Archived TM to ETL stories

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seespotrun

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I know there are some of you out there. Im curious, what was your journey like, how long did it take and is it worth it?
 
I can say that I showed my brand new ETL-GE how to clear a call box when I was a Hard Lines team member.

a guest set it off and when i got to it at the 15 second mark (I had to run to it) I got there and, she was like "OMG how do you stop it?!?"

Sorry, i thought this was TM to ETL moments.
 
Two former colleagues - both ETL-Logs - worked their way up from TM to ETL. Took them both 8 years total. One said the transition from Sr.TL to ETL was a pay cut, but only for the first 2 years. After that the pay increase was much better. Internal hires seemed to be the most dedicated and understanding of the process. Another TM to ETL took 12 years. I guess the journey depends on your leadership team helping you promote.

If you don't have a degree - don't plan on getting one - or have one but don't want to use it - the journey can be worth it. You can make a career out of retail management and you'll get paid well as you progress. I don't know if you can make STL status without a degree but you can make high $90k or low $100k at ETL status depending on location. Not bad at all for no college degree
 
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Mhugh220 said:
If you don't have a degree - don't plan on getting one - or have one but don't want to use it - the journey can be worth it. You can make a career out of retail management and you'll get paid well as you progress. I don't know if you can make STL status without a degree but you can make high $90k or low $100k at ETL status depending on location. Not bad at all for no college degree
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Maybe I'm wrong but I thought 4 year degrees were pretty much required for ETL now.
 
POGguy said:
Mhugh220 said:
If you don't have a degree - don't plan on getting one - or have one but don't want to use it - the journey can be worth it. You can make a career out of retail management and you'll get paid well as you progress. I don't know if you can make STL status without a degree but you can make high $90k or low $100k at ETL status depending on location. Not bad at all for no college degree
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Maybe I'm wrong but I thought 4 year degrees were pretty much required for ETL now.
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In the ETL job description and requirements found online or workbench, it states 4 year degree or equivalent work experience. Some districts only hire college grads while others promote from within without a degree requirement.

I've only seen the degree requirement used for external hires, with the exception of those with years of store management experience. It's common here to still promote TLs to ETL without a degree. Takes more time but it can still be accomplished.
 
When I first started with Spot, we had a team meber who got promoted to team lead( this is when you had one for every area) She became the team lead for HBA...we had a dtl visit, dtl thought HBA looked better than ever. About 6 months later she was off to district offices in a red blazer ( those that have been with Spot awhile will remember those) and was promoted to etl/hr. I haven't seen a Tm to etl since then. ( This was about 18 years ago btw), One of Spots Senior Vice Presidents...worked his way up from being a cart attendant to his current position. I wont mention names ( not sure if that's a liability thing but he the senior vice president for the north east stores and based out of Philly ...so you can google him )
 
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I met Samir - he was our VP. Buttholes tightened when our district heard he was coming for a visit.

These videos remind me of Nazi propaganda. They make everything seem like a dream but in reality they'll take your soul. ETLs are fed this BS all the time. I remember one meeting we had after our STL returned from a huge gathering in MN. She came in blasting Katy Perry Eye of the Tiger song, wanted us to go around the room acting like tigers ( which all of the college kids did), and gave us Tiger masks and toy tigers. WTF did yall smoke up in MN? I couldn't take my STL serious after that shit. How can I improve metrics? I'll have my flow team act like tigers. I'm glad to be away from that Michael Jackson, Disneyland fairy tale shit.

CA to ETL was a reality in the 80s and 90s. Not so much today.
 
My current ETL-LOG started his career at Spot as a cart attendant. I'm not sure how old he is, but he's been at my store for at least 10 years.

He has one of the most generic names ever (very common first & last names) so even if I tried, I couldn't find him on the internet.

Ninja edit: they put a placard in the breakroom with people's birthdays and work anniversaries. Said ETL has a work anniversary later this week- he will have been with Spot for 22 years.
 
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Mhugh220 said:
I remember one meeting we had after our STL returned from a huge gathering in MN. She came in blasting Katy Perry Eye of the Tiger song, wanted us to go around the room acting like tigers ( which all of the college kids did), and gave us Tiger masks and toy tigers. WTF did yall smoke up in MN? I couldn't take my STL serious after that shit. How can I improve metrics? I'll have my flow team act like tigers. I'm glad to be away from that Michael Jackson, Disneyland fairy tale shit.
Click to expand...

