2nd interview for a job at apple

[ebaydan777]

so i got called to come in next week for a second interview with an apple store near me.

im not worried about getting the job they seemed to like my qualifications and me in general, but im worried about something else

currently im 19 and will be 20 in ferbruary, over a year ago right after i turned 18 i got into some trouble with an 'old friend' of mine, basically he was stealing things from his job at sams club and the night i happened to be with him at the store he stole something and got caught, me being an accessory with him got arrested as well, he was convicted with 3 felonies, and i got slapped on the wrist with a misdemeanor for theft as an accessory, the judge knew i had no priors and knew i was also a kid going to college soon in pre-medicine, he told me i have to learn who to hang out with and this punishment will help, meaning he lowered my probation from 4 years to 2 years, (summary-meaning no one really bothers me or asks me anything unless i go do something stupid again), but im not sure if the apple store will care about this?


i know most employers will ask about "felonies-do you have any felony convictions" but apple being in the retail business may ask about a misdemeanor, im not sure? and im not really sure what to say if they ask "so have you ever been in trouble" in general....idk im confused and i REALLY do not want to lose this job because of something i didnt even really do, ive always been a good kid with high goals, im not quite sure what to do, any advice? maybe from an employee that went thru 2nd interviews if they will even ask this of me?

 

[ebaydan777]

i also found this on the site, and remember im only applying to be a mac specialist on the floor, not some manager or cashier or anything with money

Lastly, you should know that Apple performs a background check on applicants after the final stage of interviewing. The check includes submitting references and other information on your application (signature block), and authorized by a document that you sign (and which describes your rights). Your references may not be contacted, but it's clear that Apple does check credit histories and some type of criminal history check. California law allows private companies with their own security force to access the state's criminal history computer system, so background checks will include any history of arrests and criminal convictions if they are made (not all positions are screened for criminal histories).


hm?

 

[Super Macho Man]

Many employers these days do background checks and many employees have arrests. It's not necessarily a deal breaker. You only have to bring it up if they ask specifically about misdemeanors or crimes in general. If they ask about *felonies* you don't have to bring it up. If they ask about "being in trouble" or anything vague like that, you don't technically have to bring it up, HOWEVER, if they then probe further and say "Really? Not even a misdemeanor?", then you sound like you were trying to hide something. So felonies, no. Anything else, come totally clean. Give a thorough and honest mea culpa, and spin it hard positive:

"Yes, such and such happened. Despite being only an unknowing accessory, I admit that I was hanging out with the wrong crowd and was convicted of a misdemeanor - the only conviction I've ever received. This was a major embarrassment for me and I made the immediate decision to turn the page on that chapter in my life. I'm now a pre-med student studying hard to become a doctor(?), and I now look back on it as a valuable learning experience. Needless to say, I no longer hang out with this friend and I have taken extra care to stay on the straight and narrow. Everybody makes mistakes, and I'm thankful that this one gave me the wisdom to change my ways. As my (references / volunteer experience? / etc.) will confirm, I am a totally upstanding individual and have been straight as an arrow since."

Spin spin spin. Be mature and repentant. Don't give a whiny "b-b-but I didn't do it" type of answer. You were already convicted of doing it and it's your word against the judicial system's - the judicial system wins. Own up to it and take the high road.

But ONLY if asked about it.

 

[Hmac]

If you were over 18 when you were convicted, that misdemeanor will almost certainly show up on the background check that companies like Apple do as a matter of routine. Often they require a drug screen too.

Your attorney should have angled for having your conviction expunged after completion of a probationary period. That's fairly standard for first convictions. Are you sure that wan't done?

 

[ebaydan777]

thanks a lot for the answer i should give, its pretty much a perfect answer ill definitely be giving it if they ask.


Well yes my lawyer couldnt do much for me, we could have had it go to a plea bargain with the judge, but he simply informed all of us that if I go in with trial or plea bargain with the DA it will only get worse, because what he wants is for me to learn a lesson (since i just turned 18) that i need to follow the good crowd and tell right from wrong, so its a punishment aka teaching lesson in life.


my probation is over next june and yes i already paid my lawyer to have it expunged, as of right now it still stands and wednesday is my interview which i know theyll ask, i wont give too much detail on it besides saying i was an accessory because i dont think those criminal reports give more info than that...even tho theres not really much more than that.

my dad said they shouldnt even be checking that kind of stuff, we all know apple has a ridiculous amount of applicants and employees, for them to be doing criminal checks on everyone is about $20-50 a person, theyd be in debt if they spent that much on everyone lol...or it would just be a really big loss, my dad brought up a good point saying they shouldnt be checking on people like you applying to work on the floor as a salesperson, usually theyll do it on a cashier or a supervisor or manager?

