Need advice applying for a corporpate job at Target (Minneapolis: houses, job market)

[queenswake]

With an employer as big as Target in the Twin Cities area, I am hoping someone has some insight. I have applied for a job at their headquarters and have some unique experience they are looking for in that job description that few others in the Twin Cities area has. I know the pool of people is small and I should at least get an interview out of it. But there is no response and the job posting continues to be active.

My guess is that for whatever reason, my resume is not making it past the recruiters. I am currently out-of-state but planning to move back to MN soon (orginally from MN and plan to return for good). I made the mistake of using my current out-of-state address instead of using my parents address in the Twin Cities. I fear the non-local thing is what is not getting my resume noticed by the recruiters.

Does anyone know how to contact their recruiters? Does Target ever have job fairs or open houses where you can speak with them in person?

Any advice is appreciated as this job is perfect for me and I've always wanted to work downtown!

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Yes, I do have advice. Apply with a resume that uses the EXACT verbage as their requirements, because I'm pretty sure a company their size uses a computer to weed out the resumes. Also, if you do a lot of community work or are disabled, be sure to mention that as well.

[uptown_urbanist]

Are you sure that your experience is so unique that few people have it? The job situation isn't as tough here as in some parts of the country, but but there's still a lot of highly qualified people applying for the good positions. The non-local address would make things more difficult, but even with the local address it still might not be enough.

It could also be that they already have a candidate in mind (perhaps internally) but still have to post the job. I've encountered that situation before (although not with Target specifically), and have also multiple times been told that I was the number two pick, but they had decided to promote someone from within. (and with the big companies there are a lot of internal candidates to choose from!)

And by recruiters, do you mean within Target itself? I know that they sometimes use outside recruiters.

Unfortunately this is just a tough job market. I agree with Min-Chi-Cbus that you need to use their language, as realistically the applicant pool is likely to be very high. I've done hiring before, and we've always been flooded with large numbers of resumes, many from people who are not at all qualified for the position, but who seemed to be applying "just in case." (and this was mostly pre-recession!) And Target presumably gets flooded with vast numbers of applications from all over the country, so I highly doubt that their HR department (who is presumably doing the screening, not the specific department doing the hiring) is spending time carefully looking at each individual resume.

Also make sure that you have a very good cover letter, and note that you have family in the area. I'd also offer to cover relocation costs. That won't help you with the first sortings, but if you make it to a point where someone actually looks at your resume more carefully then a really good cover letter can make a big difference. I've talked (or written) my way into interviews for positions way out of my league on the basis of a good cover letter, and have myself tossed resumes in the hiring process because the cover letters were so inadequate, so don't overlook it. Realistically, though, your first step here is to simply try to make it through the screening process.

It could also just be that they're not in a big hurry to fill the job, and are taking their own sweet time about getting back to applicants.

[golfgal]

I would say that in this job market your out of state resume is probably holding you back. I would say to call HR at headquarters, let them know you submitted a resume and were wondering about the status of the hiring process. At the very least I would resubmit your resume with your current address as a temporary address and a local address (if you have a parent or relative's address you can use) showing that you are in process of moving back.

Also, companies often move at a sails pace for hiring, especially larger companies so some patience is always good.

[HarborEastGuy]

The above advise is all very good advise. Especially Golfgal. The economy is bad everywhere and employers are flooded with applicants for every job they post. If you want to live Minneapolis you really need to get a local address on there and change your Cell phone number to have a local number. Many companies are immediately bypassing out-of-state applicants for local ones since they can be hired without relocation concerns. I feel blessed to made it to St. Paul from Denver 5 weeks ago with a job offer. Remember its HR that screens these resumes so you could be the best person for the job but the hiring manager may never even get to see your resume if HR decides to prune all out-of-state resumes.

[lalife]

Well, look on the bright side. If you don't get the job, it may be for the best. I have heard that Target HQ is not that great of a place to work. The pay is low and they work people to death. I wouldn't doubt these rumors because it seems like they are always hiring. But I work in Logistics, so perhaps it is just that division.

Also, there was an article in the paper awhile back about how Target has a really strict corporate dress code. Maybe you like that or maybe you don't?

[laxster]

One interesting thing I've noticed about the Target HQ from my days working downtown: they hire many beautiful women in their 20s and 30s. If that's you, you won't have a problem.

[uptown_urbanist]

By all means go ahead and resubmit your resume; just don't expect a local address to be a magic bullet. Unfortunately good jobs can be tough to find these days, and competition is very stiff. Are you working with local recruiters? If you have highly specialized skills it's very possible that Target is expecting to fill the position using external recruiters, rather than through their HR office. If you have a very specialized skill set you might want to focus your attentions there. And try not to stress or worry about this one particular job; there's no way to know what's going on behind the scene, so don't get hung up worrying about one particular job. There may well be many people out there who are perfect for the job, unfortunately. Companies can be very picky these days.

As far as I know, Target's corporate dress code isn't extreme, although it's definitely "corporate"; I believe ties are mandatory, and perhaps jackets for men. (sweater sets okay for women) If you do get an in-person interview definitely wear a suit. They got a lot of attention for their dress code because they were at one point business-casual, and when they made the switch they apparently were (are) very detailed in what was and what was not acceptable. I suppose that does stand out a bit more in Minneapolis than in some cities; overall it seems like business attire is generally more casual here than it is in some of the other places we've lived.

[audadvnc]

Is the dress code any more strict at Target HQ than, say, Wells Fargo bank? It's a big corporation, a modern economic principality; if you want to serve that corporate boss, you've got to dress the part. I'm wearing a suit and tie right now, even though there's nobody else around today; that's just how it's done. If I need to meet with a client, I'm expected to look like I belong here.

[laxster]

Originally Posted by audadvnc

Is the dress code any more strict at Target HQ than, say, Wells Fargo bank? It's a big corporation, a modern economic principality; if you want to serve that corporate boss, you've got to dress the part. I'm wearing a suit and tie right now, even though there's nobody else around today; that's just how it's done. If I need to meet with a client, I'm expected to look like I belong here.

My observation was that all the Target employees seemed fairly well dressed. Here's an interesting article about it (http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services-advertising/4249617-1.html - broken link).

I used to work for Wells Fargo on the operations side, and jeans and t-or sweatshirts were the norm for the vast majority of employees -- unless you were one of the folks who worked in the Executive Suite, or had to interact with customers in person.