# Genius Bar employment



## The Great Waka (Nov 26, 2002)

I know there are a few Apple store employees here, so this is directed at you folk. I noticed Apple's job description for an Apple Genius that no actual Apple certification is required. That being said, what seems to be the actual qualifications required at the store? I've certainly done more than my fair share of troubleshooting and fixing of macs for the people I know, but I don't have any real way of showing my knowledge. The no need for certification definitely interests me, so any insight would be helpful. Thanks!


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

Apple wants trained troublehsooters. They are looking for the guys that have experience repairing a lot of Macs. I know a few geniuses, and they have all been hired from repair departments at local Mac stores. They all are Apple Certified Techs.

Just knowing Macs, and have good troubleshooting skills is not enough for Apple. Your best bet is to start small, get a job at a local Apple reseller in the service department, get your certification, then apply at the Apple store.


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## T-hill (May 18, 2005)

The Great Waka said:


> I know there are a few Apple store employees here


Really? I thought they weren't allowed to be...


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

T-hill said:


> Really? I thought they weren't allowed to be...



They're not allowed to make comments representing Apple, Inc. As far as I know, there are nothing restricting them from joining, and posting on, this board as an individual.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2007)

The last Genius Bar person I spoke to told me that one of the biggest qualifications they were looking for was help desk type experience and that the apple hardware portion of it is less important as they provide training.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Working for an independent AASP is less stressful and less of a hassle than working for a Genius Bar and also an easier place to start. Better flexibility and potentially better pay.

Definitely consider hooking up with a local AASP first and see how it turns out.


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## ShawnKing (Mar 21, 2005)

T-hill said:


> Really? I thought they weren't allowed to be...


Apple is not a dictatorship.  Apple employees can speak wherever they like - they just can't speak as representatives of the company.


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

ShawnKing said:


> Apple is not a dictatorship.  Apple employees can speak wherever they like - they just can't speak as representatives of the company.


That is true. Apple is not a dictatorship. However, if an Apple employee posts on their blog or a community site (like this) ANYTHING about Apple, computers, or whatever, and it can somehow be linked back to Apple, said employee would probably be job hunting the next day.

(e.g. John works for Apple, comments on how the Pope's latest speech was inspiring, Pope was a Nazi youth many years ago, John supports Nazis, Apple supports Nazis <- it's a stretch, but some people think this way)


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## ShawnKing (Mar 21, 2005)

guytoronto said:


> However, if an Apple employee posts on their blog or a community site (like this) ANYTHING about Apple, computers, or whatever, and it can somehow be linked back to Apple, said employee would probably be job hunting the next day.


Not necessarily true. We have many Apple employees who listen to our show, participate in the Chat Rooms, send email, etc who make various comments about "Apple, computers, or whatever" and are still gainfully employed at Apple.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

ShawnKing said:


> Not necessarily true. We have many Apple employees who listen to our show, participate in the Chat Rooms, send email, etc who make various comments about "Apple, computers, or whatever" and are still gainfully employed at Apple.


I bet they don't say anything negative.


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## ShawnKing (Mar 21, 2005)

Lars said:


> I bet they don't say anything negative.


From an email an Apple employee sent to me:
My manager had his occasional "tyrannical rages." Personally I just ignored
them. He seemed to have personal problems with people who were more highly
motivated, or better at their jobs than he was. That's what really got to
me, was the fact that his kind of attitude was rewarded by his manager who
only seemed to deal with his direct reports, not with anyone below them in
the chain.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

And I bet Apple never got a CC of that e-mail.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Lars said:


> And I bet Apple never got a CC of that e-mail.


Would you have CC'd it?


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Macaholic said:


> Would you have CC'd it?


What I'm implying is that even Apple employees or officials who do say negative things about their bosses or the company itself in public places, or through e-mail, don't lose their jobs because the comments made never make it back to Apple HQ (either that, or Apple doesn't know which employee made said comments). If Apple knew which employee wrote the e-mail above, I'm fairly confident he'd also be job hunting right about now.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## ShawnKing (Mar 21, 2005)

HowEver said:


> Interesting.
> 
> Name a current Apple employee who posts on ehMac.


There are probably all kinds. Doesn't mean they necessarily advertise that fact.

On a lot of boards/forums/email lists, Apple employees don't identify themselves as such because they know the rabid fan base will ambush them in any number of ways, both good and bad.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

ShawnKing said:


> There are probably all kinds. Doesn't mean they necessarily advertise that fact.
> 
> On a lot of boards/forums/email lists, Apple employees don't identify themselves as such because they know the rabid fan base will ambush them in any number of ways, both good and bad.


That's about what I was thinking... of doing 

If you're out there -- DON'T LET ON!


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

ShawnKing said:


> There are probably all kinds. Doesn't mean they necessarily advertise that fact.
> 
> On a lot of boards/forums/email lists, Apple employees don't identify themselves as such because they know the rabid fan base will ambush them in any number of ways, both good and bad.


That was my point when I responded to your original comment:



ShawnKing said:


> Apple is not a dictatorship.  Apple employees can speak wherever they like - they just can't speak as representatives of the company.


Sure, they can speak, as long as they are anonymous, and don't ever let their comments be attached to themselves or Apple in any way.


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## T-hill (May 18, 2005)

Part of the reason I thought they weren't was because someone posted to ifoAppleStore's message board about just wanting to apply for Yorkdale... We know he got hired, because he deleted his posts.


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## jhollington (Jan 29, 2007)

Many of the Apple employees I've spoken to tend to play things on the safe side and just avoid posting on forums, as it's a safer approach. 

We've had a few Apple employees sign up on the iLounge forums over the years (as indicated by their confirmed registration e-mail addresses), and in some cases have even identified themselves as such in their profile, title, or signature blocks. They usually disappear pretty quickly.

However, at the end of the day there's little preventing somebody from Apple from participating relatively anonymously in any online forum. Even a forum admin would never be able to definitively tell you somebody was an Apple employee unless they identified themselves as such in some way. 

That having been said, many of them _read_ forums such as these, but decide that it's safer not to participate beyond that.


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## Tom Thomas (Feb 7, 2005)

I hope no one gets upset at this question, but can some one give me a list of the AASP's in and around toronto?
thanks very much.
I live in the scarborough area.


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## Macaholic (Jan 7, 2003)

Tom Thomas said:


> I hope no one gets upset at this question, but can some one give me a list of the AASP's in and around toronto?
> thanks very much.
> I live in the scarborough area.


Fellow ehMac member "Jason Wood" had an excellent list but the domain isn't active when I just tried it. _Hey Woody! Wassup, dude?_  Your page was extremely handy!

Anyhoo, thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine I dug up an archive of his excellent page of Mac dealers throughout Ontario. Good to have -- maybe save as a PDF out of your browser in case this entry in the Wayback Machine vaporizes:

Woody's GTA Mac Dealers List

Here is another list I stumbled across via Google. Never seen it before.

And then, there's a huge page of various links, including Mac dealers, at the venerable Toronto Mac users' group, Logic.


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## Tom Thomas (Feb 7, 2005)

thanks very much for the help . Macaholic.


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## Munchie (Mar 10, 2006)

*Mac Genius*

These guys/gals are like the rest of us, they need the security of the job they have. Nobody is stopping them from doing anything other than representing Apple out of buisness hours. IE if I were to post the enitre ( internal only ) repair diagnostic manual to a web site, or to provide inside information then I this would be viewed as violating internal policy.

But as long as nobody knows who I am then its all good..........right?


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