Archived It's time for me to get out of Target

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I was in your shoes, too! I worked for Target for six years, moved up a couple of times and worked in three different stores in two different states. I have a BS too. After several interesting things happened to me, and after making some life-changing decisions, I realized I could not work for Target anymore. It was too much of a burden on me mentally and physically. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, so why wasn't I going after it?

Like everyone else who talks about leaving without actually doing it, I was afraid. But again, things happened to me that made me realize I'm better than this stupid ass job. I'm better than working for a bunch of people who don't actually care about me, and see me as totally replaceable (hell, they always have a TL or ETL lined up, because nobody stays with Target after seeing the crap they put you through daily). I'm better than falling into a vicious, "woe-is-me", I hate my job, cycle that most other people fall into. And frankly, I hate being told I can only work 40 hours a week. What if I want to work more? They cap you off at a certain number of hours and pay rate, so there is no chance to make more than what, $50,000 a year? NO. NOT FOR ME! I'm glad some people are okay with not having the chance to make more money than that. I'm glad people settle into mediocracy and think they've got a great life.

GOOD FOR YOU. I can't say that enough. Target is an extremely stressful environment to work in with zero rewards for doing a great job (well, the execs and STL get rewarded - that's really nice for them). ETLs are always completely backward, never know what they are doing, they are never on the same page with each other, they make up their own rules as they go, and they can never just say "great job." No, they have to add on a "but next time", or "in the future". Not to mention the politics, omg. I had two peers for over a year who got away with doing whatever they wanted in the store! Both of them should have been fired years ago for being totally incompetant, childish leaders. Unfortunately, they knew a huge secret about the STL and ETL HR so they were protected. I'm done with that. I'll go to where I am appreciated until I own my own business.
 
I used to love my job. Sometimes I still do but things are different now. They push out the people with experience, promote the people that don't and never did any real hands on work and the execs. we have now just got out of college and most of them never worked before that. Everything is paper work, metrics and delegation. I remember when team leads actually set their sale planners and execs rolled up there sleeves to help out when the floor was light. Those times have gone. So, I understand why people want to leave. I was once a team lead but I don't think i would never want to do it again. I don't want to get fired because my paperwork wasn't done or because i didn't delegate my work.. I want to do it myself and grab partners along the way.. There's no real "team" atmosphere anymore..but it's not as easy as it used to be to find a job as it used to be... but staying around is just as depressing because the good times have gone and I don't think they will ever come back..
 
daninnj said:
Well I got a callback for the Sony rep job... Gotta do a phone interview and then a webcam one. My cousin gave me tips. It's only weekends but it's extra cash. Still banking on one of the psych jobs to come through as my main job.

You just gotta try....
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What psych jobs were you looking at? Maybe I could apply for those too, haha. Don't worry, I'm not in your location, I'm not competition!
 
Lovejones757 said:
I used to love my job. Sometimes I still do but things are different now. They push out the people with experience, promote the people that don't and never did any real hands on work and the execs. we have now just got out of college and most of them never worked before that. Everything is paper work, metrics and delegation. I remember when team leads actually set their sale planners and execs rolled up there sleeves to help out when the floor was light. Those times have gone. So, I understand why people want to leave. I was once a team lead but I don't think i would never want to do it again. I don't want to get fired because my paperwork wasn't done or because i didn't delegate my work.. I want to do it myself and grab partners along the way.. There's no real "team" atmosphere anymore..but it's not as easy as it used to be to find a job as it used to be... but staying around is just as depressing because the good times have gone and I don't think they will ever come back..
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That is only true for higher volume stores. I would LOVE to get ETLS from a higher volume store to come work with us for a couple days. Id love to see them try to hide in the office when they ARE the salefloor team
 
Lovejones757 said:
I used to love my job. Sometimes I still do but things are different now. They push out the people with experience, promote the people that don't and never did any real hands on work and the execs. we have now just got out of college and most of them never worked before that. Everything is paper work, metrics and delegation. I remember when team leads actually set their sale planners and execs rolled up there sleeves to help out when the floor was light. Those times have gone. So, I understand why people want to leave. I was once a team lead but I don't think i would never want to do it again. I don't want to get fired because my paperwork wasn't done or because i didn't delegate my work.. I want to do it myself and grab partners along the way.. There's no real "team" atmosphere anymore..but it's not as easy as it used to be to find a job as it used to be... but staying around is just as depressing because the good times have gone and I don't think they will ever come back..
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Sounds like why I recently stepped down as TL. Couldn't get enough time to do paperwork, always told "Don't make excuses, make the time". When I challenged my ETL, who has no experience in our area, to spend some time working in the area so he knows what he is talking about, his answer was "It's a great idea, but I just don't see myself having the time". I hate to give up on something, but finally decided that stepping down was the best plan for me. Lots of Spot HR drama followed. Long anger inducing story short, I am leaving for my new store on a forced transfer just hoping it doesn't take too long to find a job.

On the bright side, it has been extremely validating to see how many of my current store's TL and ETL's wanted me to stay on and work in their departments, TM's whom I oversee that are helping me look for work, and the one TL that actually went to the ETL-HR and complained about the way everything went down. We work FOR people that have different goals than we do, but we work WITH some wonderful people.
 
