Target Executive Internship Week Four

I can't believe half of the internship is already over! The time has gone by so fast, but I am definitely feeling a lot more comfortable around my peers and the guests. This week I learned about the logistics process of the store which is done overnight at the Clackamas Target. Logistics basically is the process of unloading the pieces (boxes) in the truck and scanning and sorting it which will ultimately be pushed to the floor in the most efficient and fast manner. Team members who work overnight generally start at 11PM and can work anywhere up until 6AM to 7AM depending on their workload. Sometimes trucks can be about 2000 pieces which is considered a light load! Trucks deliver every day; however, trucks that carry fresh produce are a few times a week. The overnight process is started when the ETL (Executive Team Leader) of Logistics gives permission for the team to start unloading the truck. Each truck is supposed to have a goal of an unload time of 60 minutes or less. Each box is unloaded, scanned, and put onto a line and is sorted to a certain pile where it is located on the floor. While these boxes are being unloaded team members are constantly pushing these boxes to the sales floor to fill the product on the shelves. Once the truck is all unloaded, then everyone helps with pushing the product to the sales floor. To me, it was amazing how fast the unloading process was. Unloading a couple thousand boxes in an hour and the fact that they haven't had a safety incident in over 970 days is amazing. Although the process of logistics may not seem glamorous because it is overnight, the team members and ETL seem to make it work with their personal lives. Work and life balance may seem very hard, but the ETL of logistics had said the hours don't interfere with the rest of her life. She makes it work between seeing her husband and friends. I thought that was really cool to hear because logistics was really interesting to me and is something I would consider for the future. After shadowing the logistics team members, it put into perspective the process of the product unloading from the truck to the process that it gets pushed to the floor. While it may seem simple, it is actually a lot more complicated. There is a planogram team that put sets together such as a "back to school" or "back to college" set. They install the signs that are hung and the boxes that hold the school supplies, etc. Signing is also important. The team must make sure that they are properly hanging the right sized signs and the right number of signs that show the product's price as well.

I also shadowed the ETL of guest service this week. The ETL of guest service is in charge of all the front check out lanes, guest services, Starbucks, and the Target Cafe. So this week, I spent some time in Starbucks and Target Cafe overseeing the different processes. There are a lot of guidelines that have to be followed as well. I shadowed the Guest Service Team Leader as well. They are in charge of guest servicing the guests at the time of checkout and solving any problems that may arise in the check out or return process. Another really great experience I had was being involved with the interview process. It was interesting to be on the other side asking the questions. After watching one interview, I was able to lead one interview on my own.

Overall, it was a good week and each and every day learn something new. The whole process from the unloading of the truck to the moment a guest purchases the product is amazing just how much goes into it. This was the last week of shadowing in the different work centers. This upcoming week will be focused solely on picking a project that will be presented in front of the district in week ten of the internship.

Target Executive Internship Week Three

Having just finished my third week at Target, I have been feeling a lot more confident with what tasks I have been given. I am retaining the Target language a lot better. Of course, there is something new I learn everyday. And because Target is always changing as a company, there are team members who tell me they learn something new everyday as well. This past week, I had a chat session with the store team leader which was basically checking in with her about how the internship was going and what I am expecting out of the internship. She also let me know her first impressions of me as an intern and what I excel in and what I can work on in the future. The "opportunities" that she gave me surprised me a little, just because I am not used to getting a lot of feedback in my previous jobs. And Target definitely focuses a lot on giving feedback, so it took some getting used to to be told what my weaknesses were. But I have an open mind and will be working on these weaknesses to show that I am trying my best to excel in my ten weeks here at Target.

During this week, there was also a intern event where all the interns from our district got together and had a pizza party and played mini-golf. The event was suppose to be a kickball tournament and BBQ but because of the weather, we decided on mini-golf instead. I thought this event was a lot of fun, because it gave me a chance to get to know the other interns at other Target stores as well. I also got to see how they were enjoying their internship and whether their experiences were pretty similar to mine so far. There were also district team leaders, the Human Resource Business Partner and other store team leaders as well. So it was important to talk to them as well and network with them. And it was interesting because there happened to be a store team leader there who graduated from Linfield! In fact, I found out that there was at least another store team lead from Linfield, and one team member who works at my store graduated from Linfield as well. Because Linfield is such a small school, and the internship being dominated by "Oregon Ducks" and "Beaver" students, it is always cool to see other wildcats in the Target family. I really like that Target put together this event, because it was good bonding time and gave us a chance to get away from the store for a little while. I think that it is great that Target would incorporate intern events into the internship. It shows that they really care about us as interns and that bonding and connecting with other interns and Target ETLs, STLs, and DTLs is very important to them as well not just constantly being in the store.

