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    Apple Apple Retail Specialist Interview Questions

    Interviews at Apple

    209 Interview Reviews

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    Helpful (10)  

    Apple Retail Specialist Interview

    Anonymous Interview Candidate in Chicago, IL
    No Offer
    Neutral Experience
    Average Interview

    Application

    I applied online. The process took a week. I interviewed at Apple (Chicago, IL) in November 2011.

    Interview

    First there was a general mass invite to a hiring event where everyone was briefed on the Apple employee philosophy and workplace environment. Things like individuality and how great a place Apple Stores are to work for.

    The video we watched walked the line of an introductory cult presentation.

    Next, everyone was asked to give a brief introduction to who we were along with a college major or something you identified as.

    Then everyone is broken into groups where they are given a specific customer service situation and everyone is supposed to work together to come to an answer of how to solve it.

    After the recruiters have secretly judged you, everyone is given a one song iTunes card and sent on their separate ways.

    Maybe a few days later I was asked to come back for a second interview at the actual Apple store.

    One thing that stuck out to me is the interview room. It looked like one of those interrogation rooms in Law & Order. What I thought was odd was there were five chairs and two interviewees. It seemed to me that there was intent in the the chair placement and it seemed that they were waiting to see where you sit in the room. I can't place it, but it just seemed very peculiar.

    I was asked a variety of run of the mill customer service questions. "Describe a difficult customer service issue and how you solved it. "What position do you think you would make a good fit for.?" "How familiar are you with our products?" "What can you bring to the ensemble of staff at the Apple store." "How do you see yourself growing at this company?"

    After about a good twenty-five minutes it was over and they informed me that I would know in less than a week and that the hiring decision was not theres to make, but they thought I did a good job.

    Four days later I received an email message detailing my being overlooked for the position.

    Final words:
    Very thorough hiring process. You would think the interviewees would have say so in who is to be hired.

    Interview Questions

    • Detail an customer service experience that you felt challenged by and how you overcame it.   1 Answer

    Other Interview Reviews for Apple

    1. Helpful (2)  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee in Charleston, SC
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Apple (Charleston, SC) in August 2011.

      Interview

      I submitted an online application via Apple's Employment website in July and received an email invitation to a "hiring event" at a hotel about a month later. Nearly 100 people attended the event, and, after three rounds of interviewing, only 10 were selected to participate in Apple's CORE training program as retail Specialists.

      Interview Questions

      • Mostly generic "Tell me a time when..." questions. As long as have experienced challenges in the workplace, adversity in personal experience, Apple product/service knowledge, and a sense of humor, you've got a good shot.   1 Answer

      Negotiation

      I received a phone call asking if I would be interested in starting out as a part-time Specialist, getting paid a measly $9.50 an hour without commission, and I said yes because I thought it'd be a cool company to work for and was happy with any amount of money at the time.

    2.  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Interview Candidate
      No Offer
      Positive Experience
      Easy Interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 8+ months. I interviewed at Apple.

      Interview

      Applied online via apple.com. completely wrote it off until I was emailed by their recruiting department about 8 months later. There were 2 days worth of interviews, with 3 group interviews being conducted a day. Room was about 30 people and 10 employees/managers from Apple. Very energetic, almost fun. Should be very gung-ho about the products. After a round a questions to the whole room, they break you off into smaller groups and do a round of questions each person has to read off an iPad. Then it's over, people cheer and clap. They said they went through 3000 applicants, so honestly getting an interview makes you feel pretty good.

      Interview Questions

      • Everything was pretty standard, if you're applying at Apple then you know what the product is.   Answer Question
      3. Join the Apple team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3.  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee in San Francisco, CA
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied through other source. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Apple (San Francisco, CA) in November 2011.

      Interview

      The initial callback took three months since it was during launch season. The reason I received a callback was that I emailed the recruiter constantly. There were three interviews and all of them were group interviews. Each interview felt competitive.

      Interview Questions

      • How have Apple products influenced your life?   1 Answer

      Negotiation

      Not much negotiations. The manager told me my hourly wage and asked me if that was all right.

    4. Helpful (3)  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Difficult Interview

      Application

      I applied in-person. The process took 4+ weeks. I interviewed at Apple in October 2014.

      Interview

      I initially applied online for an Apple store opening in a new mall. I figured they would be hiring mostly from the inside, so I decided to follow up in person with a manager in store. I simply walked in with a résumé and told her that I had already applied online, but wanted to come in to the store as well. She told me they would be making calls for specialists in the next few days. I got a call the next night setting up a time for the first phone interview.

