Mac stuff?

kathos

Through some miracle I got an interview at a Mac Store in my city. I specifially told them I'm not that good with Macs but I have years of hardware/software exp from another computer store.

So is there anything I should know? Other than basic computer stuff. I really hope they don't ask anything specific about Mac products and such.

I wouldn't be posting here if this wasn't (nyuck nyuck, danka on the correction) a job I REALLY wanted (which it is), any suggestions?

Shazkar Shadowstorm

wasn't a job*

I dunno, my friend works at the Apple Store in NYC, but he is a total Apple nerdmo. Just go fiddle around on some Apple Blogs perhaps and see if you can borrow someone's Mac so you can see all the different stuff.

mastman

Shazkar Shadowstorm wrote: »

wasn't a job*

killed me too. I was staring at it for a good 5 minutes trying to make sure I wasn't crazy.


Hopefully you get a job replacing hardware parts as that isn't really going to be Apple specific because all hardware is the same. OSX stuff and all the Apple products interoperability can only come in regular exposure and usage.

Everything that Windows has is there, it's just in different places. Good luck. Try to get on some Macs to play around and use them.

lordswing

By Mac Store, you mean an Apple Store? If so, if you're doing anything related to the actual computers, you'll receive ample amounts of training. The guy that helped me out was working mostly with Terminal, the CLI in OS X. You'll also be taking apart MacBooks/Pros and fitting cases on them. Anything below that I don't think you need to be worried about. I mean, the way they check if an iPod's battery is about to die is just to press the next song a bunch of times and see if the battery gets any lower.

Lewisham

Yeah, there is absolutely no way you are going to get this job unless you sit down with a Mac for a good couple of hours. Mac people are absolutely passionate about the platform, and they will spot people that aren't from a mile away. Apple's own stores aren't just full of pretty young things; they're all total Apple nerds as well.

You are going to be competing for the position with people who live Apple. You'll need to extol your Windows knowledge to help people switch to Mac, but you don't have any Mac experience. You need to get that now if you want the job. And no, reading about it on the Internet isn't good enough.

kathos

Dammit getting conflicting advice here (thanks btw)... the only Mac that I have in my possession is an old Performa 850 CD (my first and oldest computer) that's still functioning as a music player. :S

Hmm guess I should check out some blogs and do what I can. If anyone wants to post some more, go right ahead the more advice the better, thanks!

Lewisham

lordswing wrote: »

By Mac Store, you mean an Apple Store? If so, if you're doing anything related to the actual computers, you'll receive ample amounts of training. The guy that helped me out was working mostly with Terminal, the CLI in OS X. You'll also be taking apart MacBooks/Pros and fitting cases on them. Anything below that I don't think you need to be worried about. I mean, the way they check if an iPod's battery is about to die is just to press the next song a bunch of times and see if the battery gets any lower.

Do you work for an Apple Store? I would have thought they only hired Mac faithful (and hot young girls).

bagelpirate

I worked at The Mac Store in Portland for 8 months, when I started I knew nothing about macs. Theres not really that much to learn tbh, if you have a good knowledge of PCs you'll pick it up no problem.

Are you applying for The Apple Store or The Mac Store?

DeathPrawn

If you're applying to be a regular Mac Specialist (sales jockey) and not a Genius or anything like that (at the store I applied for, everyone starts out as a Specialist or register jockey before even being considered for the Genius Bar), it's really about being a people person. Having tech knowledge is nice, but that's something they can train into you. To a lesser extent they want someone who loves Macs (at the very least, know at least a little bit about Macs. Know the basic product lines and the lingo, which you should be able to get from spending half an hour in the store. Also, familiarity with iLife is a big plus), but first and foremost they want someone who is friendly and personable and who loves helping Grandma buy a new computer.

DrFrylock

Lewisham wrote: »

Do you work for an Apple Store? I would have thought they only hired Mac faithful (and hot young girls).

Also, it may help if you come into the interview looking artsy and/or emo. For example, if you were to wear a skin-tight unadorned black T-shirt and black pants (NOT jeans), and dye your hair black and have a tasteful labret piercing, that would probably help. To accessorize, white iPod earbuds is a good choice, and they constrast sharply with the black outfit. My girlfriend noticed that our Genius (at the Genius bar) the last time her Mac ate itself was even shaving his arm-hair off.

lordswing

Lewisham wrote: »

lordswing wrote: »

By Mac Store, you mean an Apple Store? If so, if you're doing anything related to the actual computers, you'll receive ample amounts of training. The guy that helped me out was working mostly with Terminal, the CLI in OS X. You'll also be taking apart MacBooks/Pros and fitting cases on them. Anything below that I don't think you need to be worried about. I mean, the way they check if an iPod's battery is about to die is just to press the next song a bunch of times and see if the battery gets any lower.

Do you work for an Apple Store? I would have thought they only hired Mac faithful (and hot young girls).

I was waiting for my MacBook to be serviced for an hour, and was talking with the Genius guy there. He had 2-3 weeks of training at the beginning, and then continuous training after that. He was pretty knowledgable about each patch that came out. I had to wait a while 'cause they only had one Genius there, while the other people working were either sales, or fiddled with iPods.

kathos

Awesome thanks guys I just got an email from the interviewer guy and they're having a group interview deal, and casual (jeans+dress shirt) was ok. I think I'm covered, but I doubt I'll go as far as wearing all black and using the default crappy iPod earbuds.