Archived So my interview

[Signingminotaur]

Telling me they really liked my but i havent lead a team, sorry that as a tm i dont have the authority to lead a team, so that blonde that has a degree in finger painting can run a store but the signing guy with a proven track record of hard work and ethics for 8 years in various work centers cant possibly be given a chance to run a team, considering they just promoted a tm with less time than me to run a major workcenter, i guess i just need to Sit on workbench all day and play on my phone that shows leadership

 

[commiecorvus]

The trick is learning to formulate your answers to create the global sense of dynamic awareness that they are seeking (and kiss a lot of ass).

 

[Signingminotaur]

I tried i Used my understanding of the total store and processes and to use that ability to lead my team and provide guest service and drive sales, i got all the good feedback you could get but then they drop that on me, the stl backed me and said i want you for this tl spot, i cant say im supprised though, i just need to vent

 

[GlobalTL123]

That is so true about sitting on workbench and playing on the phone. I see it too often that these kinds of people are the "hipos" and the people that are hardworking and know their stuff are overlooked. Hang in there and try again or just go somewhere else that will value you more!

 

[Signingminotaur]

I have an app at a new store that opened, and they seem like a decent company and could have a shot at a manager position, i went because the stl pulled me aside and told me they wanted me to get it so i tried, i didnt blow smoke up their a$$ told them what i offered there loss ill just do my signing and coast to my paychecks like everyone else

 

[greydot]

Just for the record - the signing core roles do involve leadership. You are supposed to be able to "step-in", which is something that I was actually surprised to see still there. But then again - no one I know reads those things anyway.

As a signing tm you coordinate with most leaders in the building, and are personally responsible for the execution of your workload. Are you or have you been a trainer? All of these things coincide with leadership without directly leading a team.

not that any of that helps now.

 

[pfreshdude]

Ive given up trying for a TL position and am putting out applications now. Been trained in Backroom, Electronics, Salesfloor, Ad Team, and am a PA. I have lead the overnight AD team, C+S teams, as well as being asked to be a team trainer twice the last 2 years. Have over a year of experience as a shift leader at my previous job as well. It pretty much requires kissing alot of ass, learning how to target talk, and making it through all the hoops they put you through

 

[Signingminotaur]

@greydot exactly, thats how i tried to work my answers, being responsible for the whole salesfloor, i partner with every tm and tl and etl when something is going on i work with our reps and vendors like impact or rms, but they still said i need to lead a team, ill just refer to myself in the 3rd person and boss myself around on the walkie

 

[stupid rules]

Here's the possibilities I see from your post. This isn't what I think, but what I see they may think.
1. They just don't see you as TL material. I know, it's complete bull****. Some new hire ETL who doesn't have a clue how **** runs is now there judging your performance.
2. You might play the victim and make excuses instead of getting stuff done. You say you don't have a team to lead, lead your peers, lead the plano team, or salesfloor team.
3. They may think your performance is high but your potential is low. Perhaps you actually do work, and well, we know that gets you nowhere at Target.

 

[Signingminotaur]

I agree, i just needed to vent a bit, my stl told me if i want to lead truck one day, or plano he will make it happen. So its not like i blew my chance if i decide to take it, but when you go to interview at district office and all you see is blonde sorority type women lol kinda irks you

 

[redeye58]

....all you see is blonde sorority type women lol kinda irks you

Had a gaggle of 'em come thru my Starbux line the other day, ordering their skinny lattes.
I just wanted to hide in the walk-in until they were gone.
Sounded just like a bunch of grackles.

 

[stupid rules]

I agree, i just needed to vent a bit, my stl told me if i want to lead truck one day, or plano he will make it happen. So its not like i blew my chance if i decide to take it, but when you go to interview at district office and all you see is blonde sorority type women lol kinda irks you

I swear to God I don't get why stupid ass, lazy people get the promotions. They don't do a ****ing thing.

 

[TargetOldTimer]

@greydot exactly, thats how i tried to work my answers, being responsible for the whole salesfloor, i partner with every tm and tl and etl when something is going on i work with our reps and vendors like impact or rms, but they still said i need to lead a team, ill just refer to myself in the 3rd person and boss myself around on the walkie

I've always said, a good signing person is invisible. Their job gets done with minimal help or direction. If we do it well, we are left alone.

That can be a major hinderance when trying to promote.

Have you thought about trying for a SFT position? Little late for me, I'm way too set in my ways, but I've always thought I would be great at it.

