Applied online, got a call three days later to schedule a phone interview. Had the phone interview three days after that. I was asked the same questions listed by others on this site:
- Why do you want to work for Target?
- Name a time when you had to work as part of a team to accomplish a task.
- Name a time when you exceeded customer expectations.
- Name a time when you solved a problem.
The phone interview went well because I was prepared, and I was scheduled for a second, in-person interview three days later. The next interviewer asked the same cookie-cutter questions you can find here:
- Tell me about yourself and why you want to work for Target.
- Name a time when you made a mistake, and tell me what you did to correct it.
- Imagine a customer came to you saying she wanted a size of shoe we did not have in that particular style. How would you handle the situation?
- Imagine you are checking out a customer and something rings up as $X.XX. The customer says the price was supposed to be $X.XX. How would you handle that? (Note: After I gave my answer, the interviewer told me "Just so you know, we always correct the price up to a certain limit, so there is no need to hold up customers to check a small price discrepancy.")
I was told the interview went well, but that they did not make hiring decisions on Friday, so I was asked to come back on the following Monday to speak with the HR manager.
On Monday I was told I had to complete a questionnaire on the computer, which only took a few minutes and was basically just a repeat of a few questions that were in the original application. After I finished I was taken into a back room and offered a seasonal position for the whopping sum of $8 an hour and told that the position would end in January. I was also told that they are open all night on Black Friday and was expected to work during that time.
I was given a conditional offer of employment contingent on me passing a drug test and background check. The drug test had to be done at a nearby lab within 24 hours and was paid for by Target. I was told that background checks "were taking a while to complete" and that she didn't even know when the next orientation would be, that they would call to let me know as late as the night before, and it was possible that it would be rescheduled after that. I was also told that I would be required to buy my own uniform - khaki pants and red shirt.
The whole process was drawn out, unorganized, and made me think less of Target as a company. I couldn't believe how little they are paying their employees considering how successful they are - Wal-Mart pays more, has an organized hiring process, and is more flexible.
I accepted their ridiculous offer, but after I got home from the drug test I applied at every fast-food place I could think of. I would be getting paid the same at McDonald's and it would be a less stressful job with more perks.