Apple Specialist Interview Questions & Reviews
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Updated May 23, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 207 ratings 
“Average” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 207 ratings
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Specialist at Apple
Posted Sep 7, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Dec 2009 in Chicago, IL (took 3 days)
I applied online and was given a call from HR asking me to come in for an in person interview. The first meeting I had met with 3 managers, the 2nd meeting ( a couple of days later) I met with one more manager and on the 3rd visit, I came in to fill out the paper work. The hardest round would be the 1st round where all of the questions were asked with one person at a time. It was mostly behavioral questions with some product knowledge demonstrations. Also, note that I showed up early ahead of time but my interview time was pushed back by at least 30 minutes in which I spent time waiting on the sales floor. They had me come up stairs into a smaller management room and on the 2nd interview, it took place right on the sales floor among the hustle and bustle and it was much more relaxed and was shorter for just a few basic questions (why do you want to work here, what qualities and skills do you have, etc.) I was hired during Holiday season so they were in desperate need of help so that may have been the reason for a shorter process compared to the rest of the average number of rounds that take place at Apple.
Here are some interview questions that were asked:
- Which Apple product do you own?
- Which Mac application have you used?
- Describe your retail experience if you have any?
- Have you come across a time when customers were being difficult because of a product/service? How did you manage?
- Why do you want to work for Apple?
- How do you feel about technical jargon, would you be able to translate it to into something the end user will understand?
- What did you notice coming here and how do you see yourself fit in with us?
- Sell me a Mac (present scenario) and tell me why I should purchase it.
- Have you ever recommended Apple products to anyone? Did they purchase it?
- What was it like working at _____ (Past job)?
- Which job in your work history was your favorite?
- Describe a time when someone you work for didn't do their part, how did you handle it?
- Are you comfortable talking with customers one on one?
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
No. There was no negotiation available for part-time specialist. Most of the time, specialists start out a flat rate and work up despite your level of education. I would take the offer if you really want to work for Apple because they will likely move on to other candidates considering that they have a large pool of applicants.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Personality Test and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 31, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2010 in Baltimore, MD (took 1+ week)
The interview process was rather long, consisting of 4 total interviews, and a group seminar in the beginning. Each interview was with a different manager from the different areas of the store. There were some redundancies in the interview questions, but I think it's more so for consistency in your answers. Be yourself, and do not try to impress. They want to see that you fit more in to the culture of the store than based off of your knowledge of product/services.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
I was able to negotiate my starting wage. I'd recommend presenting yourself as value added during the interview phase, which gives you power in this phase once they see what you can provide to the team.
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 26, 2011 — 2 of 2 people found this helpful
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2011 in Irvine, CA (took a day)
I applied online and was invited to an interview seminar, which was pretty cool. Apple does, indeed, do a great job in making it's potential employees excited to work for the company. They did a lot of talking and a lot of prepping. They ask a lot of questions to get you involved and hope that you'll speak up. But I think that what is most important is to be friendly, but not too eager and for your schedule, make yourself as available as possible. Because I only put down that I could work 15-2o hours due to school, I wasn't considered as much as other people were. When I talked to the manager after the seminar he said he really liked me but he saw I only put down 20 hours when it's mostly liked that the applicant puts down at least 30 hours of availability even though they might not work that much.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 15, 2011 — 6 of 6 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2011 in El Paso, TX (took a day)
I applied online for a new store opening up in El Paso, TX. I went to the store website on June 2011. After a month I recieved an email stating that the Apple Store is hiring. This email came from a Recruiting Manager. The RM said that if I wanted to be considered for the next step in the inteview process I should answer some questions involving product use, the reason I wanted to work there, my availibilty for an interview and other questions. I went ahead and asnwered the questions as best as I could and Igpt a response 3 days later confirming my interview for one week layer.
