I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Target (Minneapolis, MN) in Apr 2020
Interview
I was contacted by a recruiter for a design position. I have a good 10+ years in this industry and in the specific field they were recruiting for. I saw a few red flags and in all honesty I should have halted the process when they asked for a test project. Giving that my experience is 1:1 what they were seeking, I should have refused the test project, but of course this would have ended the interview process.
I had a series of interviews over the next couple of weeks which went ok. In the end the reason I was giving to not receiving an offer was "we decided to go in another direction". This is the most generic response you can give, and I expected more. I asked for more feedback but was given "sorry we legally are not allowed to do so".
So now I will never know if they did not like my test project, or if my personality didn't jive with their team, or if i was too opinionated for them because they refused to give any sort of feedback which is a major cop out. I wasted over 30 hours on the test project and interviews. It's my fault for not seeing the red flags right away, but hey you live and learn.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Target
Interview
Initial 30 minute phone screen with one of their Talent Acquisition folks. Nothing technical, just standard interview questions like "tell me about a difficult problem you've solved recently".
From there, I had an hour call with the hiring manager who responded to my questions unprofessionally. Audibly scoffed at me upon asking clarification for a deliverable (which was not included in the original job posting). Talked down to me. Acted absolutely pained by having to converse with me. It was rotten & really put a damper on the company as a whole for me.
Shocker: I didn't move on to an in-person interview (held on-site with several members of the team). From both sides, it was clear this would not be a good fit - as there is no way the director & I would've had a successful working relationship. Interviewing sucks from either side of the table, so please at least pretend you want to be there.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Target (New York, NY) in Apr 2018
Interview
Very introspective. It was professional, the office looked great with the big white dog. The employees said hello as I walked by. It looked like a great fit. The ladies smiled and seemed as though everything would be perfect.