New York City Apple Store Interview Process
Allow me to walk you through my Apple interview process.. but first let me start off by saying: Apple looked like a really cool place to work. A company that expounds the greatness of its culture, the pretty decent benefits and perks offered, and a not-too-shabby hourly wage: Those were the reasons that first attracted me to the Apple careers site. But I soon found that although Apple dangles these tantalizing carrots in the faces of its prospective employees, the company does not practice what it preaches.
I didn’t sign a nondisclosure, so suck it Apple 
. This tell-all may make Apple fanboys bash this exposé as a flame. This article, however, presents the reality – and I hope it will be an informative one for those going for the job – of my Apple interview experience. I’m going to tell you everything I said and did, that got me all the way through to the final third interview at Apple Corporate. I’ll try to give some tips based on my experiences. Hopefully, this insight will help some of you to actually snag the job. And besides the “suck it, Apple” comment above, I promise to be objective in my narrative. So here goes.
The Intrigue
So I decided to try my luck with Apple. As a 22 year-old college junior with a very strong resume (including both corporate and retail experience), I figured I was qualified to work Apple retail. So I hit the Apple jobs site, created a profile, wrote up a cover letter, and submitted my resume and references. Part of the application is a multiple choice survey featuring such gems as:
Why do you want to work at Apple? (check-able responses included ‘I like helping people,’ ‘I love Apple products,’ ‘I just want a job,’ etc). I answered ‘I like helping people’ and made it clear in my cover letter that I have limited Apple gear experience, but strong interpersonal skills.
The survey totaled roughly five questions, and answers targeted key words meant to filter out undesired applicants. Apple presents a very strong customer relations/service demeanor. The answers you select for this survey pretty much tell Apple if you’re a fit for the company. So place an emphasis on your people skills. I checked that I would be interested in all of the Retail positions. This did not work against me. All in all, I spent an hour and a half on the application process and was pretty satisfied with the job I’d done.
First Contact
About four days later, I received an email from Apple Retail, telling me there would be a 2 day hiring event at the end of the week. The email asked me to RSVP my top three choices for a date and time. It stated that I’d get confirmation the same day. I politely RSVP-d with my preferences. In reality, my heart was pounding. I’d done my research on the hiring process through our good friend Google (I’m sure those of you reading this have done the same). I’d read that it may take months to get any feedback or response from anyone event remotely connected to Apple. Not wanting to mess this up, I sent two confirmation emails, one as a reply, and one as a separate subject. I made sure to note I had flexibility, being a student on summer break.
Around noon the next day I received an automated email with my date and time. An hour later I received a second email from a person at Apple Retail. It gave me a second date and time, saying the slot I’d been accepted to earlier was filled. I replied by posting the first automated response to verify if it was still applicable. I wouldn’t mind the time change, but I didn’t want to be lost in the shuffle. (A nightmare scenario being me signed up for 2 events and having it held against me that I missed one.) The same person replied back to apologize. Apple Retail had made a mistake with the second email. The first email was the right time. I was too excited to have been invited to a hiring event to raise an eyebrow at the miscommunication. Maybe I should have taken more note of that. Either way, I was ecstatic and counted the days to the event that week.
The Hiring Event
I was signed up for a noon event. It took place at a hotel. I arrived 15 minutes early, as per the instructions in the email. Around me, a small group of fellow applicants stood around looking lost. Through an open doorway, I saw Apple employees holding a small meeting.
In the front of the entryway, two Apple girls sat at what I figured was the sign-in station. I introduced myself and was told sign-in would begin at noon.
My strategy was to smile at all times and make eye contact with any employee who passed. I had read online to “ABS – Always Be Smiling” at the event. Good advice! The Apple employees were in a constant state of joy. It was a funny juxtaposition to the very nervous applicants who glanced about and clenched their hands.
Finally, the girls checked us in and gave us Apple nametags. Some applicants were pushing to get in the door, which to me seemed a big no-no. I waited patiently to let the zealots in and noted they were all pushing to grab seats in the back of the room. I knew from reading online that Apple was looking for people who would stand out. Sitting in the back of the room is definitively counter-intuitive to this. More advice: Don’t sit in the back.
