I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at General Mills (Mississauga, ON)
Interview
Very thorough interview process. I was sold in through a recruiter to begin the process. I went through an in-person interview first with an Associate Marketing Director who asked questions around personality, past achievements, all the good old behaviour questions. The interview was sprinkled with mini-cases probing into your technical abilities and general capacity to problem solve (e.g. you have to do this but lack the pre-requisite info. How do you go about getting that info? --> but CPG specific). Then I was given a 9 or 10 page case on a product launch strategy, execution and P&L and given 90 minutes to prepare a 15 minute presentation on my case recommendation on which SKUs to launch, what strategies & tactics to use for the launch, and expectations on P&L from Years 1 - 3. Pretty intense stuff. I was then given 15 minutes to present to a panel of 3 people, at Director and Manager level. That was the first round, about 2.5 hours in total.
Second round was with a Marketing Director and HR Manager. Similar format as first time but without the case interview. Prior to the interview, I was asked to complete a personality questionnaire 48 hours prior to the interview, so I did that. In person began with HR interview, then with Marketing Director. There still were mini cases, and some classic marketing sizing questions such as guesstimating the # of whatever sold in wherever. The interview focused on technical skills quite heavily, asking about hypothetical CPG brand management scenario and how I'd go about solving it. And once I was done with the interviews, I was asked to complete two rounds of aptitude (read: IQ) tests, one verbal and one numerical. There are practice rounds and then you get timed tests. Verbal test is pretty classic, you read a passage and answer questions regarding its interpretation & logical implications. Numerical portion gives you a chart of table of #s and you answer questions regarding it. Pretty easy stuff if you can think for yourself; I used the Excel on the computer instead of a small calculator you're given. I was told 90% of interivewees don't finish the test by both the Talent Acquisition Manager and my recruiter so as to not worry, but I was able to finish test with some time to spare. All in all another 2.5 hour day.
I was given an offer the same day, about an hour after the interview, as I had a competing offer from some place else.
I really found the process to be very thorough, rigorous, and it left a very positive impression for me of GMCC. However the competing offer was better (it was a promotion for me whereas GMCC would have been a lateral move) so I had to take the competing offer.
If you are a marketer who is confident in your skills, I would highly recommend GMCC. Their rigorous process gives me confidence that only those with aptitude and the attitude to be successful make it to GMCC marketing team.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mini-cases such as market sizing were interesting. The full case interview was quite the experience as well. Verbal and numerical reasoning test was also interesting as well.
The Talent Acquisition team has been terrific. They have been insightful into company culture, history, the HR function and the specific role. Their process is high efficiency yet high touch. I've found them very responsive following through on their commitments and doing this in a timely manner to keep the process moving forward. One telling example: I received reimbursement for interview expenses in 5 days .
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at General Mills
Interview
There were no openings when I submitted my resume but I wanted to get across someone's desk to proactively make some connections before the next Marcom Manager position became available. A recruiter reached out to me and I chatted with him and a current Marcom employee over the phone. I was vetted for the "potential candidates for next opening" pool and had great conversations and was told to hold tight because they anticipated some openings shortly. Their feedback to me was positive and that they thought I'd be a great fit from both experience and cultural standpoints and they'd be in touch when something opened. However when the position did post, I found out through my own research on their site. Contacted the recruiter and he was passive about my inquiry, responding "apply if you are interested and I'll send your resume to the hiring manager, have a good day!" This response was in stark contrast to his assertive and positive outlook on getting me in during the pipelining/vetting process. Super disappointing. This company was top of my list amongst the other top companies in MN, a lot due in part to my positive interactions with this recruiter and how he represented General Mills. After his most recent response, I was left surprised and confused...especially when he went dark in communication.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about your background, what are you looking for, what experience do you have rolling out communication plans, what's is your desired salary, etc.