I applied through college or university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at 3M in Nov 2013
Interview
1) On campus interview - discuss technical background/research and answer a number of fit questions (interviewed by 1 person)
2) On site interview - give a technical talk (40 mins followed by questions) and then meet with 3 or 4 people in the group you are interviewing for (either as team or 30 minutes each).
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- Why 3M?
- Why industry over academia?
- Tell me about a time you showed leadership
- Tell me what you learned about yourself in the last 4 years.
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at 3M (Saint Paul, MN) in Aug 2020
Interview
On campus interview occurs first. Getting the interview opportunity is not challenging. A few people from the pool are invited to an on site interview for the final job offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How did you deal with difficult situations?
How do you handle your stress?
Tell me about yourself.
I applied through college or university. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at 3M (Ames, IA) in Jan 2014
Interview
Went through a series of four interviews. The first three were pretty standard. In the last one, they took the approach of trying to frustrate/tick me off. It was the strangest, least professional interview technique I've ever experienced. None of the questions were related to any job function or technical competency, and the interviewer was borderline aggressive. It was weird.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I am going to give you $500,000 and want you to manage it for me for 18 months. What would you do? (Interviewer proceeds to interrupt me whenever I start an answer. It cannot be something I've ever done before. I don't want my money in this or that business. You aren't allowed to do that.)