I wanted to make an impression right away, as the Apple employees were eyeballing us.
“No brave souls for the front?” I asked, and confidently sat down there. My behavior elicited laughs from the other applicants and the employees alike. I felt I’d hit a good stride and was happy. The next thing I did was make friends with the people who sat next to me.
The Apple employees introduced themselves. **Important: Acknowledge the Apple employees. Repeat “Good afternoon” or whatever greeting they use. Nobody said anything at first and the leader grew annoyed. He repeated himself until we answered and then gave us a satisfied “Thank you. Finally.”
On each seat in the room lay a clipboard, single sheet of paper, and pen. The front of this sheet explained availability and positions. Full time – five days a week, 8 hours per shift. Part time – 4 days a week, 8 hours per shift, weekend availability required.
On the back of the sheet was a 20 question “quiz” which tested Apple product knowledge. My heart skipped a beat. I’m an Apple newb. Luckily, I’d made friends with people who ended up being product wizards, and we worked on it together. So, next piece of advice: Make friends!
I made sure to remember the most WTF question of the quiz: What features of Snow Leopard are beneficial for persons with disabilities?
Another question I remember was: What does multi-touch technology mean to you?
There were other questions, some on Apple TV, the Time Capsule, and just the software features and hardware in general. There were a number of questions on the OS features.
19 questions were fill-in-the-blanks. The 20th was multiple choice. The multiple choice question asked, “which application doesn’t belong in iLife?” They gave us 25 minutes for the entire quiz.
Next, we introduced ourselves. I advise you to go first, if nobody else wants to. Set the pace. Say something that makes people laugh. That’s what I did.
Following the introductions, we watched a video about Apple and were quizzed on it. The video consisted of footage of employees from around the world cheering, mixed in with fast facts like: how many people use their tutoring services, how many stores they’ve opened, etc. I made sure to speak often. I raised my hand 75% of the time. I believe this is key if you want to move forward. Some advice on the hiring event? Try to remember the video. Contribute to the coversation, but do so positively.
For the last segment of the event, we were split into groups of four. They chose our groups randomly, with 4 members in each. We were given an imaginary client with a pretend occupation, hobbies, and reasons for coming into the store. The point of the exercise was to work together to make a presentation pitching products to this client. I had a pretty strong group, and was able to contribute my organization skills to get the group together. I made sure everyone had a speaking part to contribute, and did a four-part outline: Intro, Hardware, Software, Services. We all spoke clearly and knowledgably about our part.
An executive observed each group and gave feedback. Our exec seemed pretty happy with all of us, commenting on how he liked our team cohesiveness.
I believe it’s important to give everyone in your group the opportunity to shine. This way, whether they do so or not is up to them, and you won’t look like a pushy know-it-all.
After everyone presented, the executives asked us what differed from this exercise in comparison to actually being in the store, which I thought was a pretty obvious question. I made sure to pitch an answer (“the environment”). A behavioral tip I can give you: listen respectfully and look interested when everyone speaks. Some applicants failed to do this.
A quick Q&A followed the event. Try to have a question or two ready, so you keep looking interested even at the end. The end of the Q&A marked the end of the event. I made sure to say goodbye to all the employees and remember their names. As I left, a couple of the executives actually stopped to shake my hand and say I did a great job. I was pretty confident that I’d be invited back for a second interview.
The best tip I can give you regarding the hiring event is to KEEP YOUR NERVES AT THE DOOR. Apple wants exuberant, cheerful, kind-natured people with a smart head on their shoulders. And I’m sorry, but there are such things as dumb questions at events like these. Someone asked about discounts. It’s not smart to ask about discounts if you don’t even have the job. It gives the impression you don’t really care about the Apple brand and what it stands for, which won’t get you invited back for the second round.
The Call Back
I’ll make this section brief. Two days later I received a call from the retail division of corporate inviting me in for a second interview with a store manager the following morning. I think I said “thank you!” about 3 or 4 times. I worked the usual telephone manners: “I’m looking forward to it, thank you again and have a nice rest of your day.” I was definitely excited and nervous for the next day to come.
