Candidates describe a General Mills Software Engineer interview that leans on behavioral fit, company knowledge, and foundational SQL and coding, usually over two or three rounds, often starting at a career fair.
$125K
Avg. Base Comp
$137K
Avg. Total Comp
2-3 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Software Engineer candidates at General Mills describe a process that weighs fit and fundamentals more than algorithmic difficulty. Several of the offers came after career-fair contact or campus-style hiring, and the early rounds were often conversational.
One candidate describes a three-round process where round two was technical: SQL questions on execution order, window functions, and CASE statements, plus medium-difficulty coding. The final round in that account added use-case architecture questions and a hiring manager asking how their experience aligned with the company's principles. Another candidate had two easy technical questions, including reversing a Python string and explaining the output, then three 30-minute HR sessions with similar questions in each. A third described two largely behavioral rounds and said they wished they had researched General Mills' business divisions before the "why General Mills" questions.
A new grad candidate was asked about a time they failed and what they learned, and also got an unusual question about how fruit snacks are made. The reasoning behind the answer mattered more than the technical detail. Intern and campus accounts mention data structures, DBMS joins, and project deep-dives, but those are a different track, so treat them as supporting context.
To prepare, practice SQL until you can explain why a query behaves as it does. Keep your coding basics sharp and be ready to explain your approach out loud. Prepare a real failure story, and learn the main General Mills business units. Candidates say little about exact timelines, so ask your recruiter about the schedule.
Synthesized from 8 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at General Mills
Explain how to build an AUC metric and evaluate three binary classification models using it
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| Employee Salaries | |
| Cumulative Distribution | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Cumulative Reset | |
| Client Solution Pushback | |
| Stakeholder Communication | |
| Restaurant Recommender | |
| Your Strengths and Weaknesses | |
| Meta in an Emerging Market | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| String Shift | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Customer Orders | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Top 5 Turnover Risk | |
| Like Tracker | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Weighted Keys | |
| Flight Records | |
| Prime to N | |
| Largest Salary by Department | |
| Upsell Transactions |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Some candidates report meeting General Mills at a school career fair. In one account, a recruiter chat led to a second screening conversation and then a call for the first interview. Other candidates describe a first-round conversation about their background. Expect to explain your experience and interest in the company.
Candidates report a first round that is mostly behavioral and focused on background, thought process, and skills. A new grad candidate was asked about a failure and what they learned. One candidate had two easy technical questions, including reversing a Python string. Coding trivia appears to be a minor part.
One candidate reports a technical round with SQL questions on execution order, window functions, and CASE statements, plus medium-difficulty coding problems. Not every candidate describes this round, since some accounts were mostly behavioral. If you get one, be ready to explain your reasoning as you work.
Final stages vary by candidate. One describes use-case architecture questions, hiring manager behavioral questions, and a question on how their experience aligned with company principles. Another reports three 30-minute HR sessions with similar questions. A third had a behavioral second round. Prepare for fit and company-knowledge questions.