Another big event that happened at the store this week was inventory. Inventory in one word equals stressful! While I have participated in inventory at my summer job in the Linfield bookstore last summer, this was nowhere near the scale of inventory at Target! And because inventory happens right after the store closes, there isn't much time to put away the abandons "products" that people have left around the store. A third party named RGIS is hired to count everything in the store, and you can just imagine how much there is to count. There is probably millions of dollars of merchandise! After RGIS goes through the counting, we are suppose to go around and "zone" the areas. To zone means to basically straighten up the products and make sure they are organized in a proper manner. We also make sure to audit certain sections to make sure RGIS is correct in their counts. It was interesting also because this process happens overnight from 10PM to basically however long it takes to straighten up the store and make sure it is in condition for the guests to arrive the next morning. I left at 4:30AM but there were still team members there after, so I couldn't imagine how long they had stayed! I think it was a interesting process to see and definitely learned a lot about how important inventory is to the store. Inventory helps the store figure out its shortage indicator, which is how much product is suppose to be in the store but cant be found or was stolen. Target also grades on how much shortage the store has. This is where Asset Protection comes in. Because say a guest walks out with $900 dollars of stolen merchandise, then the store is short in those items and loses profit. So it is important that AP is constantly monitoring the store. So you can see how every department correlates to one another and communication is key between different departments.

Every morning at 8, the team gets together and the Leader On Duty leads a huddle. This huddle is where team members give announcements, and the LOD reports the stores numbers such as the daily forecast and goal for sales, safety numbers (how many days since a guest, team member or logistics incident), service reports, and any other information they may have for the day. Huddles are important because it ensures that every team member knows what is going on for the day and what to expect. This week, my mentor wanted the other intern and I to lead huddle. At first, this was a little intimidating, but once we knew what we were going to say, it wasn't hard at all. Our mentor was proud that we were able to lead the huddle and I also felt a sense of achievement as well.

Overall, this week I feel as if I am more comfortable with my internship. I know that I cannot possibly be expected to know everything in the little time I am here at Target, and that I can always ask questions when in doubt. I am also more comfortable with asking guests if I can help them find something and am more comfortable with idea of leading such a large team. I am starting to think of options of what to do for my upcoming project as well. I feel as if these three weeks are flying by. I also am getting used to the schedule I have been given. In retail, you don't work 9-5 five days a week. In fact, in retail, you can be working morning, evening, or even overnight shifts. The Executive Team Leads and Store Team Lead who works on salary can work many hours depending on how much the store needs you. You have to learn to be flexible and open to such long hours as well. And this is definitely something to think about for the future and be a factor in when I decide on a job.

Behavioral Plans

I hope everyone is having a great summer! I have been very busy lately with work, my grad school summer class, and nannying! The past two weeks have been really enlightening and so rewarding. I have been working one-on-one with one of the children in my classroom starting to implement a behavioral program that will help be able to function a lot better and more successfully in the classroom. I am very excited about this and have been compiling lists of behaviors that I hope to change with this child. It has been so amazing to see all this children grow and work toward their learning and social goals. The summer schedule is going amazingly. This past Friday we went to a pool with all of the children, and we are also going this Friday. So the blog I wrote would not post and I decided to edit this one. We went swimming yesterday and it was truly an amazing experience. I was with all five of the kids alone in the pool for most of the time, so I truly learned how hard it can sometimes be to be in charge of so many children, especially ones with special needs. It was really exciting to help them work on their swimming skills and work on their overall sensory issues with being in water.

I am loving spending time with these children this summer and really excited to watch them grown as we do countless activities. My science lessons have been going really well and the students have been responding to them with a thrive to learn and they are trying their hardest. This week we made lava lamps, fireworks in a glass, did tie-dye with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol and overall just had a really good time. I think it is very important for these children to partake in a variety of activities that they can really enjoy and understand.

