Whoa I don't post for a few days and MacRumors has gotten itself a makeover!
Congratulations to all those who got hired! As for those who didn't, maybe my story can show you that there's still hope
My Timeline:
May 5-9: Applied to about 20 different locations for the regular AHA position directly to Apple
May 10: Phone call from interview telling me about the position, the pay rate, etc. and asking some questions; moved to the next round
May 16: Second interview via Skype; answered some questions and did a roleplay scenario; had issues with my scheduling and they took note of that; went very well and immediately moved to the next round
May 19: Third interview via Skype; several connection issues where I lost signal with the recruiter on two occasions (not on my end); answered some questions and did two roleplay scenarios; I asked the recruiter how I did and he said I connected well with the customer; I had issues with my scheduling and they took a note of that
May 23: Received an email from Apple saying they have moved forward with another candidate
May 23: Applied for AHA via Kelly Services; initial application filled with customer support scenarios, personality questions, etc.; one scenario question didn't go through correctly (not sure why)
May 24: Rejected from Kelly Services after initial application; applied for AHA via Xerox; initial application filled with IQ questions, personality test questions, call center scenarios including a question where I had to record my voice
May 26: I receive an email from a Xerox recruiter wanting to know more about me; scheduled a phone interview for the next day
May 25: Phone call interview from Xerox recruiter; similar to Apple callback from May 10th; immediately moved me to next round
June 1: Second interview via iMeet; answered some questions; did two roleplay scenarios, immediately moved to final interview
June 2: Third interview via iMeet; answered some questions, including what RAM is and one about an Apple product that interests me the most (Apple Watch, of course lol) and where'd I find the info (official website, watching the keynote address from March, etc.); was told I should hear back from them within 24 hours
June 2: Received offer call from recruiter and explaining what emails I'd get and the steps I'd have to take for a drug test, etc.
Soooo definitely a whirlwind of activity the whole past month but I made it! I learned that how you present yourself is extremely important and that you don't want to come across as inflexible about the schedule, especially when you're first starting out and have no good metrics to warrant special consideration in the first place. Sure the starting pay is $10/hr and increases up to a maximum of $13 with good metrics (a far cry from the $16/hr starting pay with Apple) but I got my foot in the door. It's a permanent position, not a contract. And there's benefits involved and room for growth or getting hired directly with Apple so I say never give up if doesn't happen to work the first time around!