 

[GoCubsGo]

my dad said they shouldnt even be checking that kind of stuff, we all know apple has a ridiculous amount of applicants and employees, for them to be doing criminal checks on everyone is about $20-50 a person, theyd be in debt if they spent that much on everyone lol...or it would just be a really big loss, my dad brought up a good point saying they shouldnt be checking on people like you applying to work on the floor as a salesperson, usually theyll do it on a cashier or a supervisor or manager?

First, background checks aren't being done just to see what you've been up to so I'm sorry to say that your dad making such a statement is entirely false and such misinformation should never be handed down, blood relative or not!

Second, what you need to consider is that while you are not applying for a position that requires you to handle money, you will be handling merchandise. If you believe that somehow you are going to be safer handling merchandise than you are if you were handling cash then there are bigger issues here. Clearly, while you claim to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time with a wrong friend, money is not the objective there. I think it would be hard to steal money from an Apple store and just as hard to steal merchandise, but neither is impossible.

Third, companies do indeed spend money to do a background check on every potential applicant and no, $20-$50 is not a lot in comparison to the real damage you could potentially do. Look at your friend and Sam's Club for Christ's sake! Sure, it is possible had they done a $20-$50 background check on your buddy then he still could have gotten hired but look at the damage he did. To even think that Apple would be in debt over this is preposterous! There is a certain level of risk any company signs up for when hiring people. To reduce such risk background checks are performed and often credit checks are completed. In my work I spend tens of millions of dollars a day. There is a system of checks and balances in place to prevent me from actually sending funds to my personal accounts. However, planned just right I could most likely get away with a large sum of cash. A background check would not have been able to tell my company that years down the line I would break down and **** them over, but at least in the beginning they were doing their due diligence. That is what Apple is doing.

Whether you work on the floor or behind a counter a background check will and should be done at the time Apple deems appropriate. In my company they extend the offer, once accepted the offer is contingent on passing the background check. In the event that fails the offer is revoked. This is in writing and impossible to dispute from any angle unless otherwise noted.

During the interview it would be prudent for you to bring up your criminal past as it was previously stated by you. You can spin it any way you need to and it may not be a deal breaker, but you will need to disclose it.

A final thought. You are 20 years old and starting out of the gate with a statement along the lines of it is not management or cash handling so what is the big deal? Your logic may not be the best but here is something else to consider. Working at the Apple store will never be a career for you. If you were 16-18 I would probably just figure it to be fine, but at 20 do you really want a job that will never be a career? It may turn out to be, but if you say yourself that your crime would definitely prevent you from management then why bother working there? Surely the allure of Apple isn't enough to take some dead end job...is it? I am in no way saying that working at Apple is a dead end job, but you kind of cut your nose off to spite your face when you justify yourself as a worthy applicant because it is not management. I would hope that you think higher of yourself in that you believe that despite your past you are well equipped to be a manager and you intend to take the job if offered to you and work into management. No doubt I am reading more into your issues and statements than necessary, but it always baffles me when I see younger people just assume a job is a job when in fact if you like Apple, you like the company, and you will probably love what you do then why not aim higher?

That's just a note, a side thought, a digression of the earlier points.

 

[ebaydan777]

well jessica, i love your facts and opinions and i do take them consideration but i think you have the story a little off. Im not walking in there to say, dont give me a background check because im not looking to be in a position that u should be giving me a check on, and im also not saying i wouldnt want to be a manager at the store, and if i was of course i deserve a check.

what im saying is, its not practical to go to such an extent even if its cash or merchandise to do a check on someone simply working on the floor, how am i supposed to steal things in all honesty, sure its possible but not easy. The way my ex-friend got in trouble was he stole credit cards that were lost by customers from the managers office, signed for them after using them to purchase electronics, and i happened to be with him the night he got caught, i was charged as an accessory but it still doesnt mean i was there bragging him along to do what he was doing. I know it was wrong i shouldnt of been there period, but im still a kid and was and that was the one thing that ive ever done bad in my life that was major, we all make mistakes but that doesnt mean i cant get a job because of that


plus i have less than a year on my probation, once it is up i am allowed to get it expunged for a fee meaning (no one but a high government official can look at my records and see this misdemeanor, such as the fbi or cia or any large political system) for God's sakes George Bush has misdemeanors....

im not entitled to get away without a criminal check but i dont expect a huge deal out of a simple mistake in life, once again i was a kid and i made a mistake, i learned from it and life goes on, ive never done anything wrong and i dont plan on doing anything wrong now or later in life, at least nothing close to this.