Target Executive Internship Week Two

I recently finished my second week at my Target internship. This past week, I learned a lot more about the AP department at the Clackamas Target Store. AP is assets protection. Other retail stores may call this department loss prevention. I shadowed the Executive Team Leader of AP and she explained a lot about what her department does. I found a lot of the information she had to say to be very interesting. Asset Protections create a safe and secure environment for the guests and team members. They focus on reducing losses for the store. There are different positions within the AP Team such as ETL Assets Protection, AP-TL (Assets Protection Team Leader), (APL) Assets Protection Leader, (APS) Assets Protection Specialist, (TPS) Target Protection Specialist. As you can see these are just some of the many acronyms that Target uses. I am still getting used to following and speaking the Target "lingo". I shadowed this department for two days.

This week I also started late shifts from 2:15-10:45PM so it was a different schedule then starting early in the mornings. As a part of being in retail, you have to adjust to the different work schedules that are irregular. Working the late shift allowed me to see the process of how Target closes its store at night. In the Target Clackamas Store, it is one of the only stores that stays open for 24 hours. After the store closes at 10 PM, there is an overnight team that comes in to work on setting up the "back to school" section, there is a logistics team that also comes in to work in the back room and unload delivery trucks. For my late shift, I helped the LOD (leader on duty) zone the store. Zoning in Target language refers to tasks that are done to keep the store neat, clean, attractive and easy to shop. Zoning can include straightening products on shelves or putting back items that I find in the wrong area. By zoning a little before the store closes to its guests, it will ensure that when the store opens the next day, the store will look neat and clean and show the Target brand.

This week I also shadowed the Executive Team Leader of Soft lines. Soft lines refers to clothes shoes and accessories and hard lines refers to anything that is non-apparel. The day I shadowed the ETL of soft lines, she was the Leader on Duty. The Leader on Duty is the executive who is in charge of the store and responsible for making the store run smoothly. She showed us a daily routine of an LOD and what tasks they were responsible for. Tasks include checking the back room fridges to see if anything needs to be pulled to the sales floor, attending to any guests that may have an issue or need to speak to a manager, walking the sales floor, as well as ensuring everything is running smoothly in the Target Cafe.

There was also a training day at the district office in Tualatin. That day we learned and received training on flexible communication styles, how to think and speak on your feet, and understanding generational differences. I really liked the different exercises we did in the training. One of the exercises was to do three impromptu speeches. Although it seemed nerve wrecking to speak in front of a group of people, it wasn't really that bad in the end. I actually enjoyed it and liked listening to other people's speeches. I also got to catch up with the other interns from the other Target stores.

Overall, I am really enjoying the Target internship so far. I am really growing to love the company even more than I did before going in to the internship. Target is a fast-growing, innovative, fast, fun, and friendly company. Everyone I work with seems to love their job and some people have been there for over twenty years. These team members show a dedication to Target and really trust the company. I think this is an awesome opportunity for me to see if I too want a future in a career in retail.

Third Week at OHSU

My third week at OHSU was by far the most demanding week at my internship thus far. The biggest project that I had was to create a presentation that included a matrix, which compared all of the MS programs in Healthcare Management in the nation. Once I determined what all of the major components were to compare between programs, it wasn't very difficult to create the matrix. I have been learning a lot more about using Microsoft Excel and I am getting better and faster with the program every week. This is a skill that I believe will be useful in my future career.
The most important lesson I learned this week is to always present yourself well and take every networking opportunity that is available to you. I learned this after I gave my presentation about the MS programs. The three main people I presented to were my supervisor, the head of the division, and one of the professors in the school of medicine, Mike Neal. When my supervisor introduced me to Mike all he told me was that Mike was one of their professors and worked a little as a consultant for their program development. I assumed that Mike was someone in the medical field and had a little background in business so although I was polite to him, I didn't make any great efforts to make him a contact. After the presentation Mike talked with me a little and it turns out that he had worked at Intel for a very long time and at different points of his career been the director of marketing for them and also the director of product development. I didn't think it at first, but Mike will be a great contact for me to have because he worked at Intel for so long, was very well respected and worked in so many different divisions.
Dr. Sakaguchi and I talked about a meeting that I sat in on and he taught me an important lesson about how to bring up information that conflicts with what your boss believes to be reliable data. It was a very interesting and valuable lesson to learn because it is hard to find a way to bring up information that conflicts with someone who has more authority then you and doesn't come off like you are "challenging" your boss. Dr. Sakaguchi has been doing a great job of teaching me not just about how to conduct market research but also about conducting yourself in an office environment and your relationships with your co-workers and superiors. I will be getting deeper in my market research this week and be assembling a market segment analysis which will push me to work hard and efficiently.