 

[PricingMaster]

A good signing person can get the job done with minimal help or direction, however, you should be in constant communication with Plano, TLs, ETLs, and even the STL. Let them know what your plans are to get the job done for the week - sit with the Plano TL to create a plan, then send e-mails to the Leadership team to communicate a tentative plan to get the work done.
I've been working without an ETL since last March (there was a replacement ETL for Softlines, however that ETL was told not to bother receiving any Price Accuracy training or worry about the team because I had it under control), but this didn't keep me from communicating with that person (who by the way really didn't want anything to do with Pricing and just wanted to focus on Softlines), the rest of the ETLs, and the STL as to what my plan was to complete the workload for each day. They all greatly appreciated it because they knew what I would be doing, what areas would be getting marked down, and if the workload was light, they knew that they could ask me to be resilient and adaptable and work in other areas (sometimes working the Early Morning truck).
Another thing they may be looking for is for you to take on Captainships outside of your normal workcenter. I've been the Inventory Co-Captain the past 3 years and also captained up the NCF Toys this past 4th Quarter to prep for the Toy Markdown. Don't wait for them to offer you a project - go to them for one or even create on yourself. I'm currently awaiting the Green Light for a District wide project that I came up with and presented to both my STL (wanted to get her opinion on it) and DTL.

To sum it up: communicate, collaborate, and innovate.

 

[commiecorvus]

I've always said, a good signing person is invisible. Their job gets done with minimal help or direction. If we do it well, we are left alone.

That can be a major hinderance when trying to promote.

Have you thought about trying for a SFT position? Little late for me, I'm way too set in my ways, but I've always thought I would be great at it.

It seems like the only time we do get noticed is if we fall behind or if they need something.

A good signing person can get the job done with minimal help or direction, however, you should be in constant communication with Plano, TLs, ETLs, and even the STL.
Let them know what your plans are to get the job done for the week - sit with the Plano TL to create a plan, then send e-mails to the Leadership team to communicate a tentative plan to get the work done.

This.
It also helps if you speak up at the huddles to recognize fellow TM's for the times they help you (at least 2 or 3 times a week) and be be proactive about certain things like the fixture room.
Do short, informative pieces on how to best store shelving or peg hooks (avoid a snarky tone, something I have a problem with).
This will make clear to the ETL's that you have leadership ability and are willing to take it on without prompting.

 

[pfreshdude]

A good signing person can get the job done with minimal help or direction, however, you should be in constant communication with Plano, TLs, ETLs, and even the STL. Let them know what your plans are to get the job done for the week - sit with the Plano TL to create a plan, then send e-mails to the Leadership team to communicate a tentative plan to get the work done.
I've been working without an ETL since last March (there was a replacement ETL for Softlines, however that ETL was told not to bother receiving any Price Accuracy training or worry about the team because I had it under control), but this didn't keep me from communicating with that person (who by the way really didn't want anything to do with Pricing and just wanted to focus on Softlines), the rest of the ETLs, and the STL as to what my plan was to complete the workload for each day. They all greatly appreciated it because they knew what I would be doing, what areas would be getting marked down, and if the workload was light, they knew that they could ask me to be resilient and adaptable and work in other areas (sometimes working the Early Morning truck).
Another thing they may be looking for is for you to take on Captainships outside of your normal workcenter. I've been the Inventory Co-Captain the past 3 years and also captained up the NCF Toys this past 4th Quarter to prep for the Toy Markdown. Don't wait for them to offer you a project - go to them for one or even create on yourself. I'm currently awaiting the Green Light for a District wide project that I came up with and presented to both my STL (wanted to get her opinion on it) and DTL.

To sum it up: communicate, collaborate, and innovate.

Your doing all this as a TM or TL?

 

[PricingMaster]

I'm now doing it as a TL, but when I was a lowly TM, I did projects, took on captainships, and showed my (then) ETL and STL that I had leadership material. When on the salesfloor, if I was opening and the closing TL called out, I would offer to stay and pull a double (once upon a time we were allowed overtime), and act as the leader on the floor, both in Softlines and Hardlines. When I would also do instocks, if it was my weekend on (which would be the TL's weekend off), I took on the leadership role (again, this was when there were more hours for the teams).
Even as a TL, I'm still taking on projects outside of my core roles and coming up with my own.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

I'm now doing it as a TL, but when I was a lowly TM, I did projects, took on captainships, and showed my (then) ETL and STL that I had leadership material. When on the salesfloor, if I was opening and the closing TL called out, I would offer to stay and pull a double (once upon a time we were allowed overtime), and act as the leader on the floor, both in Softlines and Hardlines. When I would also do instocks, if it was my weekend on (which would be the TL's weekend off), I took on the leadership role (again, this was when there were more hours for the teams).
Even as a TL, I'm still taking on projects outside of my core roles and coming up with my own.

Go pm go!

 

[stupid rules]

and act as the leader on the floor, both in Softlines and Hardlines. When I would also do instocks, if it was my weekend on (which would be the TL's weekend off), I took on the leadership role (again, this was when there were more hours for the teams).

I remember those days, now the only thing I get to lead is my feet to the area I've been assigned to complete for the day.

 

[nof]

Ive given up trying for a TL position and am putting out applications now. Been trained in Backroom, Electronics, Salesfloor, Ad Team, and am a PA. I have lead the overnight AD team, C+S teams, as well as being asked to be a team trainer twice the last 2 years. Have over a year of experience as a shift leader at my previous job as well. It pretty much requires kissing alot of ass, learning how to target talk, and making it through all the hoops they put you through

Pa is one of the hardest areas to get promoted from on the sales floor.

Many many many etl's and tl's have zero idea what goes on over there and know next to nothing about food.

