Apple Store Interview Questions & Tips

How to Get a Job at the Apple Store

One of the most recognizable and valuable brands in the world, Apple maintains a worldwide network of stores boasting friendly and knowledgeable employees. Apple Store associates fill customer service positions on the sales floor and specialist jobs at the Genius Bar. Workers qualify for employment after applying and interviewing for available positions.

Initial Phone Interview

"Why Apple?"
Candidates often enter the Apple Store interview process via preliminary phone screenings designed to determine which job seekers deserve the opportunity to interview in-person. Apple Store phone interviews typically cover work history and skills acquired from previous jobs.

Interviewers may also ask questions like, "Why Apple?" and "What does Apple mean to you?" to gauge the levels of interest and passion applicants have for the position desired and the brand overall.

About 20 Minutes
Apple Store job interviews conducted by phone generally last about 20 minutes. Interviewees capable of effectively outlining employment history, summarizing relevant job skills, and demonstrating strong connections with the Apple brand usually advance in the hiring process. Some candidates may not encounter initial phone screenings and instead begin interviewing with Apple Store hiring managers directly onsite.

Multiple In Store Interviews

Often rigorous, the interview process allows store hiring managers to select employees possessing ideal combinations of knowledge, personality, and skills. Applicants considered for available jobs must complete a series of interviews with various levels of store management.

Expect 3 to 6 Interviews
Job seekers sometimes end up interviewing as many as five or six times during the hiring process. Most job openings, however, require completion of three Apple Store interviews, on average.

Group Interviews

Apple job interviews held in-store typically start out as group sessions ranging in size from four to thirty applicants.

Interactive Exercises
Candidates participating in Apple Store group interviews often take part in interactive exercises, like introducing a fellow interviewee or roleplaying the sale of a product, which gives observing hiring managers the opportunity to evaluate interpersonal skills and other job-related abilities. Group interviewees sometimes have to watch videos about the Apple brand and company operations and then answer questions about the information presented.

Meet with Multiple Managers at a Time
After completing group interviews, selected applicants generally go through an additional two or three Apple Store interview sessions in which job seekers individually meet with one or more hiring managers at a time.

Common Interview Questions

Personality questions
Personality traits and customer service skills act as the basis of most Apple Store interview questions. Interviewers often obtain information about the personal attributes of potential associates by asking questions like:

• What frustrates you the most?
• What would you change about yourself?
• If you were an Apple product, which one would you be?

Behavioral questions
Apple Store job interviews also consistently feature behavioral queries, such as,

• Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback from your boss; how did you handle it?
• Talk about a time when you had to help a difficult customer who was impossible to satisfy; what did you do?

Interviewees may encounter some technical questions, like, "Can you describe how our operating system works?" and "How would you discuss complicated computer issues with an 80-year-old?", though Apple Store hiring managers primarily focus on the personalities and social skills of prospective workers.

Insider Tips

Video: we speak to former employees about working for Apple.

Apple Red Zone Specialist Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Apple Red Zone Specialist: My job title was red zone specialist. With that, basically I worked in the front of the store, meaning sales, so another store might call it a sales associate. Helping customers with their needs, they would come in and ask for information about a product, and if they wanted the product, I would get it for them and do the whole sales process.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: The work environment, it was very fast paced. There was usually almost no down time, but if you’re really into fast-paced, exciting, interacting with a lot of different kind of people, that’s what the environment’s like.

Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: My favorite part about working there was that it was just fun. The experiences I had interacting with all different types of people, also how diverse the company was, was really different from … They don’t just hire young people, they hire older people, different types of races, different backgrounds.

Interviewer: Please describe a typical day as an employee.
Apple Red Zone Specialist: A typical work day I would go in, kind of get the rundown from my manager of what had happened previous to me getting there, and then talk about goals for the store, how we could try to reach those goals during my shift, and then I would go out on the floor and just try to sell some stuff, give people the best experience that they could get in our store.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: I didn’t apply online, I actually went to a career fair here at school, and they just had me fill out a profile, and then a couple weeks later I got an email about a hiring event so I went to that, and then the next steps were two interviews, and then I got hired.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: The interviewer asked questions, not like what do you know about Apple or things like that, it was just more of like past work experience, how did I, like, change my ways to better suit the kind of people that I was working with. Experiences, like how do I work under stress? Do you like fast-paced environments? Things like that.

Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: I think what set me apart from candidates was that I was really genuine, like was being myself. Not trying to make up things to impress them or being super technical about the things I were saying, because I don’t think that’s something that they look for. I just really was myself.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: I received a phone call. It took about a week after the last interview.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Apple Red Zone Specialist: I would say if you hear that your school, or that there’s going to be a career fair, go to the career fair because you don’t know who could be there. I just really stumbled upon it, but if you don’t have a career fair to go to, just apply online, and keep checking in because opportunities open all the time.

Apple AppleCare Advisor Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Apple AppleCare Advisor: I am what’s known as an AppleCare advisor. It’s a work-from-home position, and I’m working with the AppleCare team as far as answering technical support calls from all over the United States and Canada.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Apple AppleCare Advisor: As I said, it is a work-from-home position. As far as the physical environment it’s completely up to you how you have your home office set up. As far as interacting with your coworkers and things in the position, I guess it’s a pretty good environment. It’s not all serious. Of course you can talk with your coworkers and things online. I’d say it’s a pretty good environment to be in.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Apple AppleCare Advisor: The application process, all together I think it was- I think it took about a month and a half to two months or so from application to hire. Essentially what you do is you go online to the Apple jobs page and you submit an application. Of course you submit a resume of your previous experience, things like that. They ask you a couple open ended questions. “Why do you want to work for Apple?”, “What qualities would make you a good employee?” They ask you a couple technical questions as well, “How would you solve this problem?” Once you get the applications submitted, if that part is accepted then they schedule you for a video interview via facetime or Skype. You meet with another team manager, and the interview probably lasts about an hour, an hour and a half or so. They talk to you some more, try to gauge your technical abilities. They do some role-playing. They’ll pretend to be a customer and you take the call so to speak, and you solve the problem. After the video interview if they like you, then it goes through again. They may have another phone interview as well. Then after that, then they’ll call you and tell you the actual details, like what the final pay would be, when you would start, that kind of thing.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Apple AppleCare Advisor: It probably took maybe a month from when I submitted the application to when I got the phone call. It was just a phone call. I was driving down the street and I answered my cell phone and it was a woman from HR, human resources saying that they would like to go ahead and hire me and the pay would be this, and here’s what to expect next, and here’s when you would start.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Apple AppleCare Advisor: I think one of the things that sets Apple apart from other technical companies is that we’re very focused on our customers. Without customers, you’re not really going to be successful. If you want to be successful with Apple, remember that you always need to put the customer first. You’re there to help them in any way that you can. It’s really important that you can- I guess that you have good people skills. If you’re not good with working with people, if you’re not good with handling someone who’s upset or who’s angry, you’re not able to get those emotions calmed down. You’re probably not going to be successful. The biggest piece of advice is just try to be a people person.

Related Links:
Apple Store Application