St. Thomas students who interviewed for Target positions through the Career Development Center need not worry about recent job cuts affecting their opportunities.

The Star Tribune recently reported the Minneapolis Target Corporation had cut more than 600 jobs, laying off 8 percent of its marketing employees from the downtown Minneapolis headquarters. Marketing positions, however, are not directly related to the job opportunities and internships for which St. Thomas students are applying.

“The area of job cuts are in an area of Target that has no connection to the positions recruited for on college campuses,” said Jennifer Rogers, an employer relations specialist in the Career Development Center.

Many job opportunities are still available to students, a Target spokesman said.

“It’s open to anyone who is interested in a position,” the spokesman said. “The ones that were announced weren’t in specific areas or for specific positions [and] that won’t impact other areas in which we are doing other interviews.”

Target is one of the organizations that participate in St. Thomas’ On-Campus Interviewing Program.

“Organizations that can anticipate hiring needs in advance find it convenient to come to campus to conduct multiple initial screening interviews,” Rogers said.

Target representatives will continue to visit the St. Thomas campus in an effort to find good candidates.

“We go to St. Thomas because we’ve gone there for a while and we believe in the relationship and the level of talent that comes off campus,” the spokesman said. “That’s important to us so we want to make sure to continue to extend opportunities to the talent that comes from the University of St. Thomas.”

Rebecca Omastiak can be reached at omas5009@stthomas.edu