Interviewed for a seasonal retail role (apple store), trying to gauge if phase 2 went okay + when to follow up
hoping to get an HR/recruiter perspective on this since you all see the hiring side.
context: applied for a seasonal specialist role. did the phase 1 group interview last wednesday, passed on the spot, and got sent straight into phase 2 the same day to a 1-on-1 with two managers. i'm 19, told them i have fully open availability (weekdays + weekends), i'm done with classes, and i'm flexible on location. they asked the availability/logistics questions right at the start of phase 2.
the interview itself was maybe 4-5 questions. they asked how i'd sell a product and how i'd approach a customer who's just browsing (i walked through the warm welcome / figuring out their needs approach). a lot of my answers tied back to tutoring since that's my background, ie connecting with people and making things easy to understand was what i was leaning towards a lot. felt like there was decent rapport, some warmth, a couple of pauses here and there. at the end they said they'd decide "this week" but that they still had other candidates to interview.
it's now been about 7 days with no email or call, and the portal hasn't changed.
my questions for the HR/recruiter folks:
from how that sounds, did i likely do fine, or are there red flags in how it went? (genuinely want honest read, not reassurance)
is the availability/logistics questions up front usually a good sign or just standard intake?
when they say "this week" and then go quiet, how literally should i take that, and at what point is it appropriate to send a follow-up email without seeming pushy?
for seasonal retail specifically, is a week of silence after a final interview normal?
appreciate any insight from people who actually run hiring. thanks
Jobadvisor
Happy to give you an honest read on each of these.
1. How it likely went
Nothing you described is a red flag. The tutoring framing is actually a smart angle for Apple specifically — their sales philosophy is built around education and discovery, not pushing product. Walking through a warm welcome and needs-based approach shows you did your homework. The pauses and small moments of warmth are hard to read from the inside, but they're not warning signs. The real honest caveat: 4-5 questions in a 1-on-1 is on the shorter side, which can mean they had what they needed quickly (good) or were moving through a long candidate list efficiently (neutral). No way to know which.
2. Availability questions up front
Mostly standard intake for seasonal roles, but it's not a nothing signal either. Managers typically ask logistics early when they're mentally building a schedule and thinking "could this person actually work?" rather than just going through motions. For seasonal hiring especially, availability is often a hard filter — someone who clears it cleanly (as you did) tends to move faster in the mental stack-ranking. So: not a guaranteed green light, but a reasonable sign they were genuinely considering fit.
3. How literally to take "this week"
Take it loosely. "This week" in hiring almost always means "we intend to move soon" — not a commitment to a specific Friday cutoff. What actually happens: a manager gets pulled into coverage issues, another candidate needs a callback, approvals get delayed, HR has a bottleneck. Seven days drifting past a verbal "this week" is completely normal and says nothing about your standing. The portal not changing is also normal — status updates often lag behind actual decisions by days.
For follow-up timing: send something now. Seven days post-interview is not pushy at all — it's the standard window. One short, direct email is appropriate. You're not chasing; you're confirming continued interest, which is actually a positive signal in retail hiring where enthusiasm matters.
4. A week of silence for seasonal retail — normal?
Very. Seasonal hiring often involves high volume across multiple locations, manager schedules that don't always align with candidate timelines, and offers that get batched rather than sent individually. A week of silence with a portal that hasn't changed is not rejection — it's just the pace of the process.
Here's a follow-up email you can send today:Keep it short like that — no over-explaining, no restating your qualifications. One email, then wait another 5-7 days. If still nothing, one more brief check-in is fine before you mentally move on. Good luck.
I'm a bartender
I am a bartender at a billiards hall that has a full kitchen as well as occasionally bartending at a seafood restaurant (same owner as pool hall).
I want to preface that tips are never expected, always appreciated. I have been bartending for almost a decade now and obviously tipping culture has changed. I have co workers who have complained and purposely ignored patrons who havent tipped and I have never liked that at all. With that being said, I have scrolled through this community a bit and want to give some information.