Interview 2
I’m not going to get into where the corporate office was, or what it looked like. It was definitely a nice place, but that’s not what this blog is about. I’m hoping it will become a good reference tool, not a gossip site.
I was still riding the high of doing well at the hiring event. From it I felt I could grasp what type of people Apple was looking for.
I met with the store’s Operational Manager, a genuinely cool guy. He had my sheet from the hiring event and went through the availability and what working at the store was like. He told me (and this is roughly paraphrased, but true to the content):
Though it’s a long shift, it does go by fast because there is always something to do. Cashier is the hardest position, because it requires the most client interaction and tons of training. Cashiers actually end up telling the Specialists what to do. Specialists do the bulk of the grunt work on the floor and there are sales quotas. The back of house maintains the stock room to very precise conditions and can tell you where everything is; if the product isn’t available, they can tell you when it will be. Family Room Specialist is a new position, and people skills are key. Creative is all about teaching and reaching out. Genius is the highest paid but has the most in-depth technical training, and there’s a lot of it.
He also discussed the different shifts and the people on his particular shifts, and how they were a unique, talented, high energy group. He said most of Apple’s hired applicants ended up being students, artists, writers, actors. It just worked out that way. Apple looked more for the personality. He stressed technical knowledge isn’t as important because that can be taught. But Apple won’t waste its time teaching people skills.
Anyway, we vibed well. He even told me about his roommates. He asked me what I was currently doing with my life, why I wanted to work at Apple, and what makes a great customer service experience, in my opinion. I said a great customer service experience is when the client leaves satisfied and knowing you actually cared. At the end of the very casual half hour interview, he told me he thought I would do well as a cashier. He recommended me for the third interview, which would take place the next day in front of a panel. This was the first time I remember feeling nervous. I guess it showed, because he was nice enough to give me some pointers: “Be yourself, smile and make eye contact with all of them and you’ll be fine. I can definitely see you with us.”
The Second Call
I was surprised to get a second call later that same day from Apple Retail. It was from the same person I’d been speaking to throughout the process. She wanted to know if we could push up the interview. I of course obliged. She seemed extremely relieved and thanked me for my flexibility. I let her know it wasn’t a problem, thanked her, and wished her a good day. So now I had a morning interview instead of an afternoon one. I had read that the panel interview was the most difficult. I vowed to get a good night’s sleep and make sure I was ready to go.
Interview 3
I headed back to corporate for the third interview. Immediately, I felt a different vibe in the office. It seemed much more hectic. Think: quietly bustling. When I sat down to await my interview, there were other people already waiting. I hadn’t encountered this before. It worked to rattle my nerves just a teeny bit more.
I waited a half hour to be seen. I’ll let you know right now that this interview was not fun. Don’t expect it to be. I believe now that the third interview is contrived to be difficult on purpose. I believe that Apple is testing for reactions to unpleasant situations, as we all know that not every day in retail is a good one. But since they purposely made it difficult, it’s only fair for me now to be as detailed as possible.
A short, mousey-looking brunette (sorry brunettes, you’re not all short or mousey-looking, but this one was) introduced herself and walked me into a glass-encased conference room. Inside the conference room sat two other male executives.
Does anyone watch the Office? One looked like Andy from the Office. Andy calls himself “Nard Dog” on the show, so this guy I will nickname Nard Dog. The other executive was an uber-tanned “papi” type, white haired, with a white dress shirt unbuttoned so I could see all his chest hair. So, I’ll call him Papi.
So here are the three personality types with which I was confronted.
Nard Dog – never laughed; eyeballed me hardcore, complete with head tilting; grilled me on my answers; asked all the hard questions, and generally came off as very abrasive.
Papi – just stared; confused me with his chest hair vibe; he was in the middle – not very mean but not very encouraging; asked me more personal questions
Mouse – the buffer (how stereotypical); she exhibited very little personality; didn’t asked me many questions; she had a perpetually encouraging smile and nodded so much I wondered how much her chiropractor charged.
