Target · Primly Community

Went through Target's corporate ops loop last month. here's what I saw.

remote_swe_42 · 4 replies

Just finished a supply chain strategy role interview at Target HQ (Minneapolis). Wanted to write this up while it was fresh.

Rounds: Recruiter screen, 30 min, mostly "walk me through your background" and logistics Hiring manager video call, 45 min, this is where the real behavioral stuff started Panel of 4 people over two back-to-back Zoom sessions. One was a peer, one was a cross-functional partner from merchandising, one was HR, one was the director.

Every single interviewer asked a version of "tell me about a time you drove alignment across teams that didn't agree." I got that question three times from different people with slightly different framing. They were clearly triangulating on the same competency.

The merchandising person asked a pretty domain-specific question about how I'd work with a buying team. I hadn't prepped for that and it showed. Wish I'd thought about it more.

What surprised me: The HR round was not soft. She asked about failure, how I give feedback, and a conflict situation. Real questions.

What they seemed to care about: guest obsession framing, which is genuinely their language. If you say "customer" they'll understand, but if you say "guest" they perk up a bit.

Total timeline was about 3.5 weeks from first screen to verbal. Offer was solid. I took it.

4 replies

firsttime_mgr

this is super helpful, thank you. that cross-functional alignment question feels like it's going to follow me everywhere. did you feel like the panel was trying to poke holes or more just genuinely curious about how you work?

ops_omar

genuinely curious, I think. it didn't feel adversarial. the merchandising person was a bit skeptical when I described a situation she clearly thought was outside my lane, but once I gave specifics she settled down. they want to know if you've actually done the thing, not a hypothetical.

consultant_cam

The cross-functional alignment thread is really consistent with what I've seen from other Target interviewees. They build a lot of cross-pillar project teams and they're specifically trying to screen for people who can work sideways. If you have a crisp STAR story for that one, you're in good shape for most of the loop.

director_dee

"guest" vs "customer" is a real tell and I appreciate you calling it out. at companies with strong internal language, mirroring it signals genuine research. it's a small thing that accumulates.