I have a question for anyone that would know the answer to this. If we apply and don't make past the third stage how long till we can reapply to the at home position?
I ask because I contacted my first two Apple Recruiters and was told they didn't give feedback on interviews but I could reapply within six months which ended in June (I got my denial two days before Christmas) however I've applied for every opening across the country and no response when others I know personally with less customer care experience and even those that despise iOS get a job there.
That's the short version of my question.
For anyone curious as to why I'm asking...
Short back story: I'm an ex Army Engineer that served six years and during that time I earned an associates degree (basically a transfer degree to any 4 yr school) and had been taking computer science degree (bachelor's degree) and a computer networking degree (associates) however during both degrees I was sent out of country during the semesters and did not finish. I'm also an investor of Apple since 2006 and watch the company closely (it's my money) and due to work in cell phone field I had to have detailed knowledge on how to troubleshoot as well as deal with angry customers regarding billing and prorated billing (not to mention the month in advance billing). I was also the Apple subject matter expert on Apple iOS devices for a call center of over 500 employees.
The story:
Early in 2014 I was in a job at a call center in which I worked my way up (did tech support and customer service for a cell provider for almost 5 years before moving up) , I had worked there for over a decade and at the time just found out Apple was hiring and due to my knowledge and passion for the company I applied.
By April I had received a call from an Apple Lady who interviewed me and informed me the starting pay was around $3 less an hour then what I currently made and the expected start/training date would be at the same time my GF was scheduled to deliver our first child. Due to my current position and benefits (almost a month of time off, better pay, better schedule selection as I made schedules for the entire call center, etc..) I declined the job. Say what you will but walking away from a job of over 12 years that you've worked up in and got along well with coworkers is very difficult especially for less money and less time off.
Two weeks later my entire department and I were laid off. I started looking for jobs with Apple and never seen any additional ones post for months and around November of 2014 I contacted that initial Apple lady as I still had the email and she offered to call me whenever there was an opening. While waiting my Girlfriend who had applied around April got a call months later (no rhyme or reason) and I spent several nights going over things with her and doing mock interviews and she was hired in November (BTW they also upped the starting pay a month after they made the initial offer to me)
In December I received my first interview which was via FaceTime and it went well. The second interview was with another Apple HR lady and I'm pretty sure I blew this one out of the water. The lady was laughing and acknowledged she was impressed with my ability to troubleshoot (I had told her off the top of my head two ways to fix an issue she presented).
The third interview was with an Apple Team Lead. My previous employer did the same thing where you did initial interviews with corporate recruiters and the last interview was with a team lead (I personally know some team leads who would hire or not based on looks, clothes, etc...). Now I had helped my GF prep for her interview and since I'm laid off I could hear every question being asked despite in a different room (I was doing daddy daycare and she was right next to us) and when I had my interview the Apple Team Lead kept saying she was multitasking and apologizing during which half the time our FaceTime would randomly go black which she said was normal when she had to switch screens (that can trip you up as well as the call flow) and asked me 2x the amount of questions my GF was asked, that interview lasted around 45 minutes which was twice as long as my GF's.
The first two interviews I knew in my gut I nailed it. This third one I immediately said to her that I didn't have a good feeling because of the "Flow" basically meaning I felt like she was busy and while I kept a smile the entire time and answered all issues she presented within two probing questions each, I felt like she wasn't even really wanting to be there interviewing me or had the time (which is sometimes the case as team leads can get slammed pretty fast). The lady also got somewhat weird with me as I asked her if there was an issue with two people working for Apple from home. She basically said to ask my manager if hired about that and when the call ended it was just a weird vibe.
Well on December the 23rd two days from Christmas I received a dear John email. No feedback or anything else. I reached out to the first two Apple recruiting ladies and one called me back and told me that they don't give feedback and that if I really wanted to work there I'd apply again in six months. She said they wouldn't look at my applications until six months from that point.
So while I've been looking for other jobs this is the company I want to get my foot in the door with. I've been an investor for almost a decade and on top of going to college for computer science I’m also a beta tester and encounter issues often and work on fixing those so I feel I know the products and the company pretty well.
One issue I Think I'm running into is that on every Apple application it asks if you've interviewed in the last 12 months for any position with Apple and if so what happened. I'm thinking that's immediately putting my application to the side.
I'm also not sure how wise this was as some people have said yes do it and others have said no don't but I've reached out again via email to both HR ladies when the six months were up and neither one replied. Should I try it again since it’s been three months since the last attempt?
Before I ever applied and after last December I've had Senior Advisor's to two different Team Lead's recommend me to the hiring department (that's not saying much, they submit your resume and that's all they hear back unless you get hired and they get a bonus). I personally know over ten people who work at Apple however no one speaks to recruiting.
I've also helped my GF on calls with iOS issues. Especially in the beginning I helped her almost every hour with some issue and literally 8 out of 10 times I knew the answer off the top of my head. So I think this would be a position I could easily excel in as we know many others who now work for Apple as when word got out they were hiring I think everyone in my call center applied.
This is off putting as I personally know a lot of people who left my previous employer that now work there that literally hate Apple (One told me to watch my stock and was laughing and told me Steve Jobs died, that's how I found out as I was at work when news hit and that person now works there) and hates their products and others who in their own words hated talking to customers (they got a chat job at least) and out of over 500 people I was the Apple subject matter expert meaning out of anyone there if there was an Apple call or issue an agent didn't know how to fix t was the person they came to in order to help a customer.
So I'm reaching out to see if anyone knows anything more about the hiring process or to see if there's something I could do that I haven't done yet. Literally every job in my area that does anything computer related either requires a four year degree with experience (even when I went to school a lot has changed and wasn't around then) or they pay 12 or less an hour.
I know at my former employer that if a Team Lead rejected an applicant that sometimes there was an opportunity to push back unfortunately most weren't aware this was even possible hence me wondering if there was a way to get another chance.
In summary I feel like either the Apple Team Lead didn't like me or didn't give me a fare interview and after being told I'd have no issues applying after six months, it's now been eight and I still see people posting about prepping for upcoming interviews so I'm assuming their still doing their fall hiring.
Any help or insight is greatly appreciated.