Avepico said:
On the bright side, it has been extremely validating to see how many of my current store's TL and ETL's wanted me to stay on and work in their departments, TM's whom I oversee that are helping me look for work, and the one TL that actually went to the ETL-HR and complained about the way everything went down. We work FOR people that have different goals than we do, but we work WITH some wonderful people.
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I would just like to second your final statement. I'm no longer in retail, but I worked several retail jobs before Target and I met some of the kindest, smartest, most talented people in retail. Many of them were not managers. Having worked in retail was a gift because it confirmed that more wealth does not equal more intelligence or harder work. Some of the hardest-working people I've known have made very little. I've come to genuinely despise people who denigrate lower-income workers. It's one of the few groups it's still acceptable to crap upon in our society, along with immigrants. Of course, the people who denigrate them wouldn't last a day in their working shoes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoznjbKVnmw
 
Just got word today that training for new position starts on 9/17. I fully intend to take a week off between the leaving Target and reporting to the new position (since I never got a chance to use vacation hours, which I will be paid out for). Only problem is our store just began prepping for inventory visit this week, so I have to drop news this friday if I am to make 9/7 my last day. Not sure how they are going to take that news.....
 
Well the Sony thing never materialized... oh well.

BUT, I have an interview next week working with autistic kids in a school setting, something I always wanted to do. Starts at $17/hr and goes up to $20 in 6 months. I'm spending a week's time preping for this. Fortunately I know someone in the organization so he gave me advice and I also have a cousin doing this also... So excited! This may be my way out of Target!
 
Good luck Dan, that sounds like such a positive job.
 
No place calls me back. I've been looking for clerical or administrative work. Times are tough, apparently, things are very competitive out there. But I will keep trying.
 
Softlines Owns My Soul said:
One of the ones. BA in psych. The more I look at it the more like grad school becomes the best option
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Im in the exact same boat. I actually had a phone interview for an ETL position probably a year or so after graduating. I was actually thinking that an exec was going to be managing a bunch of people, be really hands on, doing projects that impact sales, profits, etc. and doing so much stuff, oh how little did I know haha. Never heard back from them but I got another call back for just a regular salesfloor position interview a month or so later and since I was unemployed went to it and was hired. I had applied for ETL and SF so it was 2 different things.

I have a BS with a major in Psychology and a major in HR. I want to get into HR but almost every single posted HR job requires office or administrative experience, which I dont have. Applied to countless places to have a very small amount of phone interviews, but nothing else after. Also a strong working knowledge of excel, powerpoint etc, which I used a little in college and would know better than alot of people if I actually had to learn it in extreme detail since I am very computer literate. I built the computer im on right now. For psych you pretty much have to have a masters to do anything. I cant really think of anything that I have found that requires a BA in psych.

Ive been trying to get promoted to TL but I dont think that will happen. I dont want to work for years and year to only be stuck at the ceiling of TL barely making more than a PA. I did go from Salesfloor, to being asked to backroom crosstrain for winter also being crosstrained in electronics, to being asked to work in market before pfresh, to being asked to be a PA in a year though. Didnt even have to interview for the PA position they just gave me it.
 
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I guess it depends where you are but there are a huge amount of jobs where I am... but I am in a major city where eds and meds are a bulk of the city's workforce. Go on indeed.com and type in "tss" or "therapeutic staff support"... what I am interviewing for. Many of them are entry level and with school back in session they are in high demand.

PM me with your location... oh and the job I am interviewing for requires experience. But I have none... yet they are interviewing me. If you are ambitious enough you can get something.
 
Good for you!
Every step out is a good step.
Congratulations.
 
I'm not sure why anyone who wants a degree in psych would stop before grad school. Psych degrees without masters/phD's are really expensive paper weights
 
Retarget said:
I'm not sure why anyone who wants a degree in psych would stop before grad school. Psych degrees without masters/phD's are really expensive paper weights
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Not everyone can afford to attend grad school. Yes, you can get loans, but when you're already saddled with debt after four years of undergrad, the cost is out of reach for many people, even at state schools.
 
pfreshdude said:
Im in the exact same boat. I actually had a phone interview for an ETL position probably a year or so after graduating. I was actually thinking that an exec was going to be managing a bunch of people, be really hands on, doing projects that impact sales, profits, etc. and doing so much stuff, oh how little did I know haha. Never heard back from them but I got another call back for just a regular salesfloor position interview a month or so later and since I was unemployed went to it and was hired. I had applied for ETL and SF so it was 2 different things.

I have a BS with a major in Psychology and a major in HR. I want to get into HR but almost every single posted HR job requires office or administrative experience, which I dont have. Applied to countless places to have a very small amount of phone interviews, but nothing else after. Also a strong working knowledge of excel, powerpoint etc, which I used a little in college and would know better than alot of people if I actually had to learn it in extreme detail since I am very computer literate. I built the computer im on right now. For psych you pretty much have to have a masters to do anything. I cant really think of anything that I have found that requires a BA in psych.

Ive been trying to get promoted to TL but I dont think that will happen. I dont want to work for years and year to only be stuck at the ceiling of TL barely making more than a PA. I did go from Salesfloor, to being asked to backroom crosstrain for winter also being crosstrained in electronics, to being asked to work in market before pfresh, to being asked to be a PA in a year though. Didnt even have to interview for the PA position they just gave me it.
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Usually state agencies have the best opportunities to get HR jobs but they don't tend to pay for what you do.

I have a friend that Mastered in I/O Psychology. She first started through Target, and they treated her like crap. She then got a state job doing Vocational Rehab job placement and did that for about 10 years. She is now a probation officer.
 
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