Archived Scheduling Insight before Seasonal Interview Please

[PT Target]

I have an interview to be seasonal help tomorrow. I'm older - own my own small (one person) business that's always slow during the holidays and applied for the position on a whim (saw the big sign on the front door) thinking I could basically earn what we spend on Chrismas presents. I still have younger kids, so I put my availability as after 7pm and all day on weekends so my husband could be home if I had to work at Target.

I found out my husband is going to be out of town from 12/2 - 12/7 (I could work the evening of 12/7). I thought he was done traveling for the year. The salary offered was $8.50/hr, but I pay my babysitters $10/hr cash. I would absolutely lose money by working any of those days. I'm not even sure many of my regular sitters (teens) would be able to work until midnight on a school night.

I plan on being up front with the person I interview with. How many days in this block do you think I could block off without completely jeopardizing getting hired?

 

[redandkhaki]

it really depends on the needs of the store but if you interviewed well and i thought you were going to show up for all the other shifts i would still hire you.

 

[PT Target]

Thanks for your great insight @redandkhaki. I can make myself available all other days of the holiday season (over the phone she specifically asked if I was available 11/27 & 28, 12/13 & 14, and 12/20 - 12/26 (except 12/25) and I am available all of those days) so hopefully that will be enough. I'd hire me: I'm a very responsible, dependable and bright person - but I may be a bit biased!

 

[redandkhaki]

It's really hard to find dependable people this time of the year so that's really my top priority when hiring someone. Good luck!

 

[Mhugh220]

If the store closes at midnight, some nights you may not leave the store until 1am because some stores hold the TMs back to zone and finish reshop. I've seen TMs stay until 2am or later before and that's when we closed at 11pm. Another scheduling flaw - you close on a Friday, leave at 1am or later, then you are scheduled to work Saturday at 8am.

Scheduling varies by store

 

[PT Target]

Thanks for you thoughts, Mhugh. The store closes at 11:00, so I was guessing midnight for just the reasons you said. Normally, I wouldn't care when I left, but I can't make a high schooler stay that late with my kids on a school night.

I had my interview last night. I was very upfront and told them that since submitting the online app, I found out about this last trip of the year and would need this time off due to the babysitter issue. The interview went well, and the person I interviewed with recommended me, but as I thought, there is a concern about the days that I need off. She said that she would bring the info to the people who do the scheduling and they would decide if they could work around those days. If they could, then I would move on to the second interview. I'm supposed to get a call this morning with a decision on the issue.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Our store closes at 11 too but as we get closer to Christmas and go into the beginning of the year for returns, we will stay opened until Midnight.
@PT Target, they may be reviewing the other applications to see if your schedule will work out. It may be a coin toss. And although they said they will call back today, it might be tomorrow or the next day depending when people are in who will make decisions and when people are in who will be calling you back.
Things come up all the time..IF you don't hear from them by tomorrow afternoon, give them a call to see if any decision has been made.
Good Luck!!

 

[Mhugh220]

@PT Target - I'd hire you as seasonal. Everyone gets what they want - you get a seasonal job with some hours and I get a TM who wants to work weekends during the holiday - win win. The reality for Target is that reliable seasonal TMs are hard to come by. They tend to leave you hanging about a week before Christmas.

 

[PT Target]

So, as PinkZinnia predicted, I have not heard from Target. Ordinarily I would be fine with waiting to hear from them, but I'm under a little bit of a time crunch.

I submitted one other seasonal app, to Toys R Us. They also called and I have an interview tomorrow. By the time TRU called, I had learned about my husband's trip and already cleared it with them before setting up the interview.

I'd prefer to work at Target for several reasons (primarily hours - TRU is overnights and closer to 40 hours a week, that's more than I wanted). I set the TRU interview out a couple of days from the Target one, hoping that I would have either an offer or a rejection from Target before interviewing with TRU because based upon reports on glassdoor, Toys R Us has a single interview process with offers made at the end of the interview.

I guess my question is - when is it too early to call and check in at Target? I will probably take the job at TRU if offered if I'm still in Target limbo (because (a) let's face it, it's an offer and (b) the plus side from the less than ideal hours are that they come with a higher hourly rate and, in the end, a bigger paycheck)

 

[PT Target]

Well, all's well that ends well. I accepted the position at Target. I was very surprised though - I thought I was slotted for a cashier, but they offered a position in softlines. Must have been my 4 years of working at the Gap in college that shifted that arrangement - I can still fold t-shirts and jeans to Gap standards with my eyes closed. Orientation is Sunday. Thanks everyone.

 

[commiecorvus]

Congratulations.