I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Apple (New York, NY) in Feb 2012
Interview
I was contacted via email to attend the initial phase of the process, Hiring Event. I was one of about thirty people in a conference room. The point here is to standout enough so that the recruiters remember who you are. Participate but don't saturate. Company history is reviewed with all applicants. A few random questions about general Apple knowledge are thrown around the room. Next you are broken down into small groups and you are handed a profile and you must put together a complete solution for a customer. There is no right answer, they want to see who the natural leaders are in the groups. Everyone gets a chance to answer the questions and discuss their reasoning. Everyone is dismissed and you will be contacted if you are moving forward. This was my my second time interviewing but I read some posts on this site for preparation.
I was contacted in 5 days via email that I was being moved to the 2nd interview.This phase was more like a normal interview. There were two people sitting at a small table and i was greeted and we began a conversation. I was asked:
1. Give me a situation where you have gone above and beyond for a customer?
2. Can you give me a situation where you have put together a solution?
3. Why did you choose Apple.?
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
About three days later I received another email informing me I was pushed through to the final stage. I was sat in another conference room with three people. This time I was asked:
1. Give me a situation where you went above and beyond for a customer?
2. Why did you choose Apple?
3.Can you give a situation where a customer was overwhelmed with the Apple technology, how did you explain the technology in laymen's terms?
I was contacted by phone and was given the good news. . . needless to say I got the job!
Ok, there is no magic formula that gets this job. My Apple Mentor told me to be myself and speak to my previous experiences. Gettting a job with Apple is about your personality and not your product knowledge. They could care less that you even know what a Mac is. They want to genuinely know who you are. Be yourself, be honest and answer every question.
Interview questions [4]
Question 1
Give me a situation where you went above and beyond for a customer?
It’s a very long process so have patience. Sometimes they will give you feedback but if you are external you will just receive a turn down email. Keep applying. Apple says it’s not a NO. It’s a not now and that’s very true.
Famously competitive as always, my odds were better since I kept updating my resume whenever I was on the job search. They reached out to me first by email, I completed an application, and then had three rounds of interviews in total.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone hesitant to learn.
Started with group interview and asked us all questions, only asked three questions and also showed us a little about genmojis and allowed us to create our own. if successful was a one to one interview with store manager again only asked three questions.