Getting a job at apple... what a pain! But worth it.

[earthtoandy]

I recently applied to an Apple retail store... ok by recently i mean continuously for every position for a very long time! But i got an interview recently. Waited for the background check and call back. Finally got that but there was a problem.. my drivers License came back as invalid. Ok must be a typo lets give them the right one and get it sorted out. Well it took forever (couple weeks maybe) for corporate to finally get back to the store manager and now I have to call the background check people and find out why my id comes up invalid. At least now its in my hands and Ican fix what needs to be fixed. But the whole time the manager has been real nice "Sorry about this." "No worries we still wanna hire you" "this is all thats standing in the way!". So its nice they have stuck by me and are still interested in hiring me but this wait has been painful... so hopefully tomorrow it will all be sorted out and I will have a job at apple!

How sweet that job will be and the payoff will way outweigh what I had to deal with... but damn!

 

[zimv20]

how intense of a background check did they do? and what's their drug testing policy, if any?

 

[sorryiwasdreami]

And where (city, state) are you trying to get hired?

 

[earthtoandy]

 

[cb911]

hope all goes well with that...

when i first saw the title of the thread i thought you were talking about a job at Apple HQ in Cupertino. a pain, but worth it? a couple of guys have quit Apple in the last couple of weeks... obviously some people don't think it's worth it. but an Apple retail store is a whole differnt situation. i actually don't think i'd mind working in one of those places.

when you do get the job (i'm being hopefully optimistic ) just make sure you don't go quoting specs unless you're sure about them, and i'm sure you will be. but at a Apple re-seller near me, there's one guy there, and he just talks stuff that he doesn't know a thing about. my bro (with a PC laptop) went in there looking to buy an STM backpack, and took out this PC to see if fit - and as soon as the guy saw it he just kept saying how PowerBooks were better. and my bro was like "yes, my bro has one - he bought it here." the salesperson wasn't rude, but he's an older guy - it's just enthusiasm i guess, but it's kind of funny.

 

[earthtoandy]

well that dumb company finally got it figured out! i had to go to the dmv and rpint ou a 5 year report on my license to get them to figure it out. oh well.

Went down today and finished all paperwork (lots of things to sign like inteledtual property agreements) and will start thursday.

 

[blackpeter]

Awesome place. The basement area is very neat. and all the people are so laid back and awesome. As the general manager says to me "of course while youre on the floor you are courteous, polite and very nice to the customers... but down here you will hear every cuss word in the book!" ha, my kind of place.

Just a little advice from a former Apple employee...

One thing you will have to kiss goodbye is posting any further comments on this or other "rumor" sites. Your contract with Apple strictly forbids any such behavior and, believe me, Apple takes this sort of thing very seriously. You now represent the company, so even one comment (however small) is grounds for termination. Just ask your manager. He/She will explain this to you in more detail.

Enjoy your time there. Apple can be a great place to work.

 

[MacFan26]

As the general manager says to me "of course while youre on the floor you are courteous, polite and very nice to the customers... but down here you will hear every cuss word in the book!" ha, my kind of place.

Did that happen to be Daniel Carbonneau? (sp?) I'd talked to him a number of times over the past couple of years there, my mom bought an iBook from him, my dad got an iMac, haha I'm not sure he's still there though, it's been a while since I've been there. Great place though, it would be awesome if you get the job there

 

[earthtoandy]

oh yeah i know... i wouldnt do such a thing anyway. Besides all i do is talk outta my butt anyway... all opinions and guesses. If i have knowledge on something I wont post. Tech talk and everything should be fine as long as i dont divulge any apple secrets or knowledge.
i am excited to start though. I will be getting paid for what i do already. And surronded by such beauty all day! oh joy.

So you liked working for apple?

umm the General managers name is Bill so I guess not. Havent met a daniel yet either.

 

[26139]

Good ol Daniel...

oh yeah i know... i wouldnt do such a thing anyway. Besides all i do is talk outta my butt anyway... all opinions and guesses. If i have knowledge on something I wont post. Tech talk and everything should be fine as long as i dont divulge any apple secrets or knowledge.
i am excited to start though. I will be getting paid for what i do already. And surronded by such beauty all day! oh joy.

So you liked working for apple?

umm the General managers name is Bill so I guess not. Havent met a daniel yet either.

I recently left your exact store. Here are some quick tips...double check what ppl are buying...don't sell the wrong ram, printers without usb cords or mini docks with regular iPods. You will make the rest of the store look bad.
Try to HELP ppl, not sell them things. You don't work on commission (so it doesn't "matter" anyway) but the more customers like you the much more likely they will bring their friends in to buy stuff.
Last...if you don't know, don't lie. It's not a bad thing to not know everything...but it's terrible to pretend that you do.

