The recruitment campaign at art schools is very effective. It sells the company as a place of fostering innovation and creativity. Information is provided on how to apply for a job in Product Design and Development or Graphic Design. You can also schedule a portfolio review with a recruiter.
If you are selected for an interview, the company pays for travel and accommodation in downtown Minneapolis. The interview is a full 8 hour day process.
In the morning, you receive a tour of the Target HQ. Then you take a multiple choice bubble sheet exam of math and language skills. Then you attend panel sessions of designers who tell you what it's like working at Target and answer questions.
Lunch was at a basketball themed restaurant, which thank goodness is now closed. The afternoon is spent interviewing with and showing your portfolio to three different design managers. Your recruiter actually supplies you with the name and HQ mailing address of the managers who interviewed you so that you will mail them each a thank you note. Afterwards, there is a cocktail happy hour in the jazz lounge located in the same building.
If hired, your recruiter calls you to offer you a position. If you accept, you must take a drug test within 48 hours I believe. The position comes with a minimum 18 month contract agreement to combat the exceptionally high turn-over rate. However, you are not locked into it until after 3 months.
But during these 3 months, your time is entirely spent going to training sessions and working on an independent show-and-tell project for the department to which you've been assigned. So it is nearly impossible to gain an understanding of what the job will be like during your grace period of 3 months.
