Archived ETL interview process

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Well accepted the senior team leader position to give it a whirl. Figured it would be worth to see if I am cut out for the retail world or not. They were very generous when it came to salary negotiations so that played a pretty big factor. Guess I should get ready to start making the ETLs look good while busting my ass in the long run. The STL said a senior can typically transition to an ETL within 18 months, but I laughed at that since I have been apart of this forum and read other people's comments.
 
jmrrh said:
Well accepted the senior team leader position to give it a whirl. Figured it would be worth to see if I am cut out for the retail world or not. They were very generous when it came to salary negotiations so that played a pretty big factor. Guess I should get ready to start making the ETLs look good while busting my ass in the long run. The STL said a senior can typically transition to an ETL within 18 months, but I laughed at that since I have been apart of this forum and read other people's comments.
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Glad we could be of assistance.
It's good you went in with your eyes open instead of being blindsided.
It should serve you well.
Good luck.
 
The more I have been with this company (I have a four year degree as well, yet obviously didn't seek out a recruitment) the more I feel these very first question they ask MUST be...
Actually the second question

because the first question is..
Have you ever seen the Muppets?

The Second question is...
How well can you act?

like a morphed corporate ideology ISN'T just something ...that might have its hand up your ass controlling what you say, but something you actually believe in?
 
I know 2 ETLs who were hired as a Sr. TL, it took 1 year to promote. They both said they asked for ETL mentors and picked things they could impact in the store. That helped both of them. It is actually helpful to be a TL, Sr.TL first if you have little retail experience. I can't tell you how many ETLs have told me it would have made their job easier. I am a Sr. TL and make about 7k less than one of those ETLs. Yeah that part sucks, but I do get to leave at 8hrs and only work 40. I have departments I oversee, but also have LOD shifts. Typically Sr. TL take on a little more than work center stuff as well.
 
jmrrh said:
Well accepted the senior team leader position to give it a whirl. Figured it would be worth to see if I am cut out for the retail world or not. They were very generous when it came to salary negotiations so that played a pretty big factor. Guess I should get ready to start making the ETLs look good while busting my ass in the long run. The STL said a senior can typically transition to an ETL within 18 months, but I laughed at that since I have been apart of this forum and read other people's comments.
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It depends on tons of things. You obviously have to be successful in your role (sometimes overall store performance will affect YOUR results, and therefore out of your hands), have great relationships with your ETLs and STL right away, and you have to be lucky enough to be in a district that needs ETLs at the time you want to promote. Staffing on Target can fluctuate from +10 to -10 to the headcount in just a few months (due to org chart changes and turnover/large intern classes) so its about timing as well. I would say gl and try your best, but look for other jobs as you are working as well :)
 
Well, I am going on my last two interviews next week and I am pretty nervous about that, which is why I joined this site. I am being recruited from grad school actually so I still have a semester to go before I graduate. I definitely need some advice on this process.

currently I am also interviewing with enterprise so the pay difference is a factor bc 50/55 a year would be huge for me!!

is every store i should expect to give up my life like always working?
if they offer me a intern position should I suggest a Sr.TL position instead?

It is important for me to be with my little girl and with my family because I have been away for 5 years getting my bachelors degree and now ive returned home i really need that work life balance but that much money would make life so much easier and i can provide a better life....but how can i provide a better life for her if i never see her really??

UGGHH HELP PLEASE
 
It's not so much the long hours, but the crappy schedule. Expect to be working some 10am-6pm style shifts, or 3pm-close shifts once a week. Every other weekend off and during 4th quarter, you lose your weekends typically and have a difficult time scheduling anything holiday related.

I think they kind of get you when they say "Expect to work 50 hour work weeks" and they let you think it'll be a lot of 8am-6pm shifts...which isn't TOO terrible. It's those mid shifts and closing shifts that really hurt your personal life.
 
You'll work five 10+ hour shifts a week with every other Saturday and Sunday off.

Your stress level will depend on the store volume. I've seen ETLs make a career staying in low volume markets while high volume stores plow through ETLs.

Is retail what you want to do? Or is it a stepping stone to pave your own way through the business world later in life?
 
Mhugh220 said:
You'll work five 10+ hour shifts a week with every other Saturday and Sunday off.

Your stress level will depend on the store volume. I've seen ETLs make a career staying in low volume markets while high volume stores plow through ETLs.

Is retail what you want to do? Or is it a stepping stone to pave your own way through the business world later in life?
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It is more of just a way to get on my feet and support myself. 8-6 isnt bad it still leaves time for my life
 
8-6? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

We worked three shifts: 6 - 4 for opening, 10 - 8 for mids, and 3:30 - 1am (or later) for closing. Of course we seldom got to get out right at the end of the shift. 11+ hours/day were common, and we were on our feet almost the entire time. I had a desk, but it was basically just a place to throw my coat in the winter.