I came prepared with five copies of my resume and handed them out. I waited a few tense minutes as they didn’t say anything and looked them over.
Nard Dog: Is that a Mead folder you’re carrying?
Me: Yes.
Nard Dog: Wow, I was just thinking about designing a carry case for the Ipad that looked like a trapper keeper.
He went on to describe it, and I got the feeling he was trying to get some feedback from me on it. Now, I’m not a designer. Nowhere on my resume does it say design experience. I am not artistically talented. So I shot off some ideas about how you could insert pockets on the inside to carry things like pens.
My first mistake, I believe. Apple doesn’t want to hear that people still use writing instruments.
Nard Dog: “So let’s start with the obvious. Why Apple?”
This is like the fourth time I’ve answered this question. I stared at him point blank and I said, “The people. I want to be part of a cool culture that values its employees. I feel I can contribute positively. I want to be around people who share my interest in other people. I am, after all, a sociology major, so I enjoy seeing what makes others tick. “
Nard Dog raised an eyebrow : “You say the people. So what about the people. Staples has people. Why not apply for a job at Staples?”
Like I said, abrasive. I was taken aback by his attitude. I elaborated further on my question by saying Staples’s customer service never made me feel like they care about people. Apple cares.
Then Papi took over. He asked what I was doing now, and he asked me questions off my resume. “I see you were a sales coordinator. Tell me about a time you helped your team achieve their goals” Then he asked, “What was your favorite boss and your least favorite boss and why”
I don’t think they liked my answers to these two questions. I don’t know why. Just my gut. I said that my favorite boss was this young COO I worked for, easy to talk to but a brilliantly businessman. I said the worst boss I had was in a retail position. This boss didn’t know how to manage people properly and there were a lot of mishaps in the store (e.g., in a multi-person staffed store I had my wallet and phone stolen from behind the counter while I was outside accepting deliveries). I don’t think they liked the part about not managing people properly. Guess it wasn’t their ideal answer.
Now, I was an HR manager for a while. I both hired and fired. I know the little end interview cues. So I knew I didn’t get the job when after a half hour, Mouse uses this line: “Okay well, we will be getting back to people early next week.” Then she stood up. So I stood up and gracefully shook hands with everyone in the room. I made eye contact and thanked them each individually. Then I thanked them collectively for their time. Mouse showed me to the door.
Now, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can’t help it, I’m a Pisces. As we were walking out, I told her, “I’m not sure I did too well on this one. I think I talked too much.”
Mouse: No!! Don’t be silly. We want to hear from you. You’re supposed to talk, this is an interview.
Me: But I think I over-spoke.
Mouse: *smiles again, shakes head*
I thanked her again and shook her hand. As I walked away, I remember shaking my own head. My gut was telling me the job wasn’t mine. I have to tell you, I was genuinely hurt. After 3 interviews of hearing how great Apple’s culture is, and how cool the people were, I felt like the kid who didn’t get picked for the sports team!
The Apple Store Rejection Letter
I’m pretty sure that if they wanted me for the job, they would have told me right there at the end of the third interview. I didn’t hear anything in the beginning of the week. My gut had been right. In the middle of the week I received an automated email. Pasted below is the actual text of the email. It was kind of harsh.
Thank you for your interest in opportunities with Apple Retail. As you can imagine we received a large number of qualified applicants for this role. At this time we have chosen to move forward with other candidates that meet the needs of today. I want to personally thank you for your interest and for investing the time to speak with us about this opportunity.
Thank you again for your time and interest in Apple. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Apple Retail Staffing
I think this is the point wherein I’m supposed to rant. I’ll keep it short.
I believe the third interview was too subjective. I performed strongly throughout the process, and I even more strongly believe that I lost the job because of a few answers that these random executives didn’t like. The work and time I put into this ended up to be a waste. And for all the dedication I showed, I received a generic, automated, kind of mean email. I would have at least appreciated an email from a person, I mean, I went on 3 interviews. Remember that carrot I spoke of in the beginning which Apple dangles? Well, when I say they didn’t practice what they preach, I mean that in my specific situation, they did not acknowledge the time I put into this process. Apple Care? Hah. More like Apple Didn’t Care. So maybe you can say I’m bitter over the lost time. I won’t complain about the money I lost commuting, but there’s obviously that too. I mean, I went on 3 interviews! For a cashier position. And I still don’t understand why I didn’t get the job. So, my point being: the third interview was way too subjective. Too behavioral. I felt afterwards like a lab rat in a failed experiment.
