Target Sales Associate Job Description & Interview
Job Description and Duties
What Does a Target Sales Associate Do?
A position with numerous responsibilities, a Target sales associate primarily provides customer service. Additional job duties include stocking shelves, maintaining a clean work environment, assisting in sales, and performing cashier responsibilities, in some cases.
Personality Traits of a Good Sales Associate
Friendly workers with personable attitudes and motivated personalities typically make ideal Target sales associates. Target also looks for energetic, knowledgeable, and positive sales associates. During training, new Target sales associates learn proper store protocol, merchandise inventory, loss prevention tactics, and customer interaction skills.
Salary and Compensation
How Much Do They Get Paid?
Target sales associate jobs earn competitive pay. Workers typically start out just above minimum wage and earn up to $12.00 per hour. The average Target sales associate makes $10.00 an hour.
Management Opportunities
Advancement opportunities into sales floor lead jobs and other managerial positions may lead to increases in pay and responsibilities. The majority of Target sales associates work part-time between 20 and 30 hours per week. Some Target sales associates may work full-time.
Other Job Benefits
Qualified Target employees gain access to employment benefits, such as discounts on products, services, and merchandise, 401(k) retirement plans, paid time off, healthcare coverage, and insurance plans. Eligibility requirements and job benefits availability generally vary by Target store location.
Next:
Review the Target Application page.
Target Sales Representative Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Target Sales Representative: I was a sales rep at Target, which basically meant I would just walk the floor doing anything from restocking shelves. Normally would be in a department that day. They would assign us at the beginning of the day, like the food pantry, the clothing department, electronics, toys. Depending on what section you were given that day, you would just kind of walk the area, restock shelves, help customers. Basically that.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Target Sales Representative: The work environment was very friendly. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a Target before, but their whole point is to be the exact opposite of Walmart, very personable. They want you to engage with the customers. I felt very much a part of a team there. We would even have little team meetings every two hours or so just to talk as a group, see what’s going on. It was a very friendly, just different from other, like I said, like Walmart and stuff.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Target Sales Representative: Retail is kind of hard because it is a little boring at times. Mostly probably the people that I worked with were nice but nothing that really made me jump out of my seat and be like, yes, I love this.
Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.
Target Sales Representative: The application began online where you would just fill out a little questionnaire online, stereotypical application. Name, work experience, past people. There was a little quiz afterwards where they asked you a few questions. A question would be a multiple choice answer. So there would be that component to it. And then the interview process was a little different after the initial first contact with somebody. If they liked you, you will then watch a video that broke down what Target was about. And then they would almost do a second interview right there after watching that video and ask you, what was your takeaway, what did you agree with with the video and stuff. It was a little different just because of that video aspect.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Target Sales Representative: It was more like behavioral. After you watched that video, they’d ask you who did you relate to in the video? Who did a good job? What did this salesperson do correct? What did this salesperson do wrong? It was kind of behavioral because they are trying to comb or make that environment like I was describing where people would be friendly and outgoing and nice. This is only for the people on the floor because there was a back group of people that do not have to talk to customers at all.
Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Target Sales Representative: It was fairly quickly. I believe it was actually that day. I did the interview and they were ready to hire me on the basis that you could pass a urine test.
Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Target Sales Representative: I just think I worked in a lot of different restaurants before so I’ve always put that face on, that customer service face, good energy and that’s basically probably it. Just the good energy, the personality that they were looking for, the willingness to engage with the customers and other team members. If there was one thing that you need to be on the floor at Target, it’s just personality.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Target Sales Representative: Just come in with a great attitude. Be willing to just show that you know how to talk to people, that you’re willing to work as a team, that you’re willing to go out and just go above and beyond in terms of customer service and that you really are there to engage with the customers at Target. They always want to be visible to the customers. Unlike a Walmart where it can be hard to find people, they want to do the exact opposite of that. They want to make sure that you can be available. So if you don’t like speaking to customers while you’re working, ain’t for you.
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
I was a hard line sales floor worker at Target, so I mostly just worked on stocking shelves, making sure the shelves looked nice on a daily basis. And then I moved over to the market department and worked on filling that side too.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
At times it was laid back, and then there’s times where they’d be stressed out. So sometimes it’d be an easy workload and then other times they’d have kind of outrageous tasks for you to do, because they had a visit coming up or something. So the work environment kind of changed day to day.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
I liked being able to open the store, like get everything ready for it. I didn’t like closing it.
Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process.
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
The application was all online, so I just filled it out online and then a few days later I got a call to ask for the interview. So I went in for the interview, and then as I went in for the interview, it was mostly like, questions asked seeing a scenario. So have you ever been in a stressful situation? How did you handle it when this happened? Stuff like that.
Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
When I got hired, I got hired on the spot. So right after the interview, they took me back to the office, I signed some papers. And then a couple of weeks later they gave me a call, letting me know when my orientation was. And I started probably two weeks after my interview.
Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate:
Honestly, I think it was just my availability to be able to work. And it fit what they needed.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Target Hardline Sales Floor Associate
For target? Best bet, have open availability, because that’s mostly what they look for, they want to have somebody that’s able to work often for them. And once you do get a job, they’re pretty flexible with hours.
Target Sales Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties?
Target Team Member: I work as an electronics team member, they call it team members instead of employees. My duty is to run the electronics department, sell things like TVs, headphones, video games. I run all of that stuff. Every once in a while, they’ll have me help with the toy’s department because it’s right across the aisle. So, you know, that kind of thing.
Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Target Team Member: It’s pretty easygoing, honestly. I guess it kind of depends on the manager, but most of the managers there are real easygoing. They like to have some fun. Sometimes they’ll like… at the end of the night, they’ll be like, “Hey, come up for a free drink”, you know, just for good employee incentive. It’s pretty nice.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Target Team Member: I like that I work electronics. It’s easy to sell stuff there because I know what I’m talking about. I like the work environment obviously, because the free drinks’ thing I mentioned is really nice. My coworkers are all pretty nice and the work’s not too hard. It can be pretty intensive around Christmas time, you know, the holidays obviously but in general it’s pretty easygoing. Not much involved I guess. It depends on the position of course but, you know.
Interviewer: Please describe the application and interview process?
Target Team Member: What I did was… I think what I did was, I was searching for jobs just in general and I was on like one of those websites like Indeed or Monster and I found that Target was hiring, and I went to their website. You scroll down to the bottom. There’s like the employee or like careers, and I had clicked there and I checked to see what was hiring for electronics and it’ll tell you like, all the different stores that are around that are hiring for positions.
You can select a position and then I saw the one that I was near was hiring for electronics. So I was like, cool, and I filled out the online application. They called me a couple days or maybe a week or so later. They scheduled a phone interview with me, and then I did the phone interview and then they had me come in for a personal, in-person interview and I did that and they said right then and there that I had the job. So I knew from right then and there and then I gave my two weeks at my old job and then I was good.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Target Team Member: Kind of general interview questions. I mean obviously they ask like, how was your knowledge on electronics. They asked me… They told me to sell them a product. I chose the video game console, the Nintendo Switch. I tried to sell that. That went pretty well obviously because I have the job, and they asked me standard things like, strengths, and weaknesses. They knew I had been previously employed.
So they were like, “What are some problems that you faced at your old employer”, like with customers and stuff and I told them about that and like how I solved that. That was basically it. Just pretty standard interview stuff like strengths and weaknesses, and how your performance was at your old job and stuff.
Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Target Team Member: My product knowledge, I think. Like I said, I tried to sell them a Nintendo Switch and it went pretty well because I know a lot about video games and other electronics and stuff, like TVs and everything. So I think that put me over the edge from them, you know, and plus I was previously employed at a grocery store before.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Target Team Member: Obviously, you know, make sure you know your product. Like I wouldn’t have applied for electronics if I didn’t know. I would also make sure you like the color red, of course because there’s a lot of red there. Advice. I would make sure that obviously you have… I think they like people who have a little more, at least one or two jobs before but I mean, if you want a first job like a cashier, they’ll take people who have been at jobs like for cashiers. So I think it’s good to have a little bit of experience before you apply.
Target Sales Associate Interview Video
Video Transcript
Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Target Sales Associate: I was a sales floor associate. Pretty much I worked the cash register. I was the person that stood at the front of the lines telling which line you could go to.
Interviewer: What was your favorite part about working there?
Target Sales Associate: The perks, the benefits. Plus, the discount. Well, the discount is a benefit, but yeah, perks.
Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Target Sales Associate: Kind of typical. Team player, how do I describe myself, being a team player, what makes me a good sales associate, attitudes, stuff like that.
Interviewer: What set you apart from other candidates?
Target Sales Associate: Probably my ability to speak well. The interview was just very casual. It wasn’t too formal, and I guess maybe she felt comfortable with me.
Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Target Sales Associate: Be yourself, be honest. That’s all they’re really looking for.
Annette Wormald says:
Yes I have previously worked for Target store in Broome. I was part of the team that assisted with the setting up of the store in preparation for opening day. I then was given the opportunity for full-time employment and my responsibility was to assist with stacking and maintaining the shelves as required in all areas.