New recruits at the world's largest tech company are frequently assigned to fake projects while their loyalty and ability to keep a secret is tested, a new book has revealed.

In a new book called Inside Apple, Fortune reporter Adam Lashinsky reveals that many new Apple employees are hired into ‘dummy positions' which aren't explained until after they join the company. As  reported by Business Insider, a former Apple engineer speaking to Lashinsky in a recent talk has added that this can even include being set to work on non-existent products.

"A friend of mine who's a senior engineer at Apple, he works on - or did work on - fake products I'm sure for the first part of his career, and interviewed for nine months," the engineer says.

"It's intense."

The book grew out of a feature article written last year exploring Apple's secrecy policies and how they have contributed to the company's mystique.

An excerpt published by Fortune reveals several other tidbits, including the fact that recruits are issued with new devices, but are not told how to connect them.

"The assumption is that those smart enough and tech-savvy enough to be hired at Apple can hook themselves up to the network,” the book reads.

Go here to read the full excerpt, or tell us about any strange indoctrination rituals your company does – or you've had to do in the past – in the comments below.