Apple’s BlackBerry Employee-Poaching Party
BlackBerry’s mounting misfortune is its rivals’ gain. Not only are competing smartphone makers picking up market-share points from the foundering company, they’re poaching employees, as well.
On Sept. 26, not a week after BlackBerry preannounced a horrific shortfall in second-fiscal-quarter earnings, and plans to sack 4,500 employees, Apple invited a number of BlackBerry employees to a recruitment event in Cambridge, Ontario — a 15-minute drive from the Canadian company’s Waterloo headquarters.
“If you are interested in working on the world’s most advanced mobile devices and operating systems as well as alongside other amazing, talented and passionate engineers then Apple may have opportunities for you,” reads an invitation sent via LinkedIn to some BlackBerry employees.
Held at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Center, the event — which was first reported by the Financial Post — was targeted at BlackBerry’s engineering and operations talent. It provided shots at positions largely based at Apple HQ in Cupertino, Calif., with offers of relocation and immigration assistance for candidates hired.
It’s not clear how successful the event was, but I’m told it was well-attended. Given current circumstances at BlackBerry, there’s likely significant interest in new career opportunities among the rank and file.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. BlackBerry declined to give one. Below, Apple’s recruitment message in full:
If you are interested in working on the world’s most advanced mobile devices and operating systems as well as alongside other amazing, talented and passionate engineers then Apple may have opportunities for you. Apple’s Engineering and Operations Recruiting Team is hosting a career event in your town! We will have Hiring Managers and Recruiters present to talk about exciting opportunities throughout Apple.
The career event will be on Thursday, September 26th from 10 am to 2 pm, and from 3 pm to 7 pm. … Please bring multiple copies of your resume on the day of the event as there may be a chance to speak with multiple hiring managers.
Most positions will be based in Cupertino, CA. Relocation and immigration assistance will be provided for candidates that are hired, as needed.
You can check out all Apple career opportunities by visiting www.apple.com/jobs. Thank you and we hope to see you in person Thursday, September 26th.
If you happen to know of others that might be interested in attending, please pass along this invite as we would love to meet them as well.
Warm Regards,
Apple’s Recruiting Team
