Archived Visual Merchandiser

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signingminion said:
My goal is to apply for every position, even if I won't get it so they can never say they didn't realize I had interest in promoting... plus it makes them go though the movements. Lol.
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What happens if you end up getting a position you didn't really want?

"Well nobody else applied, so congrats signingminion, you're the new Flow TL! Don't fuck up or you're fired."
 
SFSFun said:
What happens if you end up getting a position you didn't really want?

"Well nobody else applied, so congrats signingminion, you're the new Flow TL! Don't fuck up or you're fired."
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Easier to move laterally once you are a tl then get to tl.... at least in our district. I've applied for ctl, fatl, vmtl, hltl, and the fake tl to get on the bench. Would have applied for sbtl if the crew didn't have someone they really wanted applying so I didn't want to risk it. Lol. But I've done McDonald's... food ave or sbux is liveable.
 
So I started doing interviews for VM position. I don't interview well. Basically Im doing the TL interview and if I don't get the VM job but pass the interview I can be placed on the bench for a TL position. I didn't like my answers on my first interview but I had a hard time coming up with a situation that applied to the question.
 
jb08045 said:
Useless position. Just zone
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HRZone said:
You clearly don't have one or yours is just really bad at their job
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I agree with HRZone!

If you have ever tried to merchandise a set of mannequins and all their corresponding racks, quads, and convertibles to tell a "color story" or a "story" of any kind based only on what you have in the store then you know this is not an easy job like some people suppose. Or merchandising those tables over in hardlines to make them look inviting and make sense based on the stock you have for that department once a set is broken. It's not just throwing up any clothes you grab or laying down any product you have at hand, not if it's done right. Believe me, I know. Sometimes you have a lot to work with and sometimes you don't have much at all but it still has to look VM worthy for leadership.

Now, if your leadership doesn't check in or doesn't care and neither does your district bosses, then okay... you have an easy job for better pay than any other job in the store. In our district, not so. Our DTL doesn't care about corporate adjacency books. She cares about how the sets look and if they're moving product. In other words sales have to benefit. It's a lovely job if you have the knack for it but if you don't it's just a bloody headache.

Yes, they give you ideas in the VM guides but quite often corporate sends clothing way ahead of the guide and guests buy the clothing down to the point that you don't have enough to make a set with what they suggest. Or what they suggest is just NOT on point for your area. (VMs have to pay attention to what people are wearing in their area of the country.) Again, sets are designed to not only look fabulous but move product. And the recommended rotation for mannequins is every two weeks. VM guides do not come out that often so most of the time they are making up their own sets. Bear in mind there are currently 10 mannequins in RTW alone (not sure how many on the 2.0 upgrade).

I think the hardlines suggested sets in the VM guide are always there for the first setting but they don't send new planos often enough for those tables and so when the set sales down or out the VM has to make it look like they got another set in with whatever is on hand. Takes imagination...

I do get that the VMTL or VM in every store is not necessarily living up to the intended potential of the job and maybe in your store it does look easy and overpaid because of this. In that case it's the individual NOT the position that's useless. If you could see a store where it is properly managed, I think you'd feel differently.

And no, I'm not a VM or VMTL but I do work with them and see what they have to do to keep our leadership happy.
 
RightArm said:
I do get that the VMTL or VM in every store is not necessarily living up to the intended potential of the job and maybe in your store it does look easy and overpaid because of this. In that case it's the individual NOT the position that's useless. If you could see a store where it is properly managed, I think you'd feel differently.
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Exactly. I was hired as a VMTL before the position was even posted online... My management had no clue what I was supposed to be doing or what my job entailed when I began. I think this is the biggest issue the position has faced since it opened up. I was told Target opened the position before knowing exactly what the position was in order to scoop up the many visual merchandisers from Macy's (?) who's jobs had been eliminated. Sooooo then of course you get hundreds of new VMTLs with years of experience working for a company with zero VM standards... it took me a while to get into routines and learn what VM practices worked for my store... my VMML no longer holds conference calls, sends very little communication, and has visited my store once... it's a very self-motivated position to say the least.
 
Nokiddiegloves said:
So Ive been encouraged to apply for the VM position for another store that does not have a VML. I was all excited for the position until a) I was told several other people were interested in the job and b) that people on here said they weren't interested in hiring internal. I read the description and its all stuff I have experience in. Any advice?
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Go for it, more money, and apparently you can do whatever you want and then complain and get paid. (My History with our VML).
 
Has anyone landed a vml job? We had an amazing internal apply and she was turned down because they wanted someone outside of target. Amazing
 
HRZone said:
Has anyone landed a vml job? We had an amazing internal apply and she was turned down because they wanted someone outside of target. Amazing
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Exactly and we ended up with someone who knows fucking nothing and when sent to another store for training. They were in the middle of a remodel so she pushed tubs of hardlines for a week. Trained on nothing.. Her TM's are so pissed they are having to train this little upstart twit.
 
Bosch said:
Exactly and we ended up with someone who knows fucking nothing and when sent to another store for training. They were in the middle of a remodel so she pushed tubs of hardlines for a week. Trained on nothing.. Her TM's are so pissed they are having to train this little upstart twit.
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Yeah it's ironic we pass over our brand tms for vmtl then ask their team to train them once they start.
 
Our VMTL is basically a team of one. We don't have other team members under the VM title because we are low volume but is pretty much a softlines team lead since we don't really have a softlines team leader because most of our team leads are seniors or above. I notice a lot of VMLs in my district like to show off their work on social media. Not sure if that is a requirement of the job.
 
Hardlinesmaster said:
We don't have a vmtl right now. Are any of the original posters still working for spot, in this thread?
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I've been in the VMTL position for approx 2 years now.... but I've been in Visual my entire career. My immediate peers that I partner w/ regularly , have also been w/ Target for approx 2 years; but they, too, have spent their careers in Visual.
I do see the turnover in other stores; and it's a HIGH turnover rate. There is virtually NO training for this position. So, if someone has never done this type of work before, they'll be lost. It's a vague and ambiguous position, unless you know what you're doing. My peers and I have been doing this work for many years, we have a very good grasp of what the company wants and the direction we're going. This position is not a "point and tell" position; It's a "show and tell" position. I know some of you will disagree w/ me, but a (good) VMTL does have an "eye" for things; and we have a specific "skill-set" that others may not have naturally.
You MUST have an STL that has definitive expectations for the VMTL role. By now, the stores SHOULD look and FEEL very different than they did 2 years ago. Your VMTL should be taking your store to a whole different level of "Merchandise Presentation".
I have a fantastic partnership w/ my STL. They trust me completely with elevating our merchandising style, they trust me w/ driving sales through fashion merchandising, and they trust me to train and develop a strong A&A Team.
I hope all stores will find the right person for the position SOON and stop the turnover madness !
 
R2d2 said:
3th.
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vQ8G3cI.gif
 
sprinklesontop said:
By now, the stores SHOULD look and FEEL very different than they did 2 years ago. Your VMTL should be taking your store to a whole different level
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We finally have a good vmtl. She's amazing and actually got promoted to senior. Every other one I have had sucked, the one good one i had got fired.
 
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If the vmtl has a degree she o he said that they didt go to college to that [moving steel and get dirty] and if they did not have college they say is to much work even if they like the money ... just imagin if they know that they need to be in charge of a&a
 
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