I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Staples (City of Industry, CA) in Aug 2011
Interview
I actually interviewed at two different Staples locations, one by accident and the other was scheduled. Needless to say between the two there was really not much difference. There are usually a total of two interviews for the position of Easy Tech Expert or any Easy Tech position for that matter. The difference being the Expert position you must pass an online tech test before even getting an interview, the associate or resident tech. position you take that after the first interview. The questions at both interviews were exactly the same. They're looking for someone with personality that can push sales and produce numbers, as well as fix computers. Be friendly and loose, not tense and short with answers. They want the guy that can talk someone into buying $300 + of accessories with the computers AND fix them when they break. Anti-social hermits need not apply. Be able to sell and fix not just hide behind the counter and fix. After the personality and short tech. quiz with questions like, "What is an ODD? Would you be able to store information on an ODD?" The answers being Optical Dist Drive, and No you do not store information on an ODD you store information on the Media that is read by ODD's such as, CDs, DVD's, and Blu-Ray. After the interview with the assistant manager, who will usually be your manager in the long run if you're anything lower than an Expert, otherwise you will be under the Genreal Manager in some smaller stores like I was. You'll have a second interview with the General Manager, be ready for some situational questions and also personality/goal questions. "Why would you be a good fit for this company? What would you offer this person buying a new laptop? Why would they want virus protection for $30-$40 dollars, when hey can get AVG Free or Microsoft Security Essentials?"
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What are some services or accessories you would offer a customer purchasing a new Laptop for their back to school student? (while this might not be hard now that I worked there for a couple years, but it was at the time)
I applied online. The process took 4 days. I interviewed at Staples (Lake Stevens, WA) in Jan 2014
Interview
Applied online, and got a call 3 days later for an interview. I arrived 15 minutes early, and he wasn't ready for me yet. He came out and invited me in, and we sat down. Then he just started a conversation with me. An hour later, he told me the interview was done and did I have any questions. Confused, I asked him when we started, he replied "I asked the questions, but just more in a casual way." Feeling satisfied I asked a couple questions about the company and the way it worked.
I applied in-person. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Staples (Brea, CA) in Sept 2013
Interview
They basically said I would have to learn the ropes of inventory and selling, but they didn't say that I would not touch a computer until I did all of that. They made it sound like I just had to go through some training and some on-the-floor experience. This was not the case. It's impossible to do tech work and do sales/inventory management- so I was essentially a salesman- this was not made clear in the interview. They also did not make clear that they wanted you to be a perfect salesman before they'd "let you" start doing tech work.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Give me an example of a time you had to work with a team.
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Staples (Orange, CA) in July 2012
Interview
Short and straight to the point. Operation manager asked few simple questions for me but had nothing much needed from me as I was highly recommend by her General Manager.