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Week 1

Job Application Experiences

The last job I applied for was and Executive Management Internship with Target that I completed during summer 2019. I had an overall great experience in all aspects of the recruitment and hiring process with Target. I applied for the internship through an Oregon State job portal right before Target was about to be at OSU for a career fair. When I applied online, I was email notified in a very timely manner, and was also emailed by a real recruiter that engaged with me personally. The personal aspect is/was very important to me, compared to other internships that I was applying for where I was only sent automated and scripted messages for next interviews that all candidates get sent. With Target, I was always talking to someone real, and that made me feel important. 

The OSU Target recruiter sent me a personal email explaining that I made it to the first interview stage, and that she wanted to meet me before hand at the career fair the following day to chat and get to know me as a person before the first interview. Meeting her at the career fair in the casual setting to talk really set me up for success for the first interview because I felt so comfortable engaging already with my recruiter. I also really appreciated that she gave me her cell phone number and told me I was welcome to email or text her with any questions or concerns at any time. I was feeling the welcoming and comforting culture that Target is all about from the very beginning of my recruitment. 

I was passed on to interview after interview, and was eventually offered the internship job. Throughout the interviews with each new person up the chain, my recruiter was still emailing me every day on how to best prepare for each interview, while also giving me background on each person I was going to be talking to next. I didn’t even really know what I was getting myself into with the internship and did not really have a desire to work for a large retail company like Target, but I was open minded and excited for the new experience because I knew I was going to be apart of a very accepting and real culture that I knew from my recruitment process. Even though I was unsure, I accepted because I knew I was going to work for a company with a healthy culture and great people that welcomed and pushed me to succeed. 

During my internship, and I fell in the love with the HR aspect of Target in stores, and I have happily accepted a post grad job with Target doing HR now – even when I never would have thought to start a career with them. The entire application and recruitment process really helped me go into the internship with a positive and open mind to learn new skills and enhance my strengths, as I began to know Target would be a great company to work for.

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One reply on “”

Hi Lindsay,
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is so cool to hear how the recruiter made the personal connection with you and helped coach you before each interview. By establishing that relationship and style of work, it sounds like it laid the foundation for your future role with Target. Good luck after graduation!
Sara

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