What happens at a Apple group interview?

When you say interview, do you mean the recruitment seminar or the interviews after the seminar?

The recruitment seminar is really relaxed and you will get through it as long as you be yourself, engage with the recruiters and other people there and ask plenty of questions at the end regarding the job. Don't come over too much as a hardcore Apple fanboy but talk about how much you can't put down your iPhone/iPod. During the group exercises, make sure you try and come over as a good leader but good team player at the same time - make sure that your ideas are part of the main focus but be sure to agree with ideas that you wish you though of. Otherwise, just enjoy it as it's really relaxed and you will spend most of the two and a half hours watching a presentation, videos and doing some group exercises. They get through hundreds of CV's at a time and to get the chance to be considered is a good achievement. Just out of interest, what store are you thinking of joining and what position are you after?

paddingtonpear said:

The recruitment seminar is really relaxed and you will get through it as long as you be yourself, engage with the recruiters and other people there and ask plenty of questions at the end regarding the job. Don't come over too much as a hardcore Apple fanboy but talk about how much you can't put down your iPhone/iPod. During the group exercises, make sure you try and come over as a good leader but good team player at the same time - make sure that your ideas are part of the main focus but be sure to agree with ideas that you wish you though of. Otherwise, just enjoy it as it's really relaxed and you will spend most of the two and a half hours watching a presentation, videos and doing some group exercises. They get through hundreds of CV's at a time and to get the chance to be considered is a good achievement. Just out of interest, what store are you thinking of joining and what position are you after?

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omg, all this to work at a friggin retail store?!?! I thought you were applying for work at 1 Infinite Loop or something and "creative" meaning you were designing products... someone explain to me why would anyone want to work at a mall store?

macdaddyuk said:

Hi Guys, Im new to the forum but thought its the best place to ask. I have a interview for the role of a Apple Creative this week and just wanted to find out what happens at these event and how to they select the right candidates if we all in one big group?

any heads up would be good.

Thanks in advance!

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When you do a group interview, be the most outgoing, talkative and fun loving person possible. Apple wants a go getter not a sheltered person who is afraid to speak up, talk, laugh and crack jokes. If you're afraid to talk in a group setting how are you going to be able to communicate to a customer. My buddy hire's at Apple and fills me in on some of the prospects.

If it's not a group setting it will be a series of 1 on 1 interviews with a majority of the managers. Be friendly, constantly talk highly about yourself and avoid what you lack. If you hit your negatives they stick with the managers. So speak highly don't degrade anyone, interrupt them or anything. Laugh with them and as my wife says "node and smile".

Hope this helps.

AFPoster said:

When you do a group interview, be the most outgoing, talkative and fun loving person possible. Apple wants a go getter not a sheltered person who is afraid to speak up, talk, laugh and crack jokes. If you're afraid to talk in a group setting how are you going to be able to communicate to a customer.
Hope this helps.

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I'm new to this so I don't know if I quoted this correctly =)
AFPoster is right. I just recently went to one but I think there was some age discrimination there because I was the only one in High School who showed up. I don't get it though, the recruiting seminar went great and I made a lot of the people laugh, I was talkative but just today got the email of death saying that they turned down my application.... What did I do wrong?!?!?!?

heylookitskarl said:

I'm new to this so I don't know if I quoted this correctly =)
AFPoster is right. I just recently went to one but I think there was some age discrimination there because I was the only one in High School who showed up. I don't get it though, the recruiting seminar went great and I made a lot of the people laugh, I was talkative but just today got the email of death saying that they turned down my application.... What did I do wrong?!?!?!?

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If the position you were applying for was full-time that could be a HUGE factor. Because how many high-school students can work from 3pm - 12am and then be able to go back to work at 10am. If it was part time maybe they felt some other applicants had a stronger resume or they may have felt they want someone with more experience. You never truly no unless you ask a manager who interviewed you. Remember this though, you didn't do anything wrong. It has nothing to do with you just a hard marketplace that we're involved in. You could have been the only high-schooler and the others might have been college graduates, or someone with a PhD that lost his job and is looking for something quick, maybe even retired people. Don't beat yourself up over it, if anything God has a plan for you. If you don't believe in God than there is a reason for everything, maybe a better position opens up and your the one for the job.

lPHONE said:

omg, all this to work at a friggin retail store?!?! I thought you were applying for work at 1 Infinite Loop or something and "creative" meaning you were designing products... someone explain to me why would anyone want to work at a mall store?

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It's not just a mall store, Apple is nothing like any other mall store. First no mall stores offer full benefits & retirement packages to there employee's only managers and above. Second the benefits and hands on training is incredible and they use you and train you so that you will be ready to work at 1 Infinity Loop or Maden, NC at the billion dollar facility. Plus they give you all the training in the world to be a teacher, educate another, work for other companies using Mac products and the list goes on and on. Yes they have an intense application process but once you're in with Apple you connections will never seise to grow. The atmosphere as well is fun, exciting and different than any other store.

AFPoster said:

If the position you were applying for was full-time that could be a HUGE factor. Because how many high-school students can work from 3pm - 12am and then be able to go back to work at 10am. If it was part time maybe they felt some other applicants had a stronger resume or they may have felt they want someone with more experience. You never truly no unless you ask a manager who interviewed you.

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Yea I never thought about the hours but just about every store closes around 10:00 and I was able to work from 4:00-9:00 after school. It was not an interview but a seminar (but I guess your right).... Does anyone know how to get my application seen by the store manager?? I talked to the store manager in the Garden State Plaza NJ and she said that the corporate office in CA took care of all the applications and she will never see the application until it gets screened through.
Does anyone know someone who knows someone?? =P

Never hurts to drop off your resume to one of the store's managers. Ask for the "Store Leader" though as that is the main store manager and usually has the final say about the hiring.

Paintball613 said:

Never hurts to drop off your resume to one of the store's managers. Ask for the "Store Leader" though as that is the main store manager and usually has the final say about the hiring.

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Do the Apple stores accept applications like that anymore?

In my experience, they show you a video about how great it is to work in retail and then make you do some dumb role playing exercises and then you go home and never hear from them again.

Blah

AFPoster said:

It's not just a mall store, Apple is nothing like any other mall store. First no mall stores offer full benefits & retirement packages to there employee's only managers and above. Second the benefits and hands on training is incredible and they use you and train you so that you will be ready to work at 1 Infinity Loop or Maden, NC at the billion dollar facility. Plus they give you all the training in the world to be a teacher, educate another, work for other companies using Mac products and the list goes on and on. Yes they have an intense application process but once you're in with Apple you connections will never seise to grow. The atmosphere as well is fun, exciting and different than any other store.

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It's still a mall store to me

Personally, I would love to work at a mall store. With that in mind, though, I AM a college student, not someone looking for a career quite yet. Although being a store manager and moving up from there might be fun.

Best of luck to those going through the hiring process, I may be with you in a year or two (I need to get more retail experience)!