I have been a TM for 4.5 years, I have a 4-year college degree and previous prof.experience (3 years) that I got after graduating college.
I applied for positions at Target HQ and was called back for a phone interview. I didn't do well since they called me back to tell me I was no longer under consideration for this position and to get better at SBO questions.
I have to say I struggled with the behavioral questions. They, in general, tell you to be prepared but there are so many questions that could be asked that's it's hard to target very specific situations.
Do you think I could ask an ETL at my store to be some sort of mentor to train me better for those questions?
I am extremley disappointed. The job was perfect for me and it required a very specific skill that few have that I possess 100% (don't want to be too specific, I want to remain anonymous). And also, it's hard to live decently on a full time (40 hours) TM pay. I've been praised for my work at Target. Always had stellar annual reviews. I am kinda lost. :unknw:
I think asking an ETL to be your mentor in this regard would be foolish.
First of all, you are exactly the same as your ETL. You have a 4 year degree. The only difference is, they applied to work at Target as an ETL and you applied to work as a TM. That does not mean they are more qualified than you when the only basis for becoming an ETL is a degree, which you also have. Also, since you have 3 years of professional experience, you are actually probably more qualified than most of your young ETLs.
Second of all, working at HQ has zero to do with working at the stores. ETLs are assistant store managers. There are no assistant store managers at HQ. You know who works at HQ? Computer programmers. Accountants. Marketing professionals. Attorneys. Those are the kinds of jobs that are done at a corporate HQ. In other words, people who majored in things that qualify them to work at a corporate HQ to begin with. Chances are, most of your ETLs probably majored in English or History or a bunch of other fields that have nothing to do with any job at HQ. Therefore, most of your ETLs probably don't even have the educational background to qualify them for an HQ job. Since you got the HQ interview, chances are you did major in one of those useful fields. So, again, you are probably actually more qualified than your ETLs are.
What you are asking is basically "Should I ask the taco bell manager to help me get a job at HQ?". You would be asking someone who has never worked at a professional corporate job before *and* who probably lacks the educational background necessary for such a job for advice. Chances are, if he knew/had what it took to work at a corporate HQ he wouldn't be working as a Taco Bell manager.
Likewise, if your ETLs knew/had what it took to work at a corporate HQ, they probably wouldn't be working at a Target store.
So, can you ask one of them to mentor your for a job at HQ even though they have never had such a job in their entire life and probably majored in a completely irrelevant subject (i.e. English) in college? Sure. Will it help you get an HQ job? Absolutely not. If they knew how to get a job at HQ, that is where they would be. Like you said in your original post, you have a very specific skill and education that most people do not have. So why would you ask people who don't have that skill to help you get a job that requires that skill? It makes no sense. It is like asking an art history major to help you get a computer programmer job. They simply aren't going to be helpful to you.
Best advice? Find someone who *actually has* a job at a corporate HQ and who *actually majored* in a subject in college (accounting, law, computer science, marketing, etc) that qualifies them for such a job. These are not your ETLs. These are alumni's from your college. People who graduated from your college and went on to get a corporate HQ job. (be it with Target or anyone else) Those are the people who can actually help you get an HQ job - because they actually did it, and therefore know how to do it.
Most colleges have alumni networks. (kind of like Facebook, but for college) Get on there and find some people you remember from school. Call old college friends. Find out if anyone you went to school with is working at a corporate HQ. Not only can they give you advice on getting such a job, they might actually say "Hey you were a cool guy in college! You know, we have a current opening at HQ for someone with your major". In other words, it might actually lead to a corporate job.
If you can't find anyone you went to school with who works a corporate HQ job (very unlikely, but let's just say). Start asking your friends who graduated from college if any of *their* friends work at a corporate HQ.
What I am trying to tell you is - everyone knows the best way to get a job is NETWORKING. In order to successfully network, you must find someone who actually has the job you want. Those would not be your ETLs. However, they are people you went to college with or friends of friends you went to college with.
Finally, and perhaps the most important reason you should not ask an ETL for help on this - your ETLs are your competition. Yes, people who have said it is the job of your ETLs to help you advance are correct. However, that means advance to places like brand TM or TL. If you ask an ETL for help on this, you are not asking them for the usual kind of advancement help. You are asking them to essentially help you promote to a job way way WAY WAY WAY above their level.
Let me put it to you this way - someone who works at HQ is above an ETL. They are above an STL. They are above a DTL. They are above regional. HQ is the very top of the hill. Basically, you are asking an ETL for help becoming their boss. (well, not exactly their boss.... but someone way above them on the target totem poll) This is almost always a turn off for anyone. Your ETLs are basically competing with you at that point for advancement. You are asking them to help you get a job they themselves may want. Might you find an ETL who actually WANTS to help you get a job that is above them? Possibly, but chances are they are going to feel immediately threatened by you. Not because it is a personal thing - but because it is a human thing.
Think of it this way. What you are doing is like going up to an ETL and saying "Hey. Can you help mentor me so I can promote to STL and become your boss?". That is an instant threat to most people, and they will probably go out of their way so you do not succeed.... simply because the ETL wouldn't want you to become the STL. Not only do they not want you to be their boss, but they themselves probably want to become STL! HQ is the same kind of deal, except it is times 10.
Again, this is a reason you want to seek help from people who are *not* your boss. People you know outside of work have a personal connection to you, and therefore they are likely to actually want to help you. Furthermore, they are not competing with you. They are not your boss, and therefore they don't feel threatened that you want to advance to such a high level.
So short answer to you question - no, asking an ETL to help in this issue is probably not going to help and may actually be counterproductive.