I can honestly say that it was a tough and competitive environment. There were about 20-25 guys in the interview group I was in. The employees wore their blue t-shirts or black polos, depending on their position. Then after waiting for 15 minutes, one of the interviewers said that they were going to greet us. They all stood up and line up like it was a Grand Opening. This made a lot of us feel welcomed and relaxed. Then we filled out a sheet of paper that asked what poducts we have owned, our work availibility, and if we would be in town for the weeks of August 22nd through September 16th or some dates like that. After we finished they played a presentation about the stores, their grwoth as a company in the retail business and other facts, like how every nine days a new stores opens.
It was now time for the interviews. Before we left, one of the interviewers said that some of us would be asked to stay afterwards, or be called back the same day and others would be contacted later. Next, were were split into groups of 4 people. Two applicants, a Store Leader from any place in the country (My gruop had a guy from Dallas) and the fourth person was a Store Leader for the new store. Basically, we had to make ourselves more likeable towards the new manager thanthe guy from Dallas.
The Store Leaders asked us about our work experience (which I have none), our personality, and other questions. We then had an opportunity to aske them a few questions. They guy that was applying with me asked aboit benefits and discounts which I thought was a very bad move. Asking about discounts from a job you don't even have??? Afterwards they said that they would be back in a few minutes. They came back and thanked us for our interest. A different emloyee then told us that another Recruiter would be contacting us during the week, any day from the day of the interview until the end of the week.
Overall I think that it was a very good experience. Though I didn't get the job, I know that a lot of people get fired or quit regularly, so I will be applying again, and again. If you really like Apple as a company that you could work for, I encourgage you to apply. Apple looks for people who fit their stores with their happy personality, people who are hardworking and who are great at teaching other about their products. Go to an Apple Store and look at how they work, talk to the Genii, the Experts, and Store Leaders so that they see your interest and enthusiasm for the store and the environment they work in.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
View Comments (1)
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Sep 5, 2011 — 1 of 4 people found this helpful
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Sep 2011 in Columbia, MD (took a day)
I attended the hiring event at the mall. It occurred from 7 PM to approximately 10 PM. There were at least 50 applicants. Employees dressed casually. Some employees wore sandals and shorts. Two of the women employees were very attractive. We were asked to complete a form and name tags. The first thing that transpired were introductions. Everyone had to say their name, why he/she would be a good fit for the company, and a fun fact about themselves. The man sitting adjacent to me actually wrote on a card what he was going to say. When I saw this, I almost burst out laughing. The next thing was a presentation about the company that entailed a video, information about each position, and various Apple products. Then, there were role play scenarios. This was the arduous aspect of the hiring event. You are given multiple situations, and you had to act the role of an Apple employee. For example, one scenario was when a customer wanted to know about upcoming items. Another example is when a customer wants to know why the wait in line was too long. You had to react to those situations. On the Apple site, it conspicuously states, "You don’t necessarily have to be an Apple expert" in order to be hired. That is a fabrication. You must know about the products in order to proceed to the next step in the hiring process. I was misled into thinking this was a casual interview because the email I received from the manager was aloof. If you want advice, I would advocate you make yourself unique and distinguishable from the other applicants. You absolutely must prepare for various customer service scenarios. That is your interview. Moreover, you should go to an Apple store to see the different customer service scenarios. The final part was a Q and A session. A woman actually asked about the flexibility with the schedule. When she asked that asinine question, everyone in the room laughed at her (including myself). One employee admitted he only one took one semester of college; thus, education is something the company has absolutely no interest in. The one thing that stood out was that people were arbitrarily clapping. Someone would say their name, and people would start clapping and yelling. It was vexing and painful to hear. After the hiring event, it was fairly odd trying to exit. Since the mall closed prior to the hiring event, all applicants were escorted through the back emergency exit. Many of the applicants has to walk 3 miles just to get back to their cars because we had to take convoluted exits that led elsewhere. There are ways to be professional and casual simultaneously (Google has done this to perfection). The next day, I received a rejection email from the manager. I am a PC and proud of it.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
View Comments (2)
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 24, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2011 in Atlanta, GA (took 2 weeks)
One of my past coworkers knew someone at Apple so he asked her to refer me.monce she did that, I received an email that Apple hiring recruiter had pulled my application and would be calling me soon for a phone interview. The interview was pretty easy with simple questions like "qdescribe a time in the past where you couldn't resolve a customer's problem" and I was even asked what apple products I own/have experience with. They told me it wasnt important to have experience, because they could easily train that kind of stuff, but it was more for questioning. At the end of the phone interview they asked me to come into the store for a group interview a few days later.
