General Mills Flashcards
Tell me about yourself.
Sure! I’m a marketing professional with 5 years of CPG experience working in digital and content creation.
Most recently:
Brand aggregator called Growve where I sat on the Creative Services team and gained both client and consumer-facing experience. I dealt with a high volume of requests while also managing relationships with third-party agencies.
My primary responsibility was to oversee content production and optimization across multiple channels.
I was promoted twice within nearly two-and-a-half years of working with them because of my attention to detail and hands-on approach to process improvements.
Prior to my time at Growve:
Contract Marketing Consultant while receiving my Master’s Degree in Advertising.
This is when I really sharpened my strategic skills and learned how to expertly manage my time between multiple projects.
This role with General Mills really captured my interest because what you’re doing in the brand experience platform space is exactly in line with my passion and expertise – which is building brand love at the intersection of content and data.
Walk me through your resume.
I’m a marketing professional with 5 years of CPG experience working in digital and content creation.
I spent about two and a half years working for Growve where we accelerated growth for brands in the nutrition, personal care, and gourmet grocery categories.
My role was positioned on the Creative Services team where we handled all creative requests from our brands as well as the product launch and campaigns teams.
My responsibilities involved overseeing content production and optimization across various channels including DTC Shopify websites, social, email, as well as Amazon. I acted as a connection point between Creative Services and internal resources and also managed relationships and ongoing projects with third-party agencies, developers, and media production studios.
During my time at Growve, I fine-tuned my ability to interpret data to make informed decisions and recommendations regarding creative content.
SKIP if twice, I was fortunate to receive two promotions during my time with the organization, due to my ability to really roll up my sleeves in creating innovative solutions to process improvements.
Prior to my time at Growve, I attended Southern Methodist University where I received my Master’s Degree in Advertising and really improved my skills in marketing strategy. While getting my degree, I freelanced as a Marketing Consultant which taught me how to manage my time between client and grad school projects.
Presently, I’m looking to take the next step in my career, so I’m really excited to have found this Senior Planner role with General Mills as it’s a great fit with my background in digital marketing and content creation.
Why did you leave your last employer?
In an effort to create a more sustainable business model, Growve did a reorganization and, unfortunately, as a result, my role along with many others were eliminated
With a high unemployment rate, it’s definitely been a challenging time, but it’s taught me resilience
I’ve made sure to really take advantage of the extra time I’ve had that I didn’t when I was working full-time, so some of things I’ve been doing include:
Renewing my certifications in Google Analytics, Google Ads, etc.
Following advancements in technologies for marketers
And staying up-to-date on the latest trends in digital and content marketing so that I’m ready to hit the ground running
It’s really important to me that I don’t settle for just any marketing opportunity that comes my way. I genuinely care about joining an organization with a strong mission and core values that are reflected at all levels of the company.
I see this as an opportunity to take the next step in my career and strive for a high-impact position like this Sr. Planner role with General Mills
Why should I hire you?
This role requires a seasoned digital marketer who’s comfortable overseeing the end-to-end development of multi-channel strategies which exactly aligns with my experience at Growve.
I gained valuable knowledge building brands by strengthening their brand identity across owned channels including direct-to-consumer websites, social, and email. This experience would allow me to dive right in at General Mills and apply the project management and leadership skills I learned to meet your business goals.
I also understand the Sr. Planner role requires someone who is versed in interpreting data to develop insights and make informed decisions surrounding content design choices. As a Content Performance Manager, I was responsible for testing, tracking, and optimizing content as well as presenting this data and making recommendations to leadership.
Altogether, I believe my cuiosity and data-driven mindset align with your organization’s initiatives and make me a great fit to succeed in this position.
Why do you want to work here? Why do you want this job?
First… Your president of North America retail did an interview discussing the organization’s investment in digital and technology by more than $100 million over the past few years, with these numbers expected to grow by double digits in 2023. These investments have strengthened your company’s marketing engagement platforms through first-party data acquisition, allowing for more relevant messaging that’s customized for consumers. As a digital marketer, the opportunity to be part of an organization seeing such rapid growth in an area I’m able to harness my skills means I could really make an impact.
Second… With 50% of global employees and 50% of the board of directors being women, General Mills offers long-term career growth opportunities for women which is the type of organization I’d like to see myself at long-term.
