Lover of trading, tacos, 3D/AR/VR, cryptos, and most things Japanese

Yesterday was a good day. I accomplished a lot of work stuff that I needed to get done, followed up with Apple, connected with friends, and got in a good workout. I’m really starting to get organized about my life. It’s been just over a month since my CP and things are starting to gel. I have work, though unpaid at the moment. I have meetings. I’m working out. My schedule is beginning to settle into something less nebulous and more concrete. It’s a good feeling.

Last evening I realized I hadn’t sent my follow up/thank you email to Nick at Apple for the interview, so I made an entry in my calendar to do it first thing this morning. But as I thought about it, I realized that I didn’t want to wait – I wanted the thank you email to arrive the day after my interview, not two days after. So I sat down at 10pm and wrote out a thank you note, expressing my appreciation for the opportunity and excitement about moving forward in the process. I sent it out at 10:30pm and felt great about having made another step forward. Every day since Friday, I’ve done something to move the process with Apple ahead, and it feels great to be taking positive actions, keeping that momentum going as best I can.

Today got off to a fantastic start. I had a call with my good friend Fred, who has been working for Apple for 13 years now. We caught up on what’s been going on, I filled him in on my story, and we had a really enthusiastic reconnection. Fred and I were motorcycle buddies back in the late 80s; we used to go for rides up Angeles Crest outside of L.A. every Sunday. He’s going to put in a direct referral to the Apple Retail Store Leader that I hope to have my next interview with. He credited me with getting him into his job with Apple – I was the guy that got him hooked on Apple computers 25 years ago – and he is going to do everything he can to support me. He was so encouraging, totally positive, and it was a joy to catch up with him.

The rest of the day is pretty filled with meetings and doctor’s appointments, and group tonight if it’s not cancelled again due to the snow. A new development on the group situation – since I’m not getting much out of the recovery maintenance group I currently go to, the team and I are investigating alternatives. I’ve been checking Meetup for more business/networking/technology/creative groups that I can go to instead. I’ll get more out of them, possibly advance my career, and learn and network along the way. We just need to find a couple good ones, get them approved, and I should be set to start going to them instead.

I also hit the gym last night for the first time in maybe a week. It was good to get back in there and hit the iron. I lifted chest and back, did some abs, and soaked for 10 minutes after. My diet is coming into form too – I’ve transitioned from eating lots to drinking lots of protein shakes, and I’m feeling better and healthier because of it. The shakes give me the protein I need and don’t fill me up or make me feel bloated. They’re pretty low calorie and have very little sugar, so I can grab one whenever I feel the need to fill my stomach. The dietary changes had good effect – I’ve already lost the seven pounds I put on last week, and I can feel my body start to tighten up. I’ll hit the gym to do legs tonight, after group if necessary, and keep the workout momentum going too. I need to get a workout journal so I can start tracking sets and reps, that’s on my list of things to do now. I used to post my workouts to fitbob.com, but decided that I didn’t need to maintain a separate blog for that, so I’m considering posting them here now. I still have the database of recipes from there I’ll transfer over here eventually too.

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! 🙂

So I had submitted my resume and applied for the positions at Apple. My research had me thinking that it was going to be a fairly lengthy hiring process, with probably months of time elapsing, so I had my head wrapped around the concept that it would take probably three months for things to happen, if they did at all, with Apple. Boy was I wrong!

On Friday, I made up my mind to apply for a position with Apple. On Saturday, I went to the local Apple Store and met with the Store Leader, and filled out my application online. On Sunday morning I went to church with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. As we were driving there I brought them up to speed on my Apple intentions and Deb said they’d pray for me. After a lovely service, I paused to greet the Reverend. I had been a frontrunner for a Communications Specialist position with the church a few months prior, so she knew a bit about my search for work. I told her that I had just applied for a job with Apple and asked her to pray for me, which she warmly agreed to do. As I walked out, Deb was smiling at me and I said, “I’m pulling out all the stops to make this happen! Can’t hurt to have God on my side too. 🙂 ”

We went out to a nice breakfast, as is our usual post-church procedure, and then I went home. Just as I was logging into my computer to continue watching Season Three of House of Cards, my iPhone chirped with a new gmail announcement – it was from Apple. It was titled, “Robert meet Apple, Apple meet Robert.” The email asked me back to the Apple Store for an interview tonight! Talk about fast moving – there I was, expecting it to take some time, as these things usually do. Not only did it happen quickly, but they contacted me the very next day – a Sunday, no less – to schedule an interview for the following day. BAM!

So today is all about preparing for the interview. I have some other obligations – therapy, work, and working out – but the bulk of my time is going to be spent online getting up to speed and researching all I can about Apple Stores and processes. I’m doing everything in my power to manifest this opportunity and not let it slip away. Thanks for the well-wishes and support. They’re working so far, keep em coming! I’ll keep you posted… 🙂