When i was a PA i missed a few tl opps. After that i talked to my ctl and told him i needed more opportunities outside of my workcenter so that i could be seen more and have the opportunity to run other work centers.

I would talk with plano/pricing tl's about getting their tm's to short date items.

Also dont just fix problems that br tm's and flow tms leave all over the place. Get the lod involved it shows that you have awareness of issues and how the affect the store.

I dont know how lenient your store is but you can also push to get a table set up in the front of the store when you get a ton of those fab sugar cookies pushed on u.

In your interviews you should really try to talk about how you helped to drive the food culture in target and spread it amongst other tms and tls.

Always talk about tpcs and big sales going on, you'd be shocked how many tms never buy groceries even though they can get 15% off. Mention some sale + red card/employee discount. With that small statement your driving sales, pushing red cards, and making ppl aware of food in your store.

While those arent fantastic examples of leadership, they are a great way of showing that you have the ability to take a work center and drive it to the next level and your showing everyone in the store how passionate and excited you are about food...etc etc

The list goes on and on and on

If they still dont like you for tl, take all the knowledge and feedback they gave you and use it in interviews elsewhere to get a better job 🙂

 

[pfreshdude]

Ive given up trying for a TL position and am putting out applications now. Been trained in Backroom, Electronics, Salesfloor, Ad Team, and am a PA. I have lead the overnight AD team, C+S teams, as well as being asked to be a team trainer twice the last 2 years. Have over a year of experience as a shift leader at my previous job as well. It pretty much requires kissing alot of ass, learning how to target talk, and making it through all the hoops they put you through

Pa is one of the hardest areas to get promoted from on the sales floor.

Many many many etl's and tl's have zero idea what goes on over there and know next to nothing about food.

When i was a PA i missed a few tl opps. After that i talked to my ctl and told him i needed more opportunities outside of my workcenter so that i could be seen more and have the opportunity to run other work centers.

I would talk with plano/pricing tl's about getting their tm's to short date items.

Also dont just fix problems that br tm's and flow tms leave all over the place. Get the lod involved it shows that you have awareness of issues and how the affect the store.

I dont know how lenient your store is but you can also push to get a table set up in the front of the store when you get a ton of those fab sugar cookies pushed on u.

In your interviews you should really try to talk about how you helped to drive the food culture in target and spread it amongst other tms and tls.

Always talk about tpcs and big sales going on, you'd be shocked how many tms never buy groceries even though they can get 15% off. Mention some sale + red card/employee discount. With that small statement your driving sales, pushing red cards, and making ppl aware of food in your store.

While those arent fantastic examples of leadership, they are a great way of showing that you have the ability to take a work center and drive it to the next level and your showing everyone in the store how passionate and excited you are about food...etc etc

The list goes on and on and on

If they still dont like you for tl, take all the knowledge and feedback they gave you and use it in interviews elsewhere to get a better job 🙂

They walk pfresh every day twice they should have some idea haha. Flow TMS dont touch our product. For the truck most of the push team works in market allready so we know what to do. Plano always finds outdates and sets them aside for us. If there is something really short dated they will let us know, but usually its just outdates. We dont have a table up front but we do put excess product up there in one spot or on a checklane endcap if we need to. I hadnt thought of using the food safety and food culture talk in interviews though.

 

[nof]

Well either way you can beef up your answers for an interview at another target/company saying you got those things done

 

[nof]

They walk pfresh every day twice they should have some idea haha.

You'd be surprised i had an etl thatd id known for over a year and id been a pa for around 9 months ask me if i knew how to backstock an item lol..

 

[PStorm]

Got promoted to a TL from a PA after being a PA for like 7 months. It helped that the CTL went on a few vacations during that time and the other PA was on leave. During the interviews, pretty much all of my answers revolved around how well I communicated. I partnered with vendors, Team Leads, ETL's, and other Team Members to complete various side projects and resolve issues. Whenever our DTL and Food BP walked PFresh, I walked with them, asked, and answered questions the the ETL's didn't know. Like the other poster said and like I was told, it doesn't matter how good of a worker you are since, if you say you are that good, your work will show and speak for you. The executive leadership team needs to know that you can lead a team. Having plenty of examples I could use where I worked with someone else to get something done was probably a big reason why I got promoted.

On the other hand, sometimes it could be that you interviewed poorly. I know a few people at my store who would have made pretty good Team Leads, but couldn't speak to their experiences, didn't understand the "Tell me about a time..." statement, or just couldn't compose themselves and give answers without stuttering. Not saying that's what happened to the OP, but for anyone who is reading this topic and plans on going for a promotion of any kind, communication is key. It doesn't matter what you have done or who you have done it with. What matters is how well you communicate those experiences to the interviewer.

 

[pfreshdude]

They walk pfresh every day twice they should have some idea haha.

You'd be surprised i had an etl thatd id known for over a year and id been a pa for around 9 months ask me if i knew how to backstock an item lol..

lol I worked seasonal backroom my first season there after doing salesfloor for a couple months so I know all about backroom =). I sometimes do the pulls too if they are behind