To start off- tipping culture has 10000% percent gotten out of hand and I am not here to debate that.
1.) In the USA, someone who is paid less than federally mandated minimum wage due to a serving position- if they make LESS than the state minimum wage during that week due to the lack of tips- the employer IS required to pay them minimum wage on that paycheck. $2.13/hr and worked 35 hours and they didnt make at least $7.25 for those 35 hours- the employer has to make up the difference. It happens and we know the risks of being in this position.
2.) Big tippers will always make up for non tippers. It will always mostly average out. Even then, I dont treat my non-tipping regulars any different and sometimes I do get a tip from them- like the rest of their change. Always appreciated. Regardless, its usually always there.
3.)If you are a sometimes tippers (sit down restaurants, bars, etc.)- you are appreciated however I have noticed that it went from 10% being the normal to now 22-25% being the normal. Please know that less than 20% is STILL appreciated- dont feel obligated. If you do tip at these places, you are appreciated and I understand the influx of prices on menus and why tips may decrease.
I know this may not be MY place but wanted to give a little bit of insight. These places that make a normal wage and still expect tips have ruined it for us. For those that still tip us, thank you. That extra $5 can help towards many things. If you cant- its not the end of the world. and thats OKAY.
Jobadvisor
Seems like you meant to post this somewhere else — looks like a Reddit post that got dropped into the chat by accident.
That said, if you wanted to talk through any of it — tipping culture, wage policy, anything else — happy to.
My interview ended up being a two hour long humiliation ritual
I’m a college student home for the summer. I have work experience, stellar grades, and go to a pretty prestigious college. Can’t get a job.
I applied for a retail job at my local mall and they told me they wanted to interview me on a Sunday at 7pm (yay!!!!). They said it would be a group interview, which I had experienced before. Usually, it would be three or so of us asked questions down a line. I showed up, and that is when the troubles began.
At first, when I arrive there’s two girls standing there also waiting. We’re told to wait until more people arrive. A couple more people arrive. And then a couple more. And a couple more. And a couple more.
Before I know it, there are 15 of us. The managers tell us to wait outside the store until they are ready. At this point, the mall is entirely closed. The fifteen of us wait outside in a Backrooms-esque mall for HALF AN HOUR. At this point I know I should give up, but I am so poor and so desperate I figured I have nothing to lose by waiting.
Finally, they let us in. As we walk into the store the managers dig through our bags and make us turn our pockets inside out. “Asset protection” they say.
“This isn’t a normal interview!” One manager says, as if we haven’t figured this out by now.
They split us up into groups, four in each. Ok, I think. They’re going to interview us separately then.
Nope. They tell us to come up with a team name, and then, to my horror, a team chant. This is a room full of people in our 20s. With nothing better to do, we all get up in front of the others and do our stupid stomp-clap rhyming chant we came up with in five minutes.
Little did I know, this was just the beginning. I won’t bore you with the details of every task we did, but know that absolutely zero of them had anything to do with what the job entailed. None.
A normal person would have left but this point, but between sunk cost fallacy and my desire to not be broke, I stayed.
This went on for TWO HOURS. Two hours!!! I didn’t eat beforehand, assuming I’d be out of there by 7:30 at the latest. I thought I was going to starve to death.
Each task would go like this: they’d give us some summer camp style stupid activity, all the managers would leave (so they wouldn’t even be able to watch us work together), and then we’d all have to present in front of the other people.
Finally, after the talent show portion (not kidding) they opened it up for questions. I asked how many people they were hiring.
Three.
Fifteen people. Two hours. Three jobs. I nearly cried.
And then, for the final cherry on top for this awful evening, one of the other candidates let it slip that he was close friends with the hiring manager.
There is so much more insanity and awfulness I didn’t even have time to get into in this post. I didn’t even mention the fashion contest, the relay race, or the guy whose only question at the end for the interviewers was “how did you guys get to be so freaking cool?”
I did not get the job.
Jobadvisor
That sounds like an absolute nightmare, and frankly, it sounds less like an interview and more like a psychological endurance test designed by someone who watched The Apprentice way too many times.
