My experience (FRS & Genius, UK Apple store)

Apple prefer Applications submitted online so their search algorithm can look for keywords potential employees use in their CV.

The top 50 are usually selected for interview, 2x groups of 25 over two nights after hours.

Your experience and qualifications are worth very, very little. The people who talked about their 10+ years technical experience or 10+ years of sales/customer service didn't make it past the first stage. They got left in the dust by those with a great energy and positive outlook.

Apple hire personality types, the people who did well were naturals... They were all very likeable, interesting, friendly, approachable, witty etc without thinking about it. They required little or no training in that regard.

The people who were successful focused more on the person than the product during role plays. They spoke to every single person in the room during presentations rather than the hiring managers.

TLDR - Apple hire personality types, those who are naturally friendly, positive etc... Qualifications and experience hold little weight. They will easily spot incongruence from actors or rehearsed material. Approaching managers directly before interview could be harmful if you don't have the personality type.

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I got hired for Apple as a Specialist, then moved to FRS then Genius. The entire interview to hiring process takes about 1 1/2 to 2 months. Generally if they like you're resume you'll get invited to a Hiring Event. This is really where you want to make yourself shine, its basically a large style interview with (depending on how big your store is) up to 30 or more people. There is some role playing, just let your voice be heard and say intelligent things haha. If you make it through that, you'll have one on one interviews. I had 4 including the regional manager, you may or may not see him/her...depends on if they're in the area. They'll ask you questions you should expect, why Apple, blah blah. You'll want to touch on why Apple is so much better than the rest. Working for Apple is all about drinking the Kool-Aid as silly as it sounds. The job itself, depends on what you do. Sales? Pretty easy and fun, much more relaxed interactions. The Genius Bar? Run, and run fast. 10 minute windows to see customers is super stressful, especially if you like helping people. There are times where you just have to leave people hanging, and that's why the Genius Bar experiences are about 50/50. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy my time at Apple, I really did, but I'm also glad I got out of there. If you like retail, this is the king of retail stores. If you hate it, you'll hate your job plain and simple. If you have questions, shoot me a PM! I'd be glad to help. More on reddit.com

I understand that the Eaton Centre store is one of the busiest in North America. More on reddit.com

Walk into the store, with your resume and ask to talk to a manager. Tell him you applied online and am still interested. This is what I did when I worked at the Apple Store a decade ago More on reddit.com