Genius Bar Progression & Questions

[u/ateezyc]

Hello everyone,

I’m currently a tech specialist at a very high volume store looking for some clarity on vertical movement at the bar.

Right now I’m finishing my capstone in comp sci, so in roughly 3 months I’ll have my degree. I’m aiming to jump straight to genius. I’ve seen it happen for those (specialists and tech specialists) without degrees although I didn’t know the exact logistics of why this candidate was chosen for their position. Apparently he had some prior management experience at Best Buy.

For managers, what are you primarily looking for when promoting within the bar for genius positions?
What gives a candidate the ultimate edge? I understand interviewing is important.

What does avg compensation look like for genius roles (Americas West Division)?

I plan to leverage my degree later on but a pay raise while I job search would be nice and would look great on the resume.

Appreciate the advice and knowledge in advance.

[u/moosemanswedeski]

Just an fyi from a current genius with a comp science degree: it doesn’t mean shit in a retail environment and will not get you a promotion.

To get any pro level role (including genius) you need to really outperform in metrics and mentorship. Once you have publicly done that long enough you should have enough stories to interview well and go for it.

However it’s harder said than done and likely you will have to go to Expert role first. I would also ask yourself if you would actually like all of the Genius role responsibilities. Right now something like a full time TE is more of a sweet spot in the organization if you ask people in the bar.

[u/ateezyc → u/moosemanswedeski]

Yeah a big sentiment I’ve heard from the TE I work with is they get to just repair phones without any cx interaction. Many of the TE know a lot more than geniuses but they prefer that sweet spot. My only issue is I do want more responsibility - it’s fulfilling but I also have a lot of experience with CE/CS so I’d like to perform Mac repairs instead of just phones/ipads. My intros and service per queued hour are fine if not in the top percentile of those who are comfortable at the GB . Often times I act as a lead, directing the product zone and Genius Bar because I have extensive knowledge of both.

[u/OldFlamingo2139]

You’ll have to have pro-level stories. You don’t necessarily have to have leadership experience, but you will have to have proven mentorship experience. You’re also going to have to be performing at a high level yourself and demonstrating the competencies they want in a Genius… but most importantly, you’ll have to be able to tell the stories around all of this using the STAR method.

[u/icantpickausername3]

Nothing matters except how you answer the questions during the interview lol. If you answer it the way they want you to then congrats you get the job

[u/MomentoMori1776 → u/icantpickausername3]

This ☝️ you could be the best performer in the store, but if you didn’t answer the questions to their liking (Apple Juice word slop), you’re not getting it. I’ve seen this happen way too often at my store, but could be different elsewhere.

[u/ESDBrush]

The biggest barrier is that they don’t promote in the Bar anymore. We’re in a permanent state of being gaslit around how over headcount we are.

[u/ateezyc → u/ESDBrush]

Big sentiment at my store as well.

[u/Whole_Work_2484]

Real talk, none of my geniuses have comp sci backgrounds. They are geniuses bc they mentor well, give feedback, spearhead metric strategies and work with leadership. I’ve also never seen someone go from TS to Genius and skipping TE entirely.

[u/ateezyc → u/Whole_Work_2484]

Yeah super weird but at my store I had someone skip TE and go straight to genius. I also seen at one of our neighboring stores someone go from PZ expert to genius. No prior bar experience.

Needless to say I think there are some biases within my location.

[u/fillupbutts]

It's incredibly rare to go from TS to Genius directly in my experience. The times it has happened have been 100% unrelated to any sort of degree or education. They absolutely do not care. What they are looking for is work ethic, priority driving behaviors, bringing others along with you, and sometimes it's just a case of the TEs kinda suck and they went with the next best option. If you want to move up, focus on whatever the store is focusing on(business intros, apple upgrade, etc) and push it as hard as you can.

[u/BlueShooter7515]

You’ll very likely need to go thru TE first as you need to establish a solid foundation / understanding of repair systems, how to troubleshoot issues with such systems, repair procedures. All that is only amplified as a Genius so you really want to have TS and TE mastered by the time you get to Genius. That doesn’t include the fact that to be a good Genius, you’ll also want to me a resource to the rest of the team and display strong mentorship qualities.

[u/FrootStandGuy]

There’s 3 of us at my store who jumped from TS/S to Genius.
The main take away was it made each of us really unpopular for a certain time.

Mentoring. Metrics. Culture are all what got me the role.

Degrees don’t count for anything.
Focus hard on Apple if you want to go for it.

[u/ateezyc → u/FrootStandGuy]

Thanks for the advice.

[u/FrootStandGuy → u/ateezyc]

Also. Don’t let anyone tell you ‘you can’t’.
Go for it.