Archived Staring at "The Bench"... What have I done?

[JustJoe]

I've essentially been treading water for the past couple of years at Spot, learning how to be a "Global" team member. I've held leadership positions at our competitors and really want to make some more money. The job market is tough in my area, so the obvious choice is to look within. So.... I recently approached my TL to mention that I'm ready to move up. I mentioned that I want to move back into leadership and I already work here (we're both a little jaded for various reasons and we occasionally bounce our problems against each other). Following the logical progression I then approached my ETL. She was happy to see that I want to move up and I immediately asked for feedback for some things I can work on in the short term. Hunting down the ETL-HR is a different story. It took a week and a half to get her free for 5 minutes while I was on the clock and not up to my ears with workload that the rest of my team left for me at noon. She was psyched (or at least feigning enthusiasm) and mentioned there is a workshop that she will drag me to next month for potential team leads.

We'll see how that goes. In the meantime I have to go from my normal "not be seen nor heard" so I can get my work done to "I'm so happy be working at Target!!!" and be global and visible.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You can apply for tl job on ehr.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

I've essentially been treading water for the past couple of years at Spot, learning how to be a "Global" team member. I've held leadership positions at our competitors and really want to make some more money. The job market is tough in my area, so the obvious choice is to look within. So.... I recently approached my TL to mention that I'm ready to move up. I mentioned that I want to move back into leadership and I already work here (we're both a little jaded for various reasons and we occasionally bounce our problems against each other). Following the logical progression I then approached my ETL. She was happy to see that I want to move up and I immediately asked for feedback for some things I can work on in the short term. Hunting down the ETL-HR is a different story. It took a week and a half to get her free for 5 minutes while I was on the clock and not up to my ears with workload that the rest of my team left for me at noon. She was psyched (or at least feigning enthusiasm) and mentioned there is a workshop that she will drag me to next month for potential team leads.

We'll see how that goes. In the meantime I have to go from my normal "not be seen nor heard" so I can get my work done to "I'm so happy be working at Target!!!" and be global and visible.

I am in the same boat, and I handle selling bullshit about as well an Eskimo in Trinidad and Tobago

 

[JustJoe]

You can apply for tl job on ehr.

That doesn't work at my store and/or my district. I've applied for several TL jobs that went to outside hires without a peep from HR.

 

[Voicetarget]

You're responsible for your own development, so you need to continue following up with your TL/ETL about your progress. Many times, they have different many other priorities to attend to, so waiting for the tl or etl to approach you is like waiting to win the lottery.

 

[APredux]

Congratulations, you've taken the first big step. Keep being proactive about your development and don't be afraid to follow up with leadership about what you need to do to prove you are ready to be a TL. Ask for help figuring out your strengths and opportunities, then focus on turning your opportunitie(s) into strengths.

Every leader should be developing someone, so it's in their best interest to see you develop and promote.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

That doesn't work at my store and/or my district. I've applied for several TL jobs that went to outside hires without a peep from HR.

That way, they can't say they didn't know.

 

[JustJoe]

Digging this one up for an update:
Had an interview a few weeks ago with the ETL-LOG. Seemed positive. Then I spoke with the ETL-HR who explained the process from that point. She mentioned about taking me to the upcoming development workshop in July (You have two days left, ETL-HR!). One of the open spots was filled internally and he moved into the role last week. The other spot was an external hire "fresh out of college with what looks like very little relevant work experience" who started today. Had a quick chat with one of the other TMs who was gunning for promotion. We are not amused.

I'm now actively seeking advancement opportunities... at another company. It's not that I didn't get a position the first time around, it's the "talent" that they're bringing in off the streets. We had a hardlines/consumables TL who vanished without a trace after being on the job for a few months. We had a softlines TL who quit a few months in. I don't know what the hell happened with all of the team lead swapping that's been going on for the past few months. We had two other recent internal promotions that I don't have a problem with, but now that we are up to full TL capacity the only areas to look at are other stores or outside the company. Our district covers a rather wide area and it will take a big promotion to get me to move to the other end of the district.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

You may want to apply for job at another company. spot does like to dangle a carrot from a stick a lot.

 

[RS190]

You probably don't want to hear this, but that's how it goes. People hire the wrong people for promotions all the time, be it they saw an opportunity to pay the other person less than what they'd have to offer you, or they felt that the person "fresh out of college" would do better (which has been explained to me and it makes sense, even if it pisses off other people) or any number from an infinite number of possible other reasons. You know how many times I got passed over for promotions? Six times, and it pissed me off to no end each time. But I stuck with it because I understood we work in a world of Retail Darwinism. If the person they hired instead of you is actually good at their job then you just have to take a bow and admit they made a good pick (I'm not saying you apply to this mindset, but too many people feel they and only they are suited for a potential promotion and everyone else is a terrible choice in comparison). If it turns out that the person they hired is bad then they'll be out soon enough. If you're as good as the position you think you deserve the cream does rise to the top. It might just take a little while.

Another thing to consider, and I have friends that found this out the hard way, is Spot's not special, it's not unique. There's next to no reason to believe that the things that happened to you at Spot won't happen anywhere else you apply. If you want my opinion (or even if you don't, here it is) you already put the time into Spot, you're better off sticking to it unless you get a much better offer from somewhere else. Just take more charge of the course of your career.

-Find a mentor (if you want to be GSTL, partner with your ETL-GE, if you want to be Logistic Team Lead, ETL-Log, etc. etc.) and talk to them constantly about your development
-Seek feedback, ask specifically what are you good at, what do you suck at, and how they'd suggest to improve.
-Getting a promotion is almost just as much about your interview skills as it is your actual skills. At the end of any interview when they ask if you have questions (which they'll always ask you) make sure you solicit feedback. Again, honing your interview ability is just as important.



Cliffs: Just keep trying, if they suck they'll be out soon enough and you'll get in

 

[asidius]

You may want to apply for job at another company. spot does like to dangle a carrot from a stick a lot.

I'm still having that carrot dangling. They made me backroom trainer and a digital advisor but in May they laid out this 8 week plan to becoming a team lead. Never heard a word since. I've pretty much given up on it, and actively try to avoid my ETLs because of how they handled it. If they want me to be a TL, they'll approach me.

 

[JustJoe]

I'm in price accuracy and our score sucks, so that reflects on us (and me as someone who wants to promote). Not to be a jerk about advancement but I had a totally different experience advancing at Wally/Sam's. They have a system where you enter the jobs that you want to do and online assessments that you have to pass to qualify for certain positions. You can change your job preferences at any time and you can select the stores you would be willing to transfer to. There is no applying for open positions every 60 days (except for externals) and if you are being considered you are contacted to interview if it involves a promotion or if you transfer they may want to chat with you. If you transfer the incoming store will create the transfer and your current manager will sit down with you and both have to sign off on it in the system. Once that's done the day that you agree to start at the new store is the day your logins begin to work there. Their system got me promoted and transferred to another state with a great deal of transparency. None of the BS that various TMs have complained about on this site regarding transfers.

I'm actively looking elsewhere as I'm frequently taken advantage of due to my availability and this whole PA 8AM crap.

 

[RedDog]

Target is not in the best of ways. Leadership is at it lowest at every level as when things started going down hill the best and brightest got the heck out for the most part. On top of that Target used to have a great focus on a standard for hiring and training leadership. That is gone and it seems every district just does whatever it wants and training as barely existent. If Target comes out its downward slump that might change but, it seems at this point the focus is more on finding a magic bullet to fix the company instead of just getting the basics right.