I was actually one step away from either a Genius or Specialist position and spent about 3 months of my life waiting on the people at Apple to get back to me through every step. They're really self centered in that way. I eventually didn't get the position due to the fact that the store which wanted to hire me didn't have openings, and passed me on to their 5th Ave store, which I kind of loathe. The guys uptown liked me a lot and wanted me there, but had no choice, so it just went downhill from that point on.
The hiring seminar is a lot of fun and very casual. They're not looking for over the top butt kissing, but do appreciate people who understand the brand and have a good understanding of their products. The main thing about the seminar is that you should be fairly outspoken (without being obnoxious about it), attentive and interested in what is being said.
The recruiter will ask very general questions (nothing technical) and will be looking for people to speak up. After a bit, you'll be divided into groups (likely 4 groups of 5) and you'll possibly be given a portfolio of a random stranger. You'll have to assess this person's needs with your group and figure out what scenario (hardware and software wise) would suit this person best, depending on their M.O..
That part was really fun, and really gives you an opportunity to stand out from the crowd, and to also show how much of a team player you are at the same time.
There's also a technical questionnaire, which is really silly. It's 20 questions or something, asking about basic computer knowledge, such as:
"what is an operating system" "what is RAM" "what are 4 unique features of the iPhone" etc... Really stupid questions actually.
If you get an immediate email... no dice. If they don't call you for weeks, it's a good sign (didn't feel very good to me, but that's how they are apparently) Then you'll likely have either 2 or 3 interviews. (I had 4 due to shifting to the other location and was pretty much ****** and didn't even want to be there at that point)
The interviews are fairly relaxed and standard fare. Stupid questions abound: " So why Apple?" From what I gathered in my experience, they care more about personality than they do experience. In fact, the 5th Ave store has some pretty stupid people working there, and they all walk around like zombies.. I can't stand that store. The employees are really ghetto for the most part, as some barely manage to speak decent English. (I don't mean that they're from another country, I mean ebonics and such)
The best advice I can give you is to be relaxed and be yourself.
If you want more details feel free to PM me.
Doug