The interview day came up and when I got there I was told to sit with the other interviewees, 2 other guys. Once the 2 store leaders were ready, they walked us down to a Starbucks in the mall and we began by getting to know a little about each other (it was very casual). We were each asked what our favorite iLife application was, and how to do several operations in each program. We were also asked how we would describe spend a day off from any kind of responsibility, what we would say to a customer that had no idea what a Mac was, and one of the store leaders pretended to be a customer and told us to sell her something,
An hour after my first interview I got a call from the recruiter asking for another interview already, so we scheduled that one for a few days later. I had to drive to another apple store due to the normal interviewer being gone, but this interview went well. It was set up the same way with 2 other people interviewing with me, but only one interviewer this time. She mostly talked about herself and apple the whole time, and barely asked us anything. The few questions she did ask we're very simple. A few days later I got a call from the recruiter saying that interview went well and that all she needed was my background check, which unfortunately didn't come in time for the first round of training (August 12th, 2011) because she called the day before, so she called the middle of the next week and said my background check came in and officially offered me the job, and that I would start training September 9th and start work it he store September 12th.
Overall it was a very easy process, and I only went through 2 interviews plus a phone interview. From what I have heard most people go through 4 or 5 interviews in addition to the phone interview.
Advice: Always smile, show how much you care about the customer, and don't be afraid to tell them you have no experience with their products. One of the store managers in my first interview said she was hired with no computer experience 5 years ago.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 19, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Aug 2011 in Houston, TX (took a day)
So most people know about the hiring seminars that Apple has. There's this big song and dance about how great Apple is and everything. There were around 15 people in my particular group. We watched and listened to presentations. Some of the presenters asked questions like, "What things did we notice or what stood out in the presentation?" or just weird factual questions about when the first mac was sold(1986), when did the first retail store open(2001), when did certain apple products premiere, etc.
Then we broke off into panel interviews that did not last very long at all. I interviewed w/ another candidate and two store leaders. One was quite pleasant and the other was definitely not. He didn't seem very pleased with me or the other candidate being interviewed. He seemed incredibly uninterested in what I was saying. He was talking over me when I was trying to explain myself and he lectured me and the other candidate because I guess we didn't do proper research of apple and supposedly "they are hiring for careers, not jobs". He seemed dissatisfied that me and the other candidate did research on product info and customer/employee experiences with Apple. I have no idea what kind of research he expected us to do. Its a retail JOB. With an incredible turnover rate. Career? Please. The 2nd interviewer that I had was one of the rare few that worked his way up to a high position and of course was the more pleasant of the two. He seemed to sympathize and wasn't so overbearing and critical like the other guy.
The interview questions were: Why do you want to work at apple?, What kind of research did you do about Apple to prepare for today?, Tell us about a time where you dealt w/ a customer and they had unrealistic expectations of you. Be specific and talk about the outcome., What questions did you have for us?
And that was it. Didn't even last an hour. I read a lot of the interview reviews here to see what was up before I went and I was surprised that this seminar was so lacking compared to others. Maybe they are just incredibly lazy recruiters in this particular market.
I'd just suggest to talk more when given prompts and don't let stuck up upper level management intimidate you. I let this happen and it just ruined my interview. I guess its true what people have been saying about Apple management.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 11, 2011
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2011 in San Francisco, CA (took 3 weeks)
Oddly enough, I applied for the job via craigslist, which sent me to their website's employment opportunities page. After filling out some information there, including my resume and contact info, I received an email several days later for an invitation to a hiring event at a hotel downtown.