First off, I am sorry you had to endure that. Being in a position where you are financially vulnerable is incredibly stressful, and having that desperation exploited—by being forced to perform a "talent show" for a retail role, no less—is genuinely demeaning. Please recognize that this was not a reflection of your worth, your grades, or your potential. It was a reflection of poor management and a toxic hiring culture at that specific store.
Why this is "Normal" (but wrong)
It is infuriating, but some retail companies use these "group activities" to weed out people who refuse to play along with arbitrary authority. They aren't looking for the most qualified candidate; they are looking for the most compliant one.
The Sunk Cost Trap: You mentioned the sunk cost fallacy, and you’re spot on. They know that by keeping you there for two hours, they are betting that you’ve invested too much time to walk out.
The "Friends" Factor: The fact that one candidate had an inside track confirms this wasn't a fair competition. You were essentially filler to make the process look "official" and competitive.
The Environment: Searching bags and requiring chants is a power move. It sets a precedent that the company owns your dignity from day one.
Moving Forward
You have stellar grades and experience at a prestigious college. While retail jobs can be a quick bridge to cash, they often rely on these demoralizing, high-volume hiring tactics because they have high turnover.
Pivot your search: If you have those credentials, try looking for on-campus research positions, administrative work for professors, or tutoring gigs. These roles often pay better and value your intelligence rather than your ability to do a "stomp-clap" chant in a dark mall.
Trust your gut: The moment they asked for a team chant, you knew it was wrong. That instinct is a survival skill. Next time, give yourself permission to walk out the moment the "humiliation ritual" starts. Your time is worth more than a store manager's ego trip.
Take a breath, grab a decent meal, and let yourself be angry about this. It was absurd, it was unfair, and it is firmly behind you now.
Given your background and current need for summer work, have you looked into any specialized tutoring agencies or freelance writing/research gigs that might value your academic credentials more than a standard retail store?
Paycut after being laid off?
I got a job offer today but it’s 20k less (75k to 55k) than I was making at my old job. I got laid off in March and have been unemployed for four months. I’ve been surviving off my severance and part time gig and have only landed 5 interviews out of maybe 100 jobs?
I’m unsure if I should take this massive pay cut but at the same time I can’t really afford to live off my severance any longer. I don’t know how long will it take me to get another offer if I pass on this yk. unemployment time has been fueled with uncertainty and anxiety so I was quite happy to see an offer after so long.
Have you ever taken a pay cut? how did you navigate unemployment? how long did you stay at the job before you moved onto something better?
Jobadvisor
First off, I am so sorry you’ve been dealing with this. A four-month stretch of unemployment is incredibly draining—mentally, financially, and emotionally. The anxiety and uncertainty you're feeling are completely valid. Landing only 5 interviews out of 100 applications isn't a reflection of your worth; it's just a reflection of how tough the job market can be right now.
It makes total sense that you felt happy seeing an offer. That is a real win, and you should allow yourself to feel good about it.
To answer your question directly: Yes, many people take pay cuts after a layoff, and under your current circumstances, taking this job is likely the smartest strategic move.
Here is a framework to help you navigate this transition without feeling like you're permanently moving backward.
1. The "Bridge Job" Mindset
Don't view this $55k job as a permanent demotion or the new baseline for your entire career. View it as a bridge job—a temporary financial island that keeps you afloat while you figure out your next play.
Taking a pay cut to secure an income is a standard survival strategy. It does three crucial things for you right now:
Stops the financial bleeding: It relieves the immediate pressure of watching your severance dry up.
Fixes the "unemployment gap": It’s statistically easier to find a job when you already have a job. Employers, fairly or unfairly, view currently employed candidates as less risky.
Restores routine: Getting back into a work routine can dramatically lower unemployment anxiety.
2. Evaluate the Actual Gap
A $20k drop ($75k to $55k) hurts, but look at the net math rather than the gross number.
After taxes, a $20k drop usually translates to roughly $1,100 to $1,300 less per month in your take-home pay, depending on your state.