I would never even think of two jobs ever again: Retail, and commission only sales. NEVER AGAIN.
 
I would seriously consider Enterprise if I were you. Your kid only grows up once, and it's probably worth less pay if it means you will have a steadier schedule and more time at home.
 
During the 6 weeks of BC you'll be hourly so you have to get as close to 50 hours to get expected salary. For 2-3 days you'll be in a classroom setting for maybe 8 hrs. It can run less so you'll have to make those hours up at the store if you want to meet your expected salary. In class you'll discuss some HR stuff, lingo, expectations as ETL, AP crap, and learn the latest catch phrase. When you get to your training store you'll be assigned a trainer. You will shadow this person's schedule. Days, mids, closing, clopens, etc. You'll be given a learning plan to follow. It's very informal and the only person that cares about what you learn is yourself.

For 6 weeks you will use the learning plan as a guide to see where you are. If you catch on quickly then you'll be done with BC in 6 weeks. If not you'll stay longer or they will fire you.

BC can be a joke or very helpful depending on your trainer. Some just have you do TM crap or physical work rather than learning how and why.

The real lesson starts when you're in role and your store does things a lot differently than how you were trained.
 
so they dont give you your salary pay during the training? how much do you get paid if not?

LOL this seems interesting...
 
You do get it but you have to get exactly 50 hours for their hourly calculations to match the offered salary. They figure out your hourly pay by 40 hours of regular plus 10 hours of overtime. If you finish training for the day after 6 hours, you can go home or work 4 extra hours. If you don't work 50 hrs you get paid less. Your classroom days may only be 4-6 hours. That means you'll have to add 4-6 hours later in the week to get full pay.

Your pay won't be exact until you no longer use the time clock.
 
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Ok I got it now. So Im on my last interview this week with the HR business person in atlanta....any advice?
 
Keep it up! All of the interviews follow the STAR technique. Even when you interview TMs and TLs as an ETL you'll ask 3 similar questions that they are currently asking you. All of the questions Target uses are found here or on the web.

The interview cycle is typically 1 or 2 informal phone interviews with corporate HR, an interview with a STL, one with DTL, and the final one is usually with a VP or group level position. 4-14 days later you'll have an offer.

They hire a lot of ETLs so it's not difficult to land that position externally. If undergraduates with no experience can do it, you'll be fine.
 
whoo!!! Thanks. and that is very true Ive been doing a hell of a lot of research actually alot more than I am doing in my current HR MBA CLASS LOL!!! I guess Im nervous and I just dont want to mess it up is it true if you make it to the very last interview you got it in the bag? or nah Lol
 
Depends how much your GVP or HRM trusts their leadership to select talent. If they trust their DTL to hire strong candidates, they won't press too hard usually. From what I have seen, an HRM will stick to the guide more strictly as well (they are HR), versus a GVP or whatever doesn't care as much. There are lots of them obviously, but that is the common trend.
 
Mhugh220 said:
During the 6 weeks of BC you'll be hourly so you have to get as close to 50 hours to get expected salary. For 2-3 days you'll be in a classroom setting for maybe 8 hrs. It can run less so you'll have to make those hours up at the store if you want to meet your expected salary. In class you'll discuss some HR stuff, lingo, expectations as ETL, AP crap, and learn the latest catch phrase. When you get to your training store you'll be assigned a trainer. You will shadow this person's schedule. Days, mids, closing, clopens, etc. You'll be given a learning plan to follow. It's very informal and the only person that cares about what you learn is yourself.

For 6 weeks you will use the learning plan as a guide to see where you are. If you catch on quickly then you'll be done with BC in 6 weeks. If not you'll stay longer or they will fire you.

BC can be a joke or very helpful depending on your trainer. Some just have you do TM crap or physical work rather than learning how and why.

The real lesson starts when you're in role and your store does things a lot differently than how you were trained.
Click to expand...

How soon before Business College do you find out what store you will be training in?
 
From another thread:
It depends on your area. The quality of the districts is really inconsistent, so while some areas have terrible turnover and work life balance, others do not have any issues. The ETL position itself is not inherently terrible, but when it is bad it can be a miserable time. Some people luck into some really nice STLs and DTLs who have kept their ships afloat through all these changes, and that is where you will want to land!
 
midwestETL said:
How soon before Business College do you find out what store you will be training in?
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We found out what our position was and where we were training on the first day of business college. Some know earlier but I think that depends on how the group does things. Not knowing what store you're going to be working in can suck if you have a large district. Some of our stores are 1.5 hours or more away from each other. Luckily I lived in the middle of the district so most were within a 40 min commute.
 
Hey folks, long time reader, first time poster. I was wondering how long of a wait time you experienced between the stl interview, hearing back from the company and moving onto the next step and so forth. Thanks!
 
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