I've ascended to my second interview (post hiring event) and I'm excited about working for Apple provided I can get past these remaining interviews (I think two). However, only Part Time positions are available at the moment. I currently work Part Time at Best Buy but I get over 35 hours a week; in essence, only Part Time in terms of no paid leave or benefits. The last guy I spoke to said part timers do not work past 28 hours a week -- I'd be fine with such a figure but I fear I'll be getting far less than that thus making the move from Best Buy to Apple a dubious financial one. The store has over 100 employees so they may be strapped for hours. Can anybody with experience working at the Apple Store comment?
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Working at the Apple Store
- Thread starter AppleGoat
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I used to work for a store that had 210 employees yet they still begged us to pick up more hours. This was years ago. Regardless, much hasn't changed. If anything demand for apple has increased. If you're part time you can work even over 40 hours but that depends on season. On average though you will work 25 hours but you can pick up shifts. Plus Apple pays well so it'll be more worth it in the long run than Best Buy.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I went in for my second interview on Friday morning with the store leader and have not heard back from them. I fear it's over. The guy was nice but I felt I didn't have the best interview. Nerves got the best of me. I hope I hear from them either way. Do they normally contact spurned applicants? Or will I be in limbo for the next few weeks?
4 interviews TO WORK AT THE APPLE STORE part time !!!!!!! When I was in College all my interviews were 1 and done. Does Apple pay double what Best Buy does to be so annoying? I work for a consulting firm and it only took 2 interviews. 1 was on the phone because I was working crazy hours at my other job and couldn't go in. Companies are real *******s about hiring people. My girlfriends brother was telling me he goes on 2-3 interviews to get unpaid internships !!
Hell I got a job at PWC in 1 interview.
Well I am sure they were satisfied with how well you mopped the floor the first time.
A second interview is a good sign at least. I didn't hear back when I applied two years ago but I worked at an Apple blog and was 17 with no retail experience. What kind of work experience did you have prior?
I wouldn't worry too much; most places would contact a "spurned" applicant.
Thanks everyone for the responses.
Yes, Apple's interview process is exhaustive and drawn out; ironic since the company's raison d'être is simplicity.
Getting a second interview was an encouraging sign, but if you absolutely bomb on the second interview, your chances of moving forward are slim. There's a reason there's a second interview. I doubt it was a formality.
I'm contemplating shooting the GM a line. Reemphasizing my desire to work for Apple and asking where I stand.
Yes, Apple's interview process is exhaustive and drawn out; ironic since the company's raison d'être is simplicity.
Getting a second interview was an encouraging sign, but if you absolutely bomb on the second interview, your chances of moving forward are slim. There's a reason there's a second interview. I doubt it was a formality.
I'm contemplating shooting the GM a line. Reemphasizing my desire to work for Apple and asking where I stand.
You didn't get it. I was offered my Apple retail position on the first interview back in 2007. If they haven't called you by now, you didn't get it. Sorry bub. You just come off as too desperate.
I'm not inclined to believe I did either, but how do I come across as desperate?
Also, the hiring process has changed since you went through it. Those must have been the pre-hiring event days.
Yeah, more or less. They are also constantly flooded with applicants, so they can afford to be picky. When I got hired there, they expected me to start immediately rather than giving two weeks notice, though at the time they were trying to push a bunch of people through training before the Verizon iPhone 4 launch, which ended up being laughable.
What did they start you at, if you don't mind me asking? How were you offered the job? Immediately at the conclusion of the final interview or did you wait for them to contact you?
Well, keep in mind that I was hired in early 2011 (though I just quit a couple of months ago). I started right around $12, but everyone got raises to about $16 under John Browett's tenure (about the only good thing he ever did for Apple Retail) and my understanding is that that's the starting wage for most new Specialists these days. This is in Seattle, where there's a strong tech presence, and one of the factors when it comes to salary is tech competition in the area of hire.
I went through two days of the hiring event and then had one more final interview/event where our store leader wanted to see how I did with the crowds and existing employees--basically I wandered the store for a bit asking questions and seeing what the environment was like. I was offered the job within a couple of days after that experience. The most recent hires before I left had a more formal interview (or two) at the store post-hiring event and then offered jobs from there, though I'm not sure what the timeframe is like. It's worth noting that my girlfriend, who also worked at my store, had pretty much given up on Apple when they called her to offer the position, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
As far as potential pitfalls, I found that the worst thing you could do is to not know much about Apple products and/or disparage them in any way. I am personally a tech mercenary that primarily uses Apple products because I think they are the best fit for me personally (and would jump ship to Android or Windows Phone if I got the sense that either of those platforms would serve me better) but I said nothing about that in my interviews. You need to have a passion for Apple products.
Again, though, this was my specific store. I'm sure different managers have very different ideas of what they look for in new hires. One of my seniors once didn't move a guy on because he didn't have a good handle on what AppleCare was. I thought that was overly harsh, considering how much learning happens on the job.
