I started my new job at Target this week and, as expected, I am absolutely miserable.
It isn’t that I hate working. I actually do not mind working if I have the right job, or even just one that does not annoy me. It’s corporations that I hate, and this is a big one with a ton of rules, training videos that are of no help, and typical human resources who are clearly not there to support the workers.
My day started off terrible. My oldest cat has not been eating, so I sat up with him for much of the night, unable to sleep, crying while holding him in my arms. I know our days are numbered; I just don’t know how much time we have left. Thankfully, he ate his breakfast so I could go off to this new job without worrying about him. At least, not much more than usual. I haven’t worked since his health rapidly declined, and let me tell you, it is extremely hard to walk out that door, especially to go to a job that makes me miserable.
When I got to the store—which is still closed to the public—I had no idea how to get in. At least one employee saw me at the door and did nothing to help me. No acknowledgment whatsoever. I called the cell phone number human resources gave us and no one answered. I texted, asking how to get in. No response.
My husband was waiting in the parking lot while I stood in the rain, growing angrier and angrier with each passing second. I happened to glance at a curled sign in the window that had an arrow and the words “employee entrance” printed on it. It wasn’t on the door or in an obvious spot—it was to the side where I wouldn’t have seen it had I not randomly looked in that direction.
When I finally was inside, my shirt dotted with raindrops, I approached one of the human resources women to ask what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go. I was given a quick explanation in a thick accent, making it hard to understand what the woman was saying. I struggled to understand her during orientation, and now I was struggling once again.
The woman did not know some words in English, so I did not quite understand everything she was saying, like whether I was assigned a locker or if I could just take one. I was not given even a minute to take off my wet coat and was sent into the break room with a handheld device to do hours of training, coat, and everything.
In all honesty, the only reason I was able to get as far as I did in training and paperwork was because of my previous experience with the Workday system. Joann had just transitioned to it in my last year with them, and both Michaels and Kohl’s used it. I sat and went through my training modules, ignoring whenever it would instruct me to interact with my trainer—I had no trainer, just like all of the other new hires sitting in the break room doing the same thing.
My training was mostly focused on being a cashier, which was not the position I was told I would be performing. In fact, during the interview, I specifically said I did NOT want to be a cashier because I found the position to be boring and not for me. I was already frustrated that I was skipped over for tech sales, which was given to a man with a food service background. Making me a cashier is the easiest way to ensure I continue my job search, and now that we are coming into the holiday season, surely it will be easier to find another job. It’s always easier to find one if you already have one.
Toward the end of my shift, I attempted to find the place to enter my banking info for direct deposit. I managed to complete my tax withholding forms, which should have been first on the list of things to do…BEFORE training videos in a store that is not stocked or open. I was unable to set up my direct deposit because it would not work on the mobile device, giving me an error that it was only available on the computer version of Workday. All of the training computers were occupied, so I gave up and waited to clock out.
Overall, my first day did not leave me with a good impression. Corporate training modules are always as useless as they sound, wasting time that could be better spent actually learning something. When I was a store manager, I hated that my new employees had to go through such pointless training. It was a waste of payroll. I preferred to just teach them right away, or pair them with one of my best employees to shadow for a day.
One thing I did make sure to do with new hires was to make sure they knew how to get in the store on their first opening shift. I also always tried to make them feel like they were important. I certainly don’t feel important at Target. More like I’m supposed to be an ever-positive corporate tool, cheering on the company as it shreds my soul.
I definitely do not belong there, but, right now, it's the only option I have for income.
Comments