Archived Degrees and Leadership

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Ani

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What positions do you *have* to have a degree for?

...and by degree, does it have to be a 4 yr, or can it be an associates degree? Can the degree be in progress? Do they ask for proof? How does all of that work?
 
In my store/district, the ETLs all have four-year degrees. I know for a fact one of our SrTLs does as well; not sure about the rest but I think they do too. For TLs, it seems like anything goes. One of mine is working on her associate's degree, a former TL has a bachelor's degree, and some have no college at all.
 
I don't think they ask for proof. My VML is DEFINITELY lying about her degree and she's never been called out on it.
VMLs need degrees? Ours didn't even finish College yet. This whole degree things complete bull, why is a Bussiness AS (2 year) degree useless, yet a 4-year degree in Sports management becomes an ETL.
 
Up to districts. There was a time when it was HQ policy that you needed a degree to be an Etl only way around it was if you were a tl and got outstanding on your annual review for 3 yrs straight. A degree doesn't really mean anything in retail. I had a Etl ge who majored in zoology didn't know crap about retail yet she got hired. We just had SR tl get signed off and she dropped out of college.
As far a asking for proof they usually ask for a copy of your diploma. My old Etl rep got hired while he was working on his degre and quit school and they never said anything
 
You can get to ETL without a degree, just takes much, much longer and A LOT of backing from etls/stls and even dtls. I only know of a couple around my area who have done it.

On a side note, I did not suddenly feel smarter or understand Target more when I got my degree.... I think there is a lot of wasted talent because of this *Rule*.
 
I have a 2 year AA degree. I'm working towards my BA right now though as best as I can around my work schedule. I'm an ETL.
Though my DTL says I was a special case being I was brought in at 19 (I'm 20 now) because she saw potential and apparently the HR BP did too.

Though my DTL is working on getting me some loop hole to demote me to a Sr TL or something over the summer so that I can have a more realistic schedule/responsibilities so that I can finish my BA and actually go to school as opposed to my online classes and night class I'm doing now.
 
Its retail...as long as a degree is a requirement for in store positions Target will continue to go downhill. Now, if you're an external, I could understand it being a requirement under certain conditions, but not for internals.

I remember my second job, I got hired as a key carrier and after about four months I was promoted to assistant manager, responsible for about 40 people and making about 43,000 a year...no diploma. I had a meeting with the District Manager about where I was going and she said most likely path was Store Manager > District Manager > HR Representative. When I asked about a degree, she simply told me that if I wanted to polish my resume I could, but my merits outweigh the education and that I could get there without college...making six figures. Why does Target take issue with this.

Oh and as a side note, some of the rudest, arrogant, and 'dumbest people I've met had a bachelors or an MBA
 
Its retail...as long as a degree is a requirement for in store positions Target will continue to go downhill. Now, if you're an external, I could understand it being a requirement under certain conditions, but not for internals.

I remember my second job, I got hired as a key carrier and after about four months I was promoted to assistant manager, responsible for about 40 people and making about 43,000 a year...no diploma. I had a meeting with the District Manager about where I was going and she said most likely path was Store Manager > District Manager > HR Representative. When I asked about a degree, she simply told me that if I wanted to polish my resume I could, but my merits outweigh the education and that I could get there without college...making six figures. Why does Target take issue with this.

Oh and as a side note, some of the rudest, arrogant, and 'dumbest people I've met had a bachelors or an MBA

Couldn't agree more. I feel that a degree should have no effect on an internal promotion to Etl. The sad truth is most tm and tl know more about the inner working of the stores with out a degree than an external hire.
 
I think they require the degree because etl turnover is high now (well, seems that way based on my store) and they have a neverending supply of excited new grads. Etl job pays more than most entry level jobs.

Before I ever worked retail, I assumed the people working management in stores had all just worked their way up.. And even thought a lot of people above store level had. Idk... It just makes sense to me that it'd be that way. Actually, wait, I didn't learn that new grads were hired until I found tbr. My management when I first started was all older people who'd been with the company for a gazillion years. And one guy in his 30s but according to his LinkedIn he'd worked at target through college.
 
Its retail...as long as a degree is a requirement for in store positions Target will continue to go downhill. Now, if you're an external, I could understand it being a requirement under certain conditions, but not for internals.

I remember my second job, I got hired as a key carrier and after about four months I was promoted to assistant manager, responsible for about 40 people and making about 43,000 a year...no diploma. I had a meeting with the District Manager about where I was going and she said most likely path was Store Manager > District Manager > HR Representative. When I asked about a degree, she simply told me that if I wanted to polish my resume I could, but my merits outweigh the education and that I could get there without college...making six figures. Why does Target take issue with this.

Oh and as a side note, some of the rudest, arrogant, and 'dumbest people I've met had a bachelors or an MBA
Every football player at my fancy private college was an mba...couldn't pump their own gas, but we're learning to run companies. Still makes me giggle every time an intern thinks their mba should impress me.
 
Both of our ETLs started fresh out of college, and everyone who has ever interned or been EIT here was also in college or had just graduated. A degree is probably a requirement for ETL in my district.

Only one SrTL and one other TL are currently in college; the rest never went or dropped out.
 
We're getting a new ETL-HL, and I swear he looks like he could be in my Freshman English Composition class. He acts generally clueless, but he is new to Target and is still training so it's understandable. It really is surprising to me how having any degree, no matter how irrelevant to Retail, is such an important requirement while people who have worked for the company for years and know the store process inside and out get shafted.
 
My store just had a Tl get promoted to Etl and he has no degree. The Stl believed in him , spoke up for him and that got the ball rolling . Personally, I don't think someone needs a degree to leader. More times than not these new fresh out of college etls...couldn't lead flies to poop.
 
I was told point blank that the ceiling for anyone with no four year degree is TL. That being said, they will offer some tuition assistance to those looking to try to attain that credential while a TL.

I agree that it's probably not an ideal policy to require a degree...frankly there's a lot of turnover in all ranks at the store and so if they could promote a TL who has gotten outstanding evaluations for several years, that would seem like a better way to get a long-lasting ETL than to hire someone who is looking to just add something to their resume.

Ideally, even if you required a degree for ETL, it would make sense to require at least a year as a TL with good performance--although given the turnover, that's probably not realistic.
 
Because spot would never ever promote someone past ETL without a degree. The ETL/STL group is a farming system for future corporate leaders.
 
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