Ask yourself: Can I survive on $55k if I trim my budget to the essentials?
If the answer is yes, then $55k is infinitely better than $0 once your severance runs out.
3. How to Navigate the Move
If you decide to accept, here is how to play it:
Negotiate slightly if you can: Even if they offered $55k, you can politely ask if there is wiggle room to hit $60k based on your experience. If they say no, you haven't lost anything—you can still accept the original offer.
How long should you stay? There is no law saying you have to stay for a year. Many people in your shoes stay for 3 to 6 months while quietly continuing their job search. Once you have a steady paycheck, you can afford to be incredibly picky about your next role.
How to frame it later: When you interview for your next $75k+ job in a few months, you don't even have to put this $55k salary on your resume (and you definitely shouldn't volunteer it). If asked why you took a lower-level role, you simply say: "Following a corporate restructuring at my previous company, I took a role to keep my skills sharp and stay active in the industry while looking for the right long-term fit." Executive recruiters hear this all the time and understand completely.
The Bottom Line: Anxiety thrives on a lack of control. Taking this job gives you your control back. It secures your housing and food, takes the pressure off your part-time gig, and lets you hunt for your true market value from a position of stability, not desperation.
Take a deep breath. You survived the layoff, you pushed through four months of grinding, and you extracted an offer out of a tough market. That proves you are hirable. Take the win, take the paycheck, and use it as fuel to find the next step up.
Once More with Feeling: Remote Work Is Not a Substitute for Childcare
I have been a remote worker on and off (mostly on) for 26 years. I just called a call center for my state’s insurance marketplace. Waited 20 minutes, only for rep to answer with a screaming child in the background so I could barely hear her, then dump me BACK OUT INTO THE QUEUE with a now FIFTY-minute wait.
I get that the U.S. is a third-world country. I get that daycare is expensive. I get being a single mother, as I have been for 18 of those 26 years. But this isn’t the solution. You cannot get paid to watch your children at home. You cannot actually do a job while trying to watch your young children. You cannot abdicate your job responsibilities to your coworkers so you can take care of your children when you are supposed to be working. You cannot homeschool your children while you are supposed to be working.
Rant over, but I basically wanted this to link back to every dang time someone posts about having children at home so “can you please recommend/help me find a remote job?”
Plus, you know, I’ve now spent my own 40-minute lunch period while remote working sitting pointlessly on my phone because of this. 😡
EDITS to save some of you from repetitive stress injuries:
I am a cis female single mother.
If you took the time to look at my profile image, yes, the call was real. That’s the number for the NYS Exchange.
No, I don’t make much money. Hence getting my healthcare on the exchange where I qualify for the tax credit.
Yes, I know how much daycare costs.
Yes, I vote for the commies who want to have universal childcare and single payer healthcare and UBI. Two things can simultaneously be true that I expect people to be able to do their jobs and I think the U.S. is broken and late stage capitalism is killing us.
Jobadvisor
You're not wrong, and I say that as someone who also supports universal childcare, paid leave, and all the systemic fixes we desperately need.
But those two things — "the system is broken" and "your employer and the people waiting in your queue still deserve your actual attention" — aren't in conflict. Acknowledging one doesn't cancel the other.
Remote work was always sold as flexibility, not as a workaround for childcare. When someone answers a customer service line with a screaming child in the background, it's not a parenting failure — it's a staffing and management failure. Someone signed off on that arrangement. Someone decided adequate childcare wasn't a condition of employment, or looked the other way. That's worth being angry about too.
The people posting "help me find a remote job so I can watch my kids" aren't bad people — they're desperate people doing math that doesn't add up and hoping remote work is the missing variable. The real answer is that it isn't, and that's a harder truth than any job listing can fix.
Hope the 50-minute wait ends with someone who can actually help you.
The reply acknowledges her frustration as valid, gently reframes the systemic blame away from the individual worker toward management, and adds some empathy for the people she's criticizing without dismissing her point. Let me know if you'd like to adjust the tone or length.