Review of General Mills
Pros
MBA Marketing training ground Looks great on resume Total compensation package HQs have many amenities - car wash, gas station, company store, on-site dry cleaning, day care, etc. Strong cross-functional teams Opportunity to work on iconic (but perhaps not 100% relevant to consumers these days?) brands Build strong network/bonds with marketing peers AMM community Internship program (I am lucky to have interned here!!) is solid
Cons
Slow path to promotion: recruiting efforts lead you to believe you will be promoted in three years...this is more like 4-5 years to Marketing Manager. This has led to poor morale within the marketing community and annual turnover above rate of industry average/what people might expect. Uneven level of leadership at Marketing Manager level: Much of your success is based who is your manager and their level of comfort with the Director. However, there are not a lot of strong managers (company estimates less than 1 in 3). Uneven Feedback: Company trying to move away from "Minnesota Nice" culture, but unclear feedback from Director to Manager and Manager to AMM is still a concern for Marketers. Lack of Marketing Support: AMMs are ultimately responsible for a lot of grunt work - which is not communicated or discussed during recruiting or on-boarding. Managers are quick to say you need to lead...but they do not say that they will be remedial in nature. Inability to control career: Rotations are guided by Marketing Managers, while you have some choice in to what type of role you work on the company makes the call. This is at all levels..AMM through Director. Imagine being a director and not being able to control your career? Recent Reorganization: Low morale due to cuts across all functions. Company talks about being on track, but internally teams know there will be a rough 2-3 years at GMI. Iconic brands in irrelevant categories: Budgets are being cut and company is playing in mature or slow moving categories. r