I’m over it though. I made lemons out of lemonade, I embraced the cloud’s silver lining: I used the experience to write a blog, after all.
What pointers can I give you for the third interview? Breathe. Don’t rush. Don’t let nervous excitement take over. Stop and think. I wish I could give more, but the nature of the third interview left me at a dearth. I thought I did well. They didn’t.
I truly hope that reading about my experience helps you feel more prepared for what you’re about to get into, and that in turn, this confidence helps you to snag that job! That being said, Good luck!!
Hey guys, kind of way later than the rest but I’ve applied at apple once.–This is kind of the full detail of my experience.
First time applying online i got an email back about a week or two later inviting me to the hiring event i RSVP’ed and then got confirmation email and a day later a reminder email for it. The hiring event was at a hotel and what happened is that I walked in and checked in with a woman who gave me a name tag and told me to just wait and it would begin in a few minutes. I talked with a few other applicants and tried to be friendly and smile. The event started (it was early in the morning so im guessing we were the first group of the day) there was about 25-30 of us and they talked to us for a few minutes just chitchatting as a group and then they made us group up with another person and talk to them and find out about them and we ended up having to introduce the other to the whole group. They then introduced themselves and talked about the apple store and why its a great place to work there and why its a great environment blah blah. They then showed us a video about apple stores all over the world (im guessing to really get our enthusiasm going and get us pumped up) which it worked for me. They then got us into groups of about 5 and we spread out and had one apple worker in each group and he pulled out a beech ball with questions written on it and we tossed it to each other about 3 times and whatever question came up and faced us was the question we answered and these questions were basically like “Describe a time you were faced with a challenge that others couldn’t accomplish but you did”, “describe a time you were dealing with a difficult customer and how did you do”, “describe a time that you were faced with an impossible task and how did you try to accomplish it” blah blah. I answered with a few stories from working at previous jobs. They then talked to us a few more and then said we were done and i went up and shook hands with every employee i could and basically thanked them for the opportunity and what not.
I was called back for a second interview about 2 hours or so after the hiring event and this was more like a normal job interview than the hiring event. I waited while another person from the hiring event was being interviewed (this is a few days later after the hiring event btw). and when he was done i was interviewed by a store manager and another manager (can’t remember what the other manager was) and they asked questions basically why do you want to work at apple, why apple, what do you like about apple, why would you be a good asset to apple, blah blah and i gave the best answer i could and talked about being passionate and enthusiastic and being a people person. They then had me go to another room and talk to like the designers of the apple store (basically just another two managers with fancy apple titles). and they asked very similar questions from the prior part of the interview. i thought it went okay (not great but not horrible). after leaving about a day or so later i received the infamous “we’re moving forward with other applicants blah blah”
Im pretty sure i didn’t get it cause i was too nervous. My nervousness was probably visible and i said “um uh” a lot which obviously looking back (this was about two years ago) is bad and just an obvious no no. and i just didn’t give good answers–its one of those things where your brain is saying say this say this but you say something other because you’re nervous.
two years later i receive a random email from apple telling me ive been invited to a hiring event. I didn’t apply again after the first time because i didn’t think id end up getting it anyways so this definitely tells me that they do keep you on file. Basically the same thing. email for RSVP, then email for confirmation of the RSVP and then a reminder email. Today I went to the hiring event and it was a group of about maybe 20. but there were two other hiring events before mine today so there were obviously more people. But the hiring event went the same way as my first. You walk in meet the apple workers meet the person next to you and introduce them. and then they make you watch a video and then split into small groups with apple workers coming to your group and asking you questions. The only different thing is that this time they actually asked a few tech questions for example “What is the fusion drive” “what is icloud- if a customer asked you what icloud was how would you respond” “if a PC user came up and asked you why they should pay $500 more for a mac over a PC what would you say?” <- those were the exact questions i was asked. and you gotta do research before about apple and the products cause they also ask questions about their products and history (i.e when was apple established, when did the iPod come out, when did the iPad come out) and basically you fill out a sheet that asked for my name email, phone number availability and what positions i was interested in. The hiring event was today about 7 hours ago and no call back or email yet so im gonna wait a few more days.
