I applied on the Apple website. A few weeks later I received an invite to a group interview at a local hotel. Was told to dress casual ("We won't be wearing suits, we don't expect you to!") and to expect the event to last about 3 hours. I wore khakis and a polo shirt, the attire ranged from jeans and a backwards hat all the way to a suit and tie. The majority of people wore jeans and a t-shirt, which is what the current employees wore. Didn't seem to have an impact on success/failure.
The group interview started by having everyone quickly introduce themselves, followed by a video about Apple. After the video they asked some questions, both from the video and about products/history not mentioned. I read the Steve Jobs bio a few months ago, that basically covered everything you could possibly want to know (There was also a 20 question work sheet attached to your application, it had a lot of basic Mac and computer questions). After that they had employees talk about the different positions and roles in a store. We then broke up into groups of 5-6, and spread out. An Apple employee and an iPod guided us through a round robin interview process, where each person got a new question. we ended up answering about 3-4 each (Final Question: Why are you right for Apple?). After that we basically were sent on our way. On the way out they had us check "to see if they needed more information on our application". They asked about 10 of us to sit down and wait, turned out it was to go for our second interview. This was about 2.5 hours in.
The second interview was again a group interview, this time they started to split us into groups based apparently on potential position/full vs part time. They were about 5 of us, and 2 managers. The questions got a little more pointed, along the lines of what type of experiences do you have, tech sales etc. Give an example of.....tough customer, bad experience, basically the usual interview questions. Again finished with "Why Apple, and what do you bring to the table?"
After this was asked to stick around for a 3rd interview. This time it was based on position. Myself and another guy were asked to interview as Family Room Specialists. It was the 2 of us and the General Manager and a current FRS. The questions were again a little more specific, and more tech based. At this point it was very comfortable, and if you get this far you'll know what to expect. Don't assume you're good to go tho, you can still lose it. After this, they told us we would hear back from them within 24 hours either way it went. In all, it ended up being about 5.5 hours spent there, the majority of it actively interviewing.
The next day I got a call asking me to a 4th and final interview with the district manager that Friday. I showed up early, he was running a little behind (about 10 minutes). We went to the Starbucks next to the store and sat at a table. He started by asking me to tell him my story, followed by why I would be an asset for Apple. After that it was some tougher questions, mostly the usual personal invterview type stuff: Describe challenging situations, customers, successes, etc. He also asked some really pointed Apple product questions (Time Machine vs Time Capsule??), as well as what my expectations for the position were. There was a lot of back and forth, very fast paced and focused. At the end, I was told that I would recieve a formal offer on Monday. The other candidate for FRS was interviewing later, and that would determine the specific position.
Monday came, I recieved my offer for the FRS position, and was told to come in later in the week to submit my paperwork. I have a week n a half of shadowing coming up, followed by CORE training for 3 days.
A couple of observations: The whole process was big on how awesome Apple was, so if you can't enthusiastically agree don't bother. Everything was focused on personal experiences and qualities, even for the FRS position which is a hybrid sales/tech position. Getting out of the group process required paying attention, answering in the whole group setting and doing very very well in the small group question part. After that, it was a matter of connecting with your interviewer, listening well, and responding quickly intelligently and confidently. Know your Apple stuff, be your self, and be confident. Cant wait to start!!!