and im not intending on going to become a manager, i want to be a doctor thats why im a pre-med student, and to be this kind of student in his second year pulling a 3.6gpa in tough tough classes should be in consideration, im a good kid im organized i know whats right i know whats wrong ive learned all this, trust me i dont want to go back to that place last year, but im not here to apply to be a manager either, its not a dead end job buts not something im looking to do forever either, i just need some extra for college its not easily living on my own, and i figure i LOVE apple and EVERYTHING about it, i sit here and read about their new products ALL the time, im fascinated about their creativity and everything surrounding them. This to me feels like the perfect job, for now....when medical school rolls around itll be a different story...

 

[Super Macho Man]

Typically companies only run the checks on finalists for a position - not everyone who applies. Application -> (screen) -> phone interview -> (screen) -> interview -> (screen) -> references & background check -> (screen) -> job offer. Don't know for sure if Apple does it this way, but it would be silly to run background checks on everyone who applies, even if they're not being considered for the position.

I also agree w/ jessica that if you don't get the job, it's not the end of the world for you. You may love Apple and so on, but working in an Apple Store is not going to do much for you as a doctor. In the long term you might be better served by (for example) working on-campus in the medical school or in a laboratory, assisting a professor in research. They won't run a background check on you for a position like that, the hours are more flexible, and the experience will look much better on your CV. The pay will probably not be as good, but think long-term.

 

[aristobrat]

what im saying is, its not practical to go to such an extent even if its cash or merchandise to do a check on someone simply working on the floor, how am i supposed to steal things in all honesty, sure its possible but not easy.

FWIW, it'd be quite easy for a sales associate to walk back into the inventory area, pick up an $1800 24" iMac (or a $2500 17" MBP), put one of those "PAID" stickers on it, and hand it to a friend who walks right out the door with it. Doesn't get much easier than that.

Also, as Super Macho Man pointed it, Apple doesn't run a background check on every person who hands in an application. You need to make it past the interviews and be the one they're considering before they'll do it.

Hope it all works out for you!

 

[ebaydan777]

ok one last thing, usually I will wear dress clothes like nice pants and collared shirt with a tie to an interview, but apple has always seemed to be a very casual company, I mean obviously look at jobs? Haha I was wondering if its a better idea to go in with some nice jeans and a polo shirt instead? Or should I really still try to dress up and maybe leave a better impresssion?

 

[Super Macho Man]

Jobs can wear whatever he wants because he is the bossman. I would say a tie might be overkill, but wear a nice shirt, tucked in, and nice slacks - not jeans.

 

[Foxglove9]

Haha I was wondering if its a better idea to go in with some nice jeans and a polo shirt instead? Or should I really still try to dress up and maybe leave a better impresssion?

Definitely look as best as possible. It's always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Definitely no jeans.

At my (retail) job we do a USIS before we even interview anyone. If it's for a management position we'll also run a Stanton Survey afterwards.

Apple deals with some very high priced equipment so your background check might be an issue, even if you were just a greeter at the front of the store it makes no difference.

Good luck though, the discount is nice!

 

[adk]

what im saying is, its not practical to go to such an extent even if its cash or merchandise to do a check on someone simply working on the floor, how am i supposed to steal things in all honesty, sure its possible but not easy.

It's extremely easy to steal things from any retailer. It's just as easy to get caught. If you can spin your record and still get a job with apple more power to you, but with the super-competitive applicant pool for those positions it's not exactly going to be easy.


Anyways, I'm wondering how you think it's not worth a company's time and money to background check potential employees. Not running background checks and then having (just an example) a sex offender working the sales floor could easily cost Apple millions in negative PR and lost sales.

 

[ebaydan777]

ok well im going to macys and gonna just buy some grey slacks and black button up and a nice tie, i want to leave a good impression and i dont mind overdressing, makes you look professional and decently good

other than that im come to think that im not gonna worry too much about my background check, to be honest i have a misdemeanor but that shouldnt eliminate me from getting a job, and i never did anything wrong no priors nothing since it happened more than a year ago, my probation is almost over and expunged and i didnt do anything wrong to begin with anyways, i was just with the wrong person at the wrong time and i got screwed for it, it doesnt mean i committed the act myself, so im not too worried if they ask i will explain, if they only ask about felonies i wont tell, otherwise i think itll be fine and ill stay positive about it, i think im an excellent candidate with an awesome attitude and i work hard im organized and i love apple and know about it, if they want to hire someone that should be the truly important thing, i guess trust just needs to be built with my background and thats about it....