Basically if you read my comment and every other comment above you will know exactly what to expect
the furthest ive gotten is the second interview and i myself screwed that up by being nervous and not prepared.
To be prepared i can honestly say just do a bit of research- they will show you a few products on a power point like ipods, iphones, iPads, macs, mac tower, mac mini and asked you if you know what they are. just do a bit of research ( no more than like 3 minutes on each just know their name and basic function) and know a little bit about the company just basic stuff.
the biggest advice i can give that i didn't take is be calm and relaxed. I know this because i saw some of the people in my groups at the hiring event working at the apple store. They were calm, relaxed and gave good relaxed and good exampled answers to their questions.
Smile a lot, be friendly DON'T BE SHY!!!! be enthusiastic and care about what they say.
If i don't get it this time i wont apply again just purely because even though it is apple which is great its just not worth wasting my summer and school time trying to chase a job when i could work another and use my time on other activities.
Good Luck to All!!!
I am so glad you all took the time to post your experiences! I am in a smaller midwestern city and attended a Hiring event the Sunday before last (I was invited about a month after submitting my resume). I was able to refer a graphic design friend of mine and we showed up to the event with about 18 others. Just like the previous descriptions it was fun, interactive and laid back – I actually wore flip flops with my outfit because so many of the female employees do this daily! Also like other comments, I noticed that those who tried too hard or went on and on reciting every Steve Jobs fact they had memorized seemed to be annoying to the Apple employees. I played it super cool, but made sure that everything that I said was memorable and strong. It really helps to do some Apple research, but don’t stress out or overwork yourself, it really comes down to the vibe you give off. I must say honestly I really liked EVERY employee there except for one weird technical guy (But he didn’t really seem to relate to anyone else either). By the end of the event I felt like I had positively stood out but not by being too outspoken, just RELAX and be yourself!! My friend however was just way too nervous and he really tried to participate, but when he did it was kind of forced and awkward and nobody was impressed with anything he said. Needless to say I got a call for a second interview 3 days after the event and he received the email of doom… I am very excited about the next interview and I will post results. Blogs like these really helped me at the hiring event so even if I don’t get hired, I can maybe help the next person on their journey!
So how did the process go after all?
I just got done with my 3rd interview Friday. My experience with the hiring process has lasted ~20 days. I applied three times online over the course of 2 years, and received an email invitation for Apples hiring event. My resume isn’t fantastic, its mostly grunt work (customer service rep positions) but I have had an exclusive job similar to Apple in the past which helped the most IMO.
The seminar: (specialist position)
just like the OP, the event was held at a hotel and when you checked in you received an apple name tag.
They had me fill out a small survey including availability & location preferences on an ipad while you waited for your groups turn for the seminar. They showed us a video pretty much explaining Apples work culture in a global perspective, and made sure we knew that the most important component in Apples success was “the people”.
Afterwards they asked what our own interpretation of the video was, and also asked us some ice breakers before we were broken off into groups of 2 for a 2v2 interview.
2v2 (seminar):
this part of the seminar was really laid back, and seemed more like a conversation than other “shotgun” interview styles. They asked me “If you had a superpower what would it be?”, “Name a time where you succeeded in taking the extra step helping someone”, and other similar questions that seemed to “analyze” your personality / behavior. The seminar lasted about an hour, and the whole events purpose was to screen out people who didn’t stand out. Surprisingly after the initial interview I received a call back within one hour. They wanted me to attend an in-store experience the following week.