There were three events that day and I chose the middle one. There were approximately 50 people at the event. I wasn't sure about how many people attended the other event, but after working for them for a few months, I can safely say it was probably about the same. During the event, around seven employees come out in their Apple shirts and talk about the company and mainly just talk it up; about how great it is, how much fun you'll have, etc. You have to fill out a 20-questionnaire about basic tech knowledge. (What is RAM?) the difference between an SSD and ATA hard drive). There are videos and then we all get up and describe ourselves. They made us get into groups for the last part. We each had to answer and describe questions prompted to us on an iPad in our groups. (What is your greatest strength?) (When have you ever had to turn someone down?)
I got a call that same afternoon from Apple wanting me to come down for an interview two days later. This interview was at the store and was a group (six of us). This interview was with a store leader (manager). The interview covered basic interview-like questions and took about 45 min. There were also some tech questions where they asked us to explain the difference between features and benefits of our phones.
I got an email the next day saying I had moved on to the next round of interviews. This time it was an interview with the head store leader in a week. This was another group interview with similar questions, but more personal development-type questions that focused on who you are and what you think it's like to work for Apple. This is the first interview to bring up what store goals are and personal numbers. It's a much harder interview. I didn't think I was going to get the job after this interview because of the questions I had to answer. The interview process is designed to be long and hard as to weed out those who can't think under pressure and those who cannot extemporize easily. Remember, it's a sales position after all.
I got an email a couple days later moving up to the next and final round. This was another group interview with the Market Leader for the Bay Area. The interview was more candid than the others, and focused more on our personal accomplishments in life and work. The questions were given to have us describe very situational experiences that showed our strengths. It was the shortest interview (25-30) minutes.
About three days later I received a call from the hiring manager offering me the job and a date for a week of Market Core training to be had three weeks later. I went through the interview process in late January, got the job in February and my first day in the store wasn't until early March.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Jul 22, 2011 — 5 of 5 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jul 2011 in New York, NY (took 4 weeks)
I applied online to several stores in the NYC area. I got an email from HR and we set up a phone interview. I went into the store to familiarize myself with the products and everything first, but she didn't really ask about that. It was more about my resume and what I was planning on doing with my life.
Then we set up an interview for 1 weeks later. When I went in it was 3 on 1, 3 people interviewing me. I filled out the sheet where they ask about all things Apple, and I feel like I had done a good job because I love Apple and had done my homework.
The position was at the 5th Ave store, where I went to interview.
In that interview they asked more things about my Resume and how I would react, yadda yadda, typical interview questions. I felt like I did my best, but I also felt like the main interviewer wasn't liking me too much.
I left thinking that was the end of it all, but imagine my surprise when they called back and offered me a position.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Specialist at Apple
Posted Aug 3, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2011 in Honolulu, HI (took a day)
Applied for the job online. A couple days later I received an email stating that they were interested and wanted to invite me to a job seminar. The email provided times/locations of the seminar, which you have to respond to in order to reserve a seat. Also, the email contains another link with additional information they want you to fill out for the seminar.
The day of the seminar, you fill out an additional info sheet which asks what experience you have with the various Apple products. You then receive a name tag and enter the store for the seminar. There were approximately 30 candidates there and the Apple team starts the seminar by introducing themselves to you. They required us to interview the person next to us so we could introduce them to the team. Once that was done, they played the Apple motivational videos and asked why we wanted to work for Apple.
The last part of the seminar was the impromptu interview. They broke us down into even groups and one of the Apple team members asked each of us two interview questions. If you have any work experience at all, they are pretty easy to answer. For those right out of high school, they had to use their experiences as a member of the "glee-club" to try to answer these questions.
Once the seminar is done, you will receive an email either telling you that they are "moving on with other candidates" or will schedule additional interviews. I got cut on the first round.
My advice is make sure you list all the experience you have with Apple products. Don't BS on the form, but the more experience the better.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview and a Presentation.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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