft as having the best interview process overall.

Employees gave Apple and Microsoft the highest ratings when it comes to the overall interview process:

Apple — 90 out of 100

Microsoft — 90 out of 100

Google — 88 out of 100

Amazon — 87 out of 100

Facebook — 83 out of 100

Google employees say their interview process was "difficult."

Google employees say their interview process was "difficult."

Most Google employees surveyed found the interview process to be difficult or very difficult. In contrast, 30% of Amazon employees rated the interview process "easy."

Amazon

Very difficult — 17%

Difficult — 24%

Average — 29%

Easy — 17%

Very easy — 13%

Apple

Very difficult — 12%

Difficult — 36%

Average — 32%

Easy — 12%

Very easy — 8%

Facebook

Very difficult — 16%

Difficult — 26%

Average — 37%

Easy — 5%

Very easy — 16%

Google

Very difficult — 19%

Difficult — 30%

Average — 25%

Easy — 18%

Very easy — 8%

Microsoft

Very difficult — 11%

Difficult — 36%

Average — 48%

Easy — 5%

Very easy — 0%

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Most people end up working at all five companies by simply applying online.

Most people end up working at all five companies by simply applying online.

Most current employees companies said they landed a job interview by applying online, with a few notable exceptions: a larger percentage of Facebook employees, for example, said they got an interview by networking.

Amazon

Applied online — 39%

Referral — 14%

Recruiter — 32%

Other — 12%

Networking — 3%

Apple

Applied online — 34%

Referral — 29%

Recruiter — 10%

Other — 17%

Networking — 10%

Facebook

Applied online — 29%

Referral — 24%

Recruiter — 19%

Other — 9%

Networking — 19%

Google

Applied online — 23%

Referral — 18%

Recruiter — 39%

Other — 11%

Networking — 9%

Microsoft

Applied online — 17%

Referral — 26%

Recruiter — 30%

Other — 13%

Networking — 14%

Microsoft has the quickest average response time after an interview.

Microsoft has the quickest average response time after an interview.

Expect Google to take a few weeks after your interview to get back to you. At Microsoft, however, you might hear back the same day.

Amazon

Same day — 12%

Within a week — 47%

1-2 weeks — 22%

2-4 weeks — 10%

4+ weeks — 9%

Apple

Same day — 11%

Within a week — 42%

1-2 weeks — 31%

2-4 weeks — 4%

4+ weeks — 12%

Facebook

Same day — 15%

Within a week — 42%

1-2 weeks — 16%

2-4 weeks — 11%

4+ weeks — 16%

Google

Same day — 11%

Within a week — 5%

1-2 weeks — 35%

2-4 weeks — 30%

4+ weeks — 19%

Microsoft

Same day — 23%

Within a week — 55%

1-2 weeks — 10%

2-4 weeks — 10%

4+ weeks — 2%

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Employees at Facebook and Google go through the most interviews before being offered a job.

Employees at Facebook and Google go through the most interviews before being offered a job.

At both Google and Facebook, job candidates may have to go through five or more interviews before getting a job offer. At Amazon, however, potential employees may only have to do one or two interviews.

Amazon

One or two interviews — 61%

Three or four interviews — 11%

Five or more interviews — 28%

Apple

One or two interviews — 53%

Three or four interviews — 30%

Five or more interviews — 17%

Facebook

One or two interviews — 40%

Three or four interviews — 36%

Five or more interviews — 24%

Google

One or two interviews — 34%

Three or four interviews — 27%

Five or more interviews — 39%

Microsoft

One or two interviews — 49%

Three or four interviews — 19%

Five or more interviews — 32%

Employees at Facebook and Google overwhelmingly said the interview process gave them a good idea of the company culture.

Employees at Facebook and Google overwhelmingly said the interview process gave them a good idea of the company culture.

While 85% of Facebook employees say they got a good sense of the company culture, Apple employees were more split:

Amazon — 67% say yes, 33% say no

Apple — 46% say yes, 54% say no

Facebook — 85% say yes, 15% say no

Google — 79% say yes, 21% say no

Microsoft — 70% say yes, 30% say no

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