In-store experience: (ISE)
The ISE caught me off guard. The manager pretty much explained to me that he got to know me fairly well during the hiring event and wanted me to just walk around the store talking to employees, finding out what they do and etc. The ISE was very “unregulated” and I felt like the manager was trying to see how well I handled being in a new environment. Also the store was very busy, and they had me dress casually so I blended in with the customers. ~45 minutes later he came up to me and said that I was good to go and would be contacted within a couple days. I was kind of confused at that point, but it made sense. Earlier I had asked one of the employees I had met who the senior members were in the store, and decided to speak with them. I found out later that the senior members were actually other managers and I figured the ISE was built so that eventually I would run into them. Again after ~2-3 days I received a phone call asking me to return to the store to talk to the head recruiting manager and have a 1v1.
Interview 3: This time the head manager had me walk out of the store for a more personal interview. It did feel more like a traditional interview in the sense that he wanted to see how well I could handle myself when put under pressure. He did ask some difficult questions fairly quickly back to back so I couldn’t poise myself all the time. Of all the interviews I have ever done (mostly retail) it was the most difficult one. He was very laid back, but VERY GOOD at his job. He was definitely controlling the pace, while making me nervous. I thought about that rejection letter, especially after all the time I had invested so far for a basic retail position, and felt quite nervous. I may have felt a little more comfortable if we were both in suits hahaha. He shook my hand and said I would be contacted within 72 hours. Here I am on Sunday hoping that some news gets to me before Monday.
Overall, I think you should try to be genuine, stress the importance of going that extra step to help someone, and show that you’re an ambitious person with the ability to adapt and learn. GOOD LUCK everyone! I hope this helped
So, I must say, I was lucky enough to get a job for Apple. I guess it did feel to good to be true. I was just fired after being late too many times in a row. I suppose I had it coming. I really loved working for Apple and wish I still had my job. Instead, I am putting together my resume and trying to understand why they couldn’t direct me to Concern-EAP or some sort of help. I did ask for help and expressed nothing but dedication and passion while I was at work. The last “point” was the day before Friday the 13th, can you imagine? Friday sucked either way…
If anyone has an idea of what I can do or where I can work that will offer such a cool culture like Apple, please let me know!
I applied to Apple thinking they might need some seasonal help this past year. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that a recruiter contacted me and set up an interview. This first interview went well. It was supposed to be a group interview w/2 other candidates but neither showed up so it was just me and the recruiter. The recruiter was very nice and said I was, from her perspective, the type of person that would be great for Apple. Soon after this meeting, she contacted me w/an invite to an Apple hiring event at a store near me that was for 3 different stores in the area(I live in Northern Virginia which is densely populated w/several Apple stores nearby). I showed up and there was a crowd of 30-40 ppl standing outside the store. While we waited, a few hyper friendly, gung ho employees came out and tried to get us riled up(Lots of “WOO-HOOs!”, “YEAHS!”, “ALRIGHTS!”). It had a very high school pep-rally feel to it and I was already a little uncomfortable. An employee asked us “what is the most embarrassing song on your i-pod?”. After about 15 minutes of this kind of stuff, they opened the doors, motioned for us to come in, and they all started cheering and clapping at us. Very nice, but we didn’t do anything but show up for the interview… a little strange to be given such a display. After filling out a simple information sheet and putting on a name tag, they introduced themselves and said what they did. They were so fired up and animated that they reminded me of Disney characters without the costumes. Then they had each person talk to the person next to them and introduce them by saying their name, an interesting story about them, and why they would be good for Apple. After a short film about how amazing Apple is, role playing(customer vs. employee) began w/employee playing customer and candidate playing employee. After this everybody sat back down and they took final questions. This is where I said the wrong thing. I asked if there were set schedules or if they varied from week to week. They seemed to be kind of pissed that I asked this and a few of them talked about, in what i perceived as somewhat condescending tones compared to earlier, that “its retail and retail needs to be flexible”, and that all should know this already(btw, I’ve worked retail jobs w/set schedules before and also those w/out. which is why i asked). Then they said to leave the papers that we filled out earlier where we were sitting w/name tags pasted to the back