 

[TheGimp]

I recently left your exact store. Here are some quick tips...double check what ppl are buying...don't sell the wrong ram, printers without usb cords or mini docks with regular iPods. You will make the rest of the store look bad.
Try to HELP ppl, not sell them things. You don't work on commission (so it doesn't "matter" anyway) but the more customers like you the much more likely they will bring their friends in to buy stuff.
Last...if you don't know, don't lie. It's not a bad thing to not know everything...but it's terrible to pretend that you do.

You won't get the job. Your id coming up invalid means you're a terrorist in their eyes. I had glowing recommendations (so Apple said) from my previous two employers as well as from my Boston College physics professor (personal recommendation), flawless credit, no legal record, stable residence, knowledge of system 7 through OSX etc, etc.
Still, I DIDN'T get the job due to a temp agency listed on my application which purged its employment records 4-5 years ago (those little agencies move around alot). Thus, even though all other references checked out (and I offered to provide Apple as many backup references as it would take), those little sticklers at the independent background check agency insisted that I call the IRS to have them *mail* me tax records proving employment there, etc. By that time it had already been over 3 weeks since applying to Apple, and I needed to get a job before the summer ended! The worse thing about the whole ordeal is that the Apple Store manager (in chestnut hill, Ma) said to me within days of my applying "I totally want you on board". This pledge of confidence is what kept me around, calling Apple to check in on the application status, and ultimately set me up for a *big* disappointment (and a pocket devoid of spending money that Summer).

Don't put any eggs in their basket!!!

 

[crazzyeddie]

What was the interview like? Did they just ask you questions regarding your knowledge of the products? I just applied to my local Apple Store for a job, and without any prior formal job, I just wanted to be prepared for anything they might throw at me!

 

[26139]

TheGimp

Well, that happens. Yours is an unfortunate circumstance, but you should always check your references and such before you submit an application. Who said getting a job should be easy?

 

[wdlove]

oh yeah i know... i wouldn't do such a thing anyway. Besides all i do is talk outta my butt anyway... all opinions and guesses. If i have knowledge on something I wont post. Tech talk and everything should be fine as long as i dont divulge any apple secrets or knowledge.
i am excited to start though. I will be getting paid for what i do already. And surrounded by such beauty all day! oh joy.

So you liked working for apple?

umm the General managers name is Bill so I guess not. Haven't met a daniel yet either.

Just be careful earthtoandy. With all the trouble that you have gone through, it would be a shame not to make it a success. Nothing really worthwhile is easy. You must be a good fellow or they would have not hired you.

 

[MacFan26]

umm the General managers name is Bill so I guess not. Havent met a daniel yet either.

okay nevermind then, at one point in time there was a daniel that worked there, lol

 

[blackpeter]

oh yeah i know... i wouldnt do such a thing anyway. Besides all i do is talk outta my butt anyway... all opinions and guesses.

Again, talk to your manager. ANY posting on rumor sites could be grounds for termination, not just speculation about future products. They could have changed the policy since I left, but I doubt it. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but while I was at Apple, a retail employee was fired just for posting on an Apple forum. His posts weren't about rumors or Apple products either.

Apple takes this stuff VERY seriously and Steve generally dislikes the rumor sites. They don't want employees participating in these discussions at all. My advice, if you like your new job, is to just read and keep your opinions to yourself - regardless of what the subject might be. That's what I had to do...

 

[earthtoandy]

TheGimp, trust me i know. this whole time i have thouhgt "this si too much of a hassle to hire someone.. i mean it took weeks for that damn background check company to get their stuff straight. But the general manager kept going to bat for me and kept reassuring me not to worry and that they stiull wanted me. And it eventually paind off and I am hired and start tomorrow. Most anxiety i have had over something like this simply because i want it so bad. So either my manager is just a good guy who stuck by his word or my interview was that good! haha.

As for the interview, i think the main idea is to go in their relaxed and knowing that you can do the job and do it well. He aksed all sorts of stuff like "how do you keep up with technology" "do you consider yourself more a hardware guy or a software guy" " what programs do you know?" and the big one i think "what do you think it is that we do here?". After he asked me everything he just went on to talk about what their mission is and all this stuff. The interview lasted for lik 40 minutes.

and thanks for the advice for those who are giving it.

 

[earthtoandy]

Again, talk to your manager. ANY posting on rumor sites could be grounds for termination, not just speculation about future products. They could have changed the policy since I left, but I doubt it. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but while I was at Apple, a retail employee was fired just for posting on an Apple forum. His posts weren't about rumors or Apple products either.

