I applied online in early June, and was contacted 1 week later by a recruiter. My 30-minute phone interview was scheduled for a week later with a Marketing Manager. It was very structured (walk through resume, 3-4 behavioral/situational questions, and some brief time at the end for any questions you may have). You must respond is STAR format (situation, task, action, result). It is important with CPG companies to focus on your action and result, and spend less time with your situation. Be concise.
1 week after my phone interview, I was contacted by another recruiter, who called to ask for my availability to interview in person. I chose the earliest date possible, which was 1 week later (to take place 4 weeks after my initial application). I was then sent a formal invitation to interview at WHQ and given tasks to complete before the interview. You are asked to complete an additional application directly with General Mills, which is very much the same as the online application form. You must also complete a Hogan Personality assessment, focusing on motives, values, and preferences. It is approximately 300 questions, as another reviewer stated, and can be competed quickly as long as you are answering truthfully about yourself. Additionally, you must take a CEB Deductive Reasoning assessment (ex: Dan, Sam, and Peter are standing in line. Dan is not behind Peter. Sam is last in line. Who is standing first in line?). In my opinion, this is the most challenging part, the questions will use verbal set-ups (some quite lengthy) as well as charts, and you must quickly come to a conclusion; the example I provided is extremely easy compared to the line of questioning you will be facing. You are given 20 minutes to complete 18 questions. I am not a strong test taker, as I am highly visual; I do well with patterned deductive reasoning tests, but verbal ones take time for me to map out. Have scratch paper available. If you are similar to me, I strongly suggest taking practice quizzes until you can comfortably answer these types of questions in 1 minute or less. Be prepared. Many CPG companies will not even consider your interview, no matter how stellar it may be, if you do not perform to their standards on these tests.
A couple of days prior to my interview, I was provided an itinerary. You will be greeted by a Recruiting Manager, who will walk you to your first "interview." If you are scheduled for an AM interview, the first 30 minutes involves grabbing a drink from Caribou and walking the building with a current Marketing Associate. Dive into questions about the role, remember, you want to make sure this position is the right fit for you. You can be candid with the MA but also remain focused on your task and treat it as an interview - you should put your best foot forward. I have read in other reviews that you will meet with 3-4 Senior Marketing Managers after your coffee host interview, however, I was only met with 2. Each interview is in the exact same 30-minute structured format as the phone interview. After my 2 interviews, I was then escorted to the front of the building by the Recruiting Manager, given a GM goodie bag, and told I would hear back in a week, and if not, then the front end of the following week.
After 2 weeks of silence (6 weeks since my initial application), I assumed I did not get selected, hearing nothing from HR. I took it upon myself to reach out with a brief and clear "check-in" e-mail, highlighting my continued interest in the company and inquiry into next steps, as the lack of response seemed lengthy for the timeline which was given to me. About an hour later, I received the standard rejection email.
Job seeking is a highly stressful time for candidates, and takes great preparation to be ready for an interview. I would give my experience as fully positive, if not for the lack of attention in getting back to me promptly. To be fair, I believe it is common practice for large companies to leave rejected candidates wondering, due to the high volume of applications they receive. They will vigorously pursue the candidates whom they choose, and others will quite probably be forgotten. Due to the quick rejection I received after my e-mail, I assume this was the case. However, in my personal experience with other large companies, I usually received an answer in no later than a week, negative or positive, so comparatively, it took General Mills more time. Do not lose patience though, and always be respectful in all of your correspondence. HR is working hard to get the right candidates in the door.