Target reviews

3.5

57% would recommend to a friend

(94,023 total reviews)
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Michael Fiddelke

45% approve of CEO

40% positive business outlook

Target has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 94,023 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Target employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Ventas al mayoreo y al menudeo industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

94K reviews
3.0
Sep 20, 2017

A resume builder, but fake the smile

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pretty good data infrastructure for analysts to use. You can work with some of the most talented, intelligent and motivated people in your life here, although as with anywhere there are the lazy or low performers. Compensation is fairly good for the Twin Cities, improving especially as Minnesota is facing a shortage of college-educated workers and it takes a lot to convince non-Minnesotans to move here. However, yearly raises are miniscule so negotiate hard up-front. If you're on the right team, opportunity to work on very impactful projects that are resume' builders. Great resume' line and brand cachet. Employee discount adds up.

Cons

Most workers have always lived in Minnesota and never worked anywhere besides Target, so there is immediate suspicion of any outside ideas, and the need to "achieve consensus" (i.e., offend no one) is paramount. Diversity is emphasized but only in skin color, sex and sexual orientation; diversity of thought, communication styles, or personality is heavily discouraged. If you have worked outside Minnesota, you can come out of meetings thinking "Am I crazy, or am I the only one here that isn't crazy?" If you are Minnesota Nice and are fun at happy hours, you will be sent on the rocket ship to advancement no matter the quality of your work or your expertise. But if you are introverted and don't put on the show, or ever push back or challenge your manager, you are branded as Not A Team Player and your career plateaus. Open offices mean introverts (and extroverts who just need to concentrate to actually get stuff done) have to disappear to a quiet room or work from home off-hours. The work culture emphasizes "the Target personality" over deep proficiency at the job. This means that being a high-performing individual contributor is subtly discouraged, because you will have very limited career progression opportunities. This also means that midlevel management is largely made of Target generalists who are out of their depth in subject matter expertise.

4.0
Sep 15, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

When you put in hard work you're rewarded for it. For part-time it's easy to get days off and the longer you work there the more benefits you receive.

Cons

Not every Target is the same. Many are run by amazing people but you'll always find people who hate their job or take it too seriously. People usually move in and out of Target often.

1.0
Dec 22, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Hi turnover means that if you're looking for a job, they'll probably have one available. Don't expect to work here more than 3-4 years though--good temporary or stop-gap job, and they're counting on that to keep exec salary expenses low. If you "know somebody" in the organization, then you'll do well. It's 100% about who you know, and who you can make like you up the food chain. Don't expect to just do a great job executing your role to gain advancement--if you're good at making your average performance "sound" amazing to senior management during one-on-one casual conversations (called "statuses" at Target), then you'll do well. If you expect your great performance to be noticed or recognized by your supervisor and others without having to campaign, then please don't put yourself through this nightmare. Look somewhere else. If you have a BA and are strong in soft skils, then things might work out ok as long as you don't challenge upward, disagree or show directness in any interactions.

Cons

Promotions are based on personality, politics and how well you can manage perceptions. Target has been successful based on their image, and this extends throughout the executive culture. Absolutely the worst 5 years in my entire 15 year professional career, and even after reading reviews like this one, I thought my experience would be different. Don't make the same mistake. I'm trying to get out as quickly as I can. You will not have the time or opportunity to develop professional skills, education or certifications. Dead end job unless you're leaving a career in politics/campaign management. Introverts, intellectuals, detail-oriented, intelligent people need not apply. Engineers, IT, Bachelor of Science-types can do much, much better somewhere else. If you do take a chance and work eher, once you're labeled for not following all the other lemmings, don't expect to change that percpetion. Just start looking elsewhere sooner rather than later. Also, if you're experience professional expect to be offered a position two to three levels below your current experience. In my experience with close friends being ran out of the company, it's a horribly contrived process aimed at falsifyiing performance counseling in case you sue or contest your termination (this goes for hourly employees too). No severance has been offered to anyone that I know of that's not senior managment (pay grade 17 or above, which are normally filled from within). Be prepared to feel like an outsider until you reach that magical level noteriety and become one of the inner circle. If you're not from Minnesota, you're at an immediate disadvantge. Nepotism is rampant. Without an MBA, you'll likely never be promoted above a PG15. The culture (jokingly referred to as "the Target Culture") is horribly oppressive and passive-aggressively heavy-handed--you won't find many positive reviews on here from folks with more than 4 years of experience. All the high ratings appear to be from new-hires and those still on their "honeymoon"--folks in their first 6 months overjoyed with all the smoke and mirrors geared directly at them. Target also has a full-time staff that monitors internet traffic about the company--so I'd expect most of those reviews are being created purposely from within Target to continue their very successful (so far) and robust PR campaign.

Viewing 28 - 30 of 94,023 Reviews

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