I had my first interview with the Apple Retail Store last night at 6pm. There were five of us interviewing. There was a 21 year old kid (hehe), a middle-aged man with graying hair and conservative dress, and two women who appearred to be in their late 20s or early 30s. I didn’t think to ask if last night was the first round of several nights’ interviews for the positions, but I did find out that there are two openings currently – Specialist and Service Specialist. The Specialist is the sales person who helps connect customers with Apple products, while the Service Specialist adds more support to the Specialist role. So, at best, I start with a 20% chance of getting the Service Specialist position.
We broke into two groups to rotate interviewing with two different Apple representatives. I was with Will, the 21 year old videographer, and we started off with Jason. First we each talked a bit about our lives and work history, then we went into some fairly abstract Q&A that was designed to address how we responded to various situations and think on our feet. I think I did really well, with interesting, well thought out replies. Then we had the opportunity to ask some questions of Jason about Apple and his experiences working there.
After about 40 minutes with Jason, the teams rotated and next we met with Nick. Nick is the hiring manager who Eric gave my resume to on Saturday. We started out with the question, “Tell me something interesting about yourself.” I gave a brief background overview and then said, “I was in a coma for nine days and walked out of the hospital two days later.” I proceeded to go into a little depth about my racing history and touched on my need for speed. In retrospect, I think I could have added that it is not a part of my life any more, but I don’t really think it matters. Apple is filled with interesting people who are encouraged to be themselves, so I don’t think it made any negative impression. Then there were a few more abstract questions that we took turns responding to, filled out some paperwork, and that was it.
We were told we could go or stay and hang out in the store a bit. I didn’t want to leave right away, so I went to look at ear buds since mine are on their last legs. I spoke a bit with Jade about it, and she was very helpful. She asked how the interview went and I said, “Very well, I think.” As it turns out, she may have been the Store Leader, the person with whom I would have my second interview if I make it to the next round, so I may have scored some brownie points by staying and engaging with her after the interview. Fingers crossed!
I do think I could have prepared a bit better for the interview. The questions were challenging, and I think I talked more about personal experience than work experience. Although, the point of the first interview was to get to know us, so I don’t think I did poorly. And, I did circle back to work experience and building customer relationships, which is the main point of working at an Apple Retail Store. They want to create a great experience for Apple users and enable them to achieve their goals by learning and using their products.
So now I get to wait to hear if I made it to the next round. Nick said he’d be in contact by Friday to let us know. I’m going to go back into the store later this week, take a training class, network, do whatever I can to make it to the next round. I have a call with Fred here in a few minutes, so hopefully he’ll be able to give me some guidance as well. Thanks for the well-wishes, keep em coming and let’s do this thing! 🙂