As much as my STL and ETLs drink the Kool-Aid, I seriously doubt any of them would get away with pulling that crap at my store. The majority of the team would point and laugh, then walk out the door and never return.
 
My store has all internal hires for ETLs except for one. They all worked for Target during their college years and
went from TM -> TL -> ETL. I'm not sure how long it took each one, since they all have different paths, one went from
TM -> TL -> Sr. TL -> ETL. I actually like this, they all seem really knowledgeable and they have more realistic expectations.

One of my friends went directly from TM to ETL. Normally you do the internship to go this route, he was too late to apply though.
So he directly applied for ETL instead. He had a really close relationship with his STL and he always did support help at other stores
and remodel, so I think that helped him out too.
 
Mhugh220 said:
I met Samir - he was our VP. Buttholes tightened when our district heard he was coming for a visit.

These videos remind me of Nazi propaganda. They make everything seem like a dream but in reality they'll take your soul. ETLs are fed this BS all the time. I remember one meeting we had after our STL returned from a huge gathering in MN. She came in blasting Katy Perry Eye of the Tiger song, wanted us to go around the room acting like tigers ( which all of the college kids did), and gave us Tiger masks and toy tigers. WTF did yall smoke up in MN? I couldn't take my STL serious after that shit. How can I improve metrics? I'll have my flow team act like tigers. I'm glad to be away from that Michael Jackson, Disneyland fairy tale shit.

CA to ETL was a reality in the 80s and 90s. Not so much today.
Click to expand...

My STL must have been the opposite, apparently she asked something about myTime that wasn't appreciated at fall national, and she was told she must not be an "engaged leader" since myTime wasn't working for her.

I will say there wasn't a whole lot of koolaid drinking in my store. She was great though. In her own way.
 
My story? I was a seasonal TM with a bachelor's degree and no adult job, so my ETL recommended that I apply for ETL through the college recruitment process (I was in grad school at the time). I went through interviews all the way up to DTL and was signed off as Sr TL and told that it would just be a stepping-stone to ETL.

Except then they just made me a TL until they opened up the 3rd SrTL position at my store. And then seven months later made me reinterview for the SrTL spot that I was already signed off on. (Surprise! I got it.)

And then every six months my STL would lie to me and tell me that he was going to be sending me to ETL interviews. That lie went on for two years till I finally found a better job a left the company two months ago. I know that TL-to-ETL is possible (I've personally worked with two ETLs that were former SrTLs). But it is difficult and rare. Most SrTLs get stuck there, because they're doing the job of an ETL for much less pay. Why would the company want to promote them? It's easier to find a better job if you're salaried, because it looks better to an employer. So instead they keep you stuck at SrTL, hoping you have no better options.
 
The only "TM" to ETL I have ever seen were TPS getting promoted. TPS also get paid like and are considered a TL, I believe. Just can't document conversations.
 
My first step in becoming TL was letting my ETL know I wanted to move up. He paired with a mentor a SR TL who was once a TM and worked his way up. I'm still learning from him but frankly you have to take initiative to learn on your own. I would constantly go on workbench and read training guides on stuff I wanted to learn. There is endless information on there. Further more I took the time to read up on leadership just went to the local library and sat my ass down. Leadership secrets of Atilla the Hun that book will blow your mind. Finally day came and position opened up my mentor told me to talk to the STL tell him I was intersted. In his office he stated that he was aware I wanted to be team lead but asked why I'd best be fit for this position. This is where you have to sell yourself and dump everything you've learned on the STL. I created a vision while I was in dry market created goals to achieve vision and outlined objectives to meet those gosls. Learned to do this in one of the leadership books I read. Everything I had done in my opinion was irrelevant cause ultimately by selling myself I got the go a head to be interviewed. I never got recognized for the things I did, didn't meet people's expectation aside from performing better then most. I was never on the employee of the month wall, but I realized they took the time to to test me to see if I had to balls to push forward aside from everything. The one thing you need if you wanna be a leader is emotional stability. My recognition was my promotion to TL, I have only worked for spot 1 year and a few months. Now to make this clear I'm the last person if you worked with me you'd think they'd promote. I'm a proud mexican Paisa ass cholo, straight tatted bald with a goatee. Though never will you see me in baggy clothes my shirt tucked out or wearing those ridicules vest. Regardless of who you are spot will work with you if you really want it. If you're on this forum complaining that you're not taken seriously perhaps it's because you'd rather complain about the problem and blame others then taking the time to do something about it. - Team Lead sleepy
 
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