      The phone interview happened early the next week, about 4 days after the initial call. Pretty basic questions, "Why Apple?" "What can you bring to Apple?" "Do you own Apple products?". Immediately after this interview the manager scheduled a 1 on 1 interview in the store in 3 days time. The second interview was more of the same, I was asked how I stayed current on Apple product news/technology in general.

      After the second interview I emailed the manager thanking her for her time, she replied with an invitation to a second in store interview (I think emailing was a big help, hint hint). The second in store interview was with another manager who had been with Apple for much longer. She asked the same questions, trying to gauge personality and the ability to converse well. She said this was a big thing they look for, you can be able to build a computer with your eyes closed but if you can't talk to people and look them in the eye you're out of luck.

       She also told me to dress like myself for the next interview (I was wearing a button down and tie). She said they don't care about getting all dressed up, jeans are totally fine. The last interview was with the store leader, and she emphasized Apple's attitude toward customers, asked how I would handle certain stressful situations, etc. I received a call with an offer the next day and started the background check process. After that, you're in and start training.

      Interview Questions

      • What would you gain from working at Apple?   1 Answer

      Negotiation

      No negotiation

    5.  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee in Las Vegas, NV
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Apple (Las Vegas, NV) in September 2014.

      Interview

      Apple is a company that focuses on customer service and the satisfaction from their products. The work environment during the hiring process was very easy and laid back. I applied online via apple website. I entered all of my information through my apple account. A few days later, I received an email saying that I was invited to the hiring event. The event was hosted at the Trump tower in Las Vegas. My first impression was that there were a lot of people interested in working for apple. The first introduction questions were very light. We watched a couple of videos then got divided into a table of 6-8 people. The managers from every store location were onsite. After a pool of 120+ people from the hiring event, I was called back for a second interview. This was broken down to maybe 18 people but was interviewed 6 people at a time. These were more specific questions on the ability to work with dissatisfied customers. The interview lasted only 20 minutes. They said that they would let me know a week later. I just received a call yesterday for my third interview. The experience was great and very light. I liked the fact that they are more interested on your people skills more than your experience however you have to understand the business aspect of apples goals to be able to relate to what they are trying to attain. The position I believe they are trying to fill is a part-time specialist. It is ok with me because you got to start somewhere. Started from the bottom now we here.

      Interview Questions

      • Describe a situation where you showed results while others failed.   Answer Question
      • Tell us a time when you experienced a conflict with a coworker and how did you solve that.   Answer Question

      Negotiation

      Going in for my third interview so we shall see.

    6. Helpful (2)  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Interview Candidate in Santa Monica, CA
      No Offer
      Positive Experience
      Difficult Interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 4+ weeks. I interviewed at Apple (Santa Monica, CA) in November 2014.

      Interview

      Applied online Nov 6, got an email a week later for hiring event on November 23 Sunday. Got email Wednesday for second interview. Got second interview at store will be working at on December 3 Wednesday it was a group interview with 3 other people. Was told will get a yes on no for 3rd interview in 48 hours. Friday morning got email for 3rd interview for December 8. This interview was more personal on past employers and why apple. Where do you see yourself. And I work for a top very know company that is number one on customer service. After the interview was told will hear at the end of the week to move on with 4th interview. A lot of interviews for a big company. Got the call today Thursday that they will be moving forward with other candidates.

      Interview Questions

      • What Apple are you most proud of? Do you have any apple products? What?   Answer Question

    7. Helpful (1)  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee
      Accepted Offer
      Negative Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Apple.

      Interview

      Three interviews spanned out across three months. Upon being hired the position originally interviewing for was fill and offered a lower position. The position applying for remained unfilled for a year while having me do the work of a creative with a Specialist title. After a year was promoted to creative (the job I was doing).

      Interview Questions

    8.  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Easy Interview

      Application

      I applied through college or university. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Apple in May 2012.

      Interview

      First interview is with a group of 4-5 people. They talk about the roles and previous experiences and why we will fit into these roles. They also ask "Why Apple?"

      Interview Questions

      • There's a group activity which is a random scenario which test your ability to work with other people and how you respect their decisions but also include your thoughts in a nice manner. Make sure to be as polite as possible.   Answer Question

      Negotiation

      No negotiation, take it or leave it.

    9.  

      Apple Retail Specialist Interview

      Anonymous Employee
      Accepted Offer
      Positive Experience
      Average Interview

      Application

      I applied through an employee referral. The process took a week. I interviewed at Apple.

      Interview

      Went into a group interview of about 30 people. They lead some group discussions. Wanted to see how we would interact. Had us take a simple test about Apple products. They were looking for people who were passionate about Apple and also passionate about helping customers.

      Interview Questions

      • Maybe the Apple product knowledge, however they seemed less interested in that. More interested in how you could relate to people.   Answer Question
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