and they would contact us by the end of the week. This was where I messed up again by taking my paper over to where I had been siting most of the night(I sat somewhere else after the “role playing”) and got yelled at(yes, yelled at) by an Apple employee to take my paper back to the last seat I was sitting at. After this I said goodbye and shook hands w/some of them and waited the next few days for a reply which came as a rejection email. In all honesty, I was relieved, especially now after reading, on this blog, about how much longer, and stressful, the interview process is. I love Apple products and have been using them instead of PCs for a decade now and have nothing but good to say. I have had fine experiences in the stores too and will continue to enjoy stopping into them and browsing around. All in all, I know the right job is waiting for me out there but, working at Apple retail is not a good fit for me, and, as they recognized, I am not a good fit for them. Best wishes to all in search of employment at Apple. Hopefully this experience will be of help regarding what to expect at a hiring event. My advice, when not sure how to act @ an Apple hiring event, think Barney the Dinosaur, and get into character! Cheers…
I applied at the Apple store twice; first time I was invited to the hiring event, the second time I came in the store and applied. Each time I got to a second interview and got the same exact e-mail response you mentioned a few days later. Even though I felt that I really displayed my people skills and my proficiency with Apple products, it didn’t seem to help. I applied again, but if I get another interview, I’m not going to get my hopes up.
Would be sharing my experience tomorrow after the ISt interview at Sydney store…..
Hey Abbas,
Just wondering how your interview went? I have my first interview for the Perth store on Monday and I’m wondering if the Australian interview process is any different to the different country experiences that I have read under the comments of this blog.
Thanks
I give up on Apple. I have applied more than 20 times in different countries and different roles and never got a single reply, ever. I am great with people and have experience working as an Apple field engineer for large corporate companies across the UK. I work directly with the end user to solve their problem. I am a man of vision and have a can do attitude towards work and tackle problems methodically and quickly. I would say that all my clients preferred to have me attend their site to solve their Apple problems. My skills and experience with Apple span 10 years and I can repair and service the entire Apple range including iPods, iPhones, portables, desktops, monitors, peripherals, xraid, OSX Server, Networking, Open Directory, Active directory, Logic Pro (which I can teach to professional level), Creative suite, Ableton Live, Propellerheads Reason, Traktor Pro, Microsoft Office. I can repair logic boards to component level and design websites and have recorded and produced an entire album using only a G5 with plug ins, in short I am THE Apple guy!
What makes this somewhat irritating is that the last time I visited an Apple store I was ignored the entire time I was in there and I had £2000 in cash in my pocket to buy a new Mac and not one sales assistant (and there were many) ever approached me. I ended up leaving and buying from John Lewis who offer 2 years warranty as standard anyway, so much better. Plus every Apple store I have been in in my city has had awful staff! It seems the criteria is a blank empty expression with wacky haircuts and tattoos and zero knowledge about the products they are selling, devoid of any customer skills who never smile and yet with all my knowledge and skills in both customer service and sales I have never had a look in for any position I ever applied for. I could sell an iMac to a blind person (no insult intended)! And yet Apple have failed to see my growing potential as a key asset to Apple corporation in any of my job applications.
I now have since moved on (as I suggest you do) and am a proud owner of my own business, an Apple service company that charges half of what Apple charge and I offer twice the quality of service in twice the speed and I use genuine Apple parts with a smile and genuine customer service. I also make a point of buying and selling used Apple computers to upgrade and sell on at very reasonable costs. Which Apple probably hate as I am preventing customers from buying new equipment from their stores. I think their products are totally over priced so I offer an alternative to this and am recycling machines that are often 7 years old that look like new and perform just as well as new machines at a fraction of the cost of a new one. I don’t know why I bother, for ten years I have been telling people of the wonders of Apple. When everyone was dissing Apple in favour of the PC and I have been selling their products in one way or another for all this time and not only do I not get thanks for this but not even an offer of a job as a cashier! Well done Apple, good job! Besides, an ex colleague of mine told me after he left Apple saying ‘they have unrealistic and highly stressful targets with little care for you as an employee or a person’. (He now owns his own business as well). Yours sincerely, Tristan.