Second Week at OHSU

My second week at OHSU was a lot like my first week but a little less overwhelming. I am now working in a new building because my supervisor's division moved from one building to another one. The biggest thing I learned with helping my supervisor move was hoe much reading I have ahead of me in life. We packed and moved at least twenty full size boxes with textbooks and other types of professional publishes. Anyways, I got to know the other people in the division a little bit better this week. It is really easy to get to know people as everyone is very friendly and likes to have small talk with each other throughout the day. The funny thing about my supervisor's division is that the secretary is pretty much the second in command. She helps out with everything and knows what everyone is doing at all times and even has to write off permission for some people to do certain things around the office.
I have been doing a lot of the same things that I was doing my first week as far as my personal tasks go. I have been doing a lot of market research on different types of MBA and MS programs in Healthcare Management all around the country. Anything that I find that is important, I put into a word document and later I will be making a presentation out of all the information I collect and summarizing it all up for my supervisor and the head of the division. The work that I am doing is not very difficult, it is just tedious and time consuming. My supervisor gives me the perfect amount of direction so that I know what I am doing and looking for but doesn't hover over my work and interfere to make sure I am doing everything correctly.
I usually check in with Dr. Sakaguchi in the morning when I arrive and talk with him about what I will be doing and working on for the day and then usually don't see him again until we eat lunch together. At lunch we usually talk about what I have found during the morning and then usually have small talk about whatever we want to talk about. At the end of the day I always check in with Dr. Sakaguchi one last time to discuss what I found in the afternoon and that pretty much is all the time that I spend with my supervisor. This next week I expect that I will be doing a lot less research and be working more on putting together a presentation on what I have found. Dr. Sakaguchi told me he has a few programs that he will teach me how to use that are better then powerpoint so I am looking forward to learning about the new programs over the next few days!

Target Executive Internship Week One

This was the first week of my executive internship with Target. My internship will be ten weeks and I will be shadowing and working with my mentor and executive team leader, Julie, other team members and the store team leader, Melia. Through this internship, I will learn more about the Target corporation, its brand and its culture. Through training and working with other team members, I will get a overview of the operations of Target and all the different departments that make up the store, such as Human Resources, Logistics, and Sales, etc. As an intern, I will help in running the store as well as leading its team members. Also, at the end of the summer, I will participate in a project that will require me to implement the knowledge I learn from the internship that addresses an area in the store that needs improvement, whether it be with safety, maximizing sales, or service, and come up with a solution. This project will be presented in the tenth week of the internship to the district team leaders.

The first week started with a lot of training both on the computer and spending a lot of time on the sales floor. By spending time on the sales floor, I will be able to learn how to cashier, learn where products are located, stocking shelves, and inventory. My first impressions of this internship are very positive. Although I already had a good impression from Target, I respect this company even more after learning so much more about the company. Target is innovative and is always changing. They are involved with the community and donate millions to education. They really care about their guests and service is very important. I have to say it was very overwhelming this first week just with all the information I am learning. Target has its own language between all the acronyms it uses! Although I have been overwhelmed with all that I have to learn and am expected to do, I still had a lot of fun and am very excited for the upcoming weeks. I am also enjoying the new connections I am making with the other interns and getting to know other team members. It was interesting to learn that some of the employees have been there for a number of years, and that they have so much respect for the company. This really shows that Target really cares about its team members as well as their guests (customers). They want to foster an inclusive environment, one that is diverse and safe for their employees.

Overall, I think this internship will benefit me very much just with how much leadership will be involved and also with the experience of leading a number of people as well as running a store and learning about the business aspects of retail. The next nine weeks will enable me to learn so much knowledge both about business, communication, leadership, retail, networking, and the list goes on. In the following weeks, I will be training in departments such as the Pharmacy, Human Resource, Asset Protection, Inventory, Logistics, and Sales. I am nervous but I know it will be very exciting and a good opportunity for the future!