Apple takes this stuff VERY seriously and Steve generally dislikes the rumor sites. They don't want employees participating in these discussions at all. My advice, if you like your new job, is to just read and keep your opinions to yourself. That's what I had to do*

gotcha, will do. I guess i will just get my mac fix a the store.

 

[Windowlicker]

I don't know anything about applying for a job in the States. So is it just Apple or do you need to run through a background check everytime you apply for any job?

I'm asking this because for me for instance I just wrote an email with some school papers scanned on it and they took me on an interview. It wasn't Apple that hired me though (but an apple reseller).. Sure there are jobs that need a background check here too (for example Nokia seems to check everyone pretty well), but this job I have now seems pretty similar to what it's in an Apple Store...

 

[tech4all]

Awesome place. The basement area is very neat. and all the people are so laid back and awesome. As the general manager says to me "of course while youre on the floor you are courteous, polite and very nice to the customers... but down here you will hear every cuss word in the book!" ha, my kind of place.

Apple stores have basements? Or is that just a neat name for the break room?

btw: congrats on your job!

 

[TheGimp]

What was the interview like? Did they just ask you questions regarding your knowledge of the products? I just applied to my local Apple Store for a job, and without any prior formal job, I just wanted to be prepared for anything they might throw at me!

The interview was very informal and the interviewer was very friendly and relaxed. He asked me questions like: What aspect of serving customers gives you the greatest satisfaction?; Do you thrive in a busy environment?. He wanted to make sure that I'm not a 'hard sell'; that I wouldn't send grandma home with a dual G5 when all she wanted was to look at her grandkids in iPhoto and listen to Elvis on her iPod. He wasn't very concerned about my level of knowledge beyond the fact that I knew my way around OSX and some common software. It was one of the most pleasant interviews I had ever had.

Which is why I was all the more miffed by their treatment.

Anyway, I was able to recoup some the wastedtime (=money) waiting for a reply by doing a little soft pushing with the help of a little blue frog... made a whole lot more money that summer, and even honed my 'logic' to boot. Apple sure knows how to make friends.

 

[TheGimp]

I don't know anything about applying for a job in the States. So is it just Apple or do you need to run through a background check everytime you apply for any job?

I'm asking this because for me for instance I just wrote an email with some school papers scanned on it and they took me on an interview. It wasn't Apple that hired me though (but an apple reseller).. Sure there are jobs that need a background check here too (for example Nokia seems to check everyone pretty well), but this job I have now seems pretty similar to what it's in an Apple Store...

If my experience is any indication: Don't be of Arab descent. However, I'm sure it's OK if you wear an Aphex Twin T-shirt to the interview.

 

[Mechcozmo]

I wanna work at an Apple Store. Gotta be 18 though. Maybe they take 17 year olds?

Have to have something to look forward to.....

 

[imac abuser]

going to be working at the biltmore? We need hook ups hehe

chris

 

[DreaminDirector]

Again, talk to your manager. ANY posting on rumor sites could be grounds for termination, not just speculation about future products. They could have changed the policy since I left, but I doubt it. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but while I was at Apple, a retail employee was fired just for posting on an Apple forum. His posts weren't about rumors or Apple products either.

Apple takes this stuff VERY seriously and Steve generally dislikes the rumor sites. They don't want employees participating in these discussions at all. My advice, if you like your new job, is to just read and keep your opinions to yourself - regardless of what the subject might be. That's what I had to do...

Yeah, take it from an ex-employee as well. My store was not to keen on us being on MacRumors or any of the other sites. The problem is not really rumors (since as Retail employees you hear about practically nothing), it's that if you start speculating or saying things like "yeah, I hear the new iPod is coming out too and we're low on stock on the current ones" that some customers take that as gospel. Managers scold you if you say anything that sounds like a rumor or opinion. Honestly, it's a retail job that doesn't pay commission.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it while I was there. But as time progressed, there were less "fanatic apple fan" employees and more "let's get the bottom line numbers up" salespeople. I know, I know, Apple is a business and that is the nature of commerce. But when I started (which was from the opening of the store), there were guys there who sounded alot like the guys from here at MacRumors; excited about the brand, knew their hardware in and out, and we're pros on practically every piece of software. Slowly, they were replaced with retail people. What once was a fun place where you could spend two hours showing someone the fine details of Final Cut became a statement like "Final Cut is right here, what else would you like to buy?".

I guess the lesson I learned from all of it is "Don't mix business with Pleasure". I love Apple, I love all of my Macs, but I don't think I would ever want to try and sell one in a retail setting again. Eh, maybe I wasn't cut of to be in retail.

Good luck with the job. Enjoy the HUGE number of Apple shirts they give you. You get so many, you could almost wear a new one each time you come in to work.