Thanks for the informative response, Vinnie.
Damn -- now I'm more beside myself, potentially $16 wages to start? I make a paltry $9/hr at Best Buy right now.
When I role played with the Store Leader with whom I last interviewed, I mentioned the 5s had the best camera, but I couldn't explain to him why (I know the ins and outs of the Mac lineup but could stand to brush up on the iOS devices).
Later, we walked back to the store and he asked me to do a demonstration in Pages. He asked me to insert a picture and text box then send the document through an e-mail. I did everything he asked me to do without encountering any trouble. He then said, "let me show you a shortcut. How you did it was the PC-way. You have to make it sexy." He went on to insert in image via a pulldown menu on the Pages toolbar then exported it out as a PDF using another pulldown menu. I failed to realize those pulldown menus were there.
I wish I could do the interview over.
I second being a mercenary to technology. At the moment, I dig what Apple has to offer (minus Beats) but it could change at a moment's notice. I have no deep-seated bias to any brand.
You didnt. Im not sure what that was about (though a quick review of Other Posts gives me some idea
)To me, you simply sound enthusiastic, and with regards to proactively following up, very motivated.
If Apple stores existing when I was in high school, I definitely wouldve pursued a job.
Good Luck!
Not my place to ask, but why do you work in a shop? Unlike most on here, your posts are very well written and you come across very switched-on.
Seems you could do more...?
With the iPhone 6 coming out soon I'm sure they are going to need all hands on deck. I know a couple people that work at the Apple store and shortage of hours does not seem to be an issue.
"I'm contemplating shooting the GM a line. Reemphasizing my desire to work for Apple and asking where I stand. "
That. They already have all the info they need. And they have probably a few dozen candidates to fill that position. In any other job I'd say, sure, follow up and persistence is good. But in this instance, it just comes off as desperation. Sorry. Just going off my 4 years of Apple Retail experience and seeing applicants dropped and ignored for less.
Don't give up, try again at a different store in your market, or in a few months at the same store. It only took me 2 interviews when I worked at the Apple Store, but that was back in 2008. I've had friends now that have gone to 5-6 interviews only to get silence, not even a "Thanks, but no thanks" email. The whole way Apple Retail has been operating lately is really sickening. I go in and find Specialists who can't tell me even the most basic thing about a Mac Pro, instead they assume I must be talking about the MacBook Pro. Its turned into a BestBuy, just with prettier walls, floors and tables. Maybe thats just in Miami, but its a trend in all the four stores in my market. This view has also been echoed by friends who are still there, and yearn for the old days, when metrics didn't rule. Hopefully Angela Ahrendts will shake things up for the better.
Weeks have passed and I haven't heard anything so I'll take it as a "no". I even sent out a futile follow-up e-mail at one point but only got silence in return. I valued Imaginator's advice but I knew, at that point, I had absolutely nothing to lose following up. I wish, not only Apple, but most employers would have the decency to send out rejection letters.
I second your experience in the Apple Store. Recently, I was downstate visiting my family and stopped in at the local Apple Store. If any of you have read my other threads, you know I've been salivating over a 15" rMBP and have sought, far and wide, for any cogent reason to buy it. I asked one specialist about the Iris Pro and if he believed it to be sufficient. He was an older, brusque man. I had to say "Iris Pro" about three times before he understood that I was referring to the GPU. All he said, curtly, was that you should "buy the machine that is best for you."
After fiddling around some more with the computer of my dreams, another specialist asked if I had any questions. I again asked about the Iris Pro and all this specialist did was nod.
On another occasion, I asked a specialist about the performance of an early-2011 13" MBP with a Thunderbolt display. When it came to cluelessness, this guy took the cake. He said it should run fine because every version of OS X gets better and things get "condensed." I couldn't really follow what he was saying. He kept referring to Mavericks as "Maverick" in the singular. I also asked about the Iris Pro for ***** and giggles and he said the Iris Pro would not be sufficient unless I got 16GB of RAM, then the Iris Pro-only model would be capable of running the graphically intensive programs it could not with 8GB. As far as I'm concerned, more system memory would not be delegated as virtual memory.
I understand why Apple would have rigorous hiring process, through which so few pass. They are a successful brand and should only expect the best. I've encountered personable folks, conversant with Apple products at hiring events, and my competition seemed stiff at the latest one. And, my being a nervous, bumbling mess at times during the last interview, gave them few reasons to hire me. But, how do so many unhelpful, unsightly, and unknowledgeable losers get jobs there?
This attitude is why you didn't get hired. Wow dude.
Not really -- more of an effect than a cause. I exhibited a positive attitude throughout. How do you think I advanced through the interview process? And how is one supposed to not feel a little bitter when he is passed on for the kind of workers I described above?
Get over it, you don't have what Apple wants, that other "loser" did. Not sure what you want to hear.