First, there was a hiring event, with generic "what-if" and "how did you..." questions. The next day was a panel interview with the market leader and other store leaders from the rest of the market, followed by a direct interview with the store leader for the store I'd be working with.
Following that, I had three additional interviews with the remaining members of the leadership team, which included a tech screen, to make certain that I had at least a modicum of understanding of basic computer concepts. I did "ok."
After hiring, I was informed that I was the first person in 4 or 5 years to be directly hired into this position at this store, so while it would be hypocritical of me to say, "Don't bother attempting to be hired directly into the Genius position," I will say that it doesn't happen often and had not occurred in the two years that I was with the company.