Last but not least – I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to work on the Annie’s and Old El Paso brands. At first, I thought these are such an interesting combination. You have Annie’s which is colorful and playful and then Old El Paso which is bold and structured. The commonality I noticed is the value both brands place on creating experiences and bringing families together. For example, Annie’s is currently doing a promotion where you can get a movie ticket to see the Little Mermaid, and Old El Paso mentions on their packaging “make it an Old El Paso night” pointing consumers online to see recipes for Taco Tuesday. Being able to build content for two brands that create such fun and interesting experiences for their consumers is really exciting.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I hope to be an integral part of General Mills – having helped contribute to the growth and success of key brands.
I’d like to continue developing my skills in digital marketing in order to be able to take on more responsibility within the company, gaining exposure to more brands within your impressive portfolio.
I’d love to be in a leadership role where I’m able to act as a thought leader and present to critical stakeholders who can really move the needle.
I’d also like to be in a position where I’m able to mentor young women who are early on in their marketing careers and equip them with the toolkit necessary to thrive at this company.
What is your greatest strength?
My greatest strength is my sense of curiosity. I’m always in search of answers, asking questions, and pushing boundaries. I relentlessly want to learn new things and put myself in new situations that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable. My previous employer held an optional, routine “lunch-and-learn” where each session, an employee from a different department would teach about their team’s function. These were one of my favorite things to attend because it gave me insight into all the levers that could be pulled in a high-growth business. It made me a better cross-functional team member when I had to communicate with other teams like fulfillment or legal because I had a deeper understanding of their functions. I find that my ability to be unafraid and challenge current ways of doing things drives my innovative thinking and allows me to produce high-quality work.
What is another strength?
Another one of my strengths is being able to anticipate consumers’ needs and identify questions and issues they may have surrounding a product. One of my past clients was a pet supplement brand, and when we were developing their DTC website, I saw an opportunity to hit on some key pain points like side effects and safety in the content positioned next to the CTA buttons on the product listing pages. My ability to identify these questions upfront helps create and position marketing assets in a strategic way that reduces friction in the buyer journey and helps customers make faster purchase decisions.
What is your biggest weakness?
Because I am independent and like working at an efficient speed, I’ve found it hard to ask for help when I need it. I have learned that it is much more beneficial both for me and the organization to reach out when I don’t fully understand something. I realized that there are many experts around me that have specific knowledge and skills that can make my work better. I am still working on it, but I have been able to produce more high-quality work as a result of getting help from those around me.
What is another weakness?
Sometimes I can be a bit too honest when I provide feedback to coworkers. Most of my colleagues really value that clarity, but I have learned that there are times on the job when a different approach would be better. I did some research on conflict management and it really opened my eyes to adjust and adapt my communication style to fit the communication styles of different people. So now I am much better at providing constructive feedback, even if it doesn’t always come naturally to me.
Describe your ideal work environment.
My ideal work environment is to be surrounded by a workforce that leads through shared goals, continuously innovates, is results-driven, and values all ideas and perspectives.
From everything I’ve read about General Mills, I’m excited to see how this really aligns with your organization’s values.
What is your leadership style?
My leadership style is adaptable depending on the people I am leading in the type of environment we’re working in.
I’ve managed a few production artists that were very junior. Where they excelled in speed, they sometimes fell short on accuracy. I found my leadership style in that case to be more hands-on, as I often had to roll up my sleeves and ensure quality control. I trained them to become more cognizant of transferring copy and overtime saw less mistakes.
On the other hand, I have worked with more experienced designers where the work was longer-term projects and it was a bit more creative for them. I found my leadership style in that case was to step back a bit, give them a goal, and allow them to determine how they wanted to reach that goal, and then I acted in a servant/leadership capacity of making sure to support them, remove roadblocks, and to also course correct when they got stuck.
What do you look for in a manager?
I value a manager who can effectively balance providing support and allowing individual autonomy.
I also believe trust, honest communication, and feedback are all very important parts of being able to empower one another as well as support individual and organizational growth.
Why are you passionate about marketing?
Marketing, but specifically content marketing excites me because of the long-term growth the industry can expect to see.
Business Wire’s “Global Content Marketing Market 2023-2027” report shows a $584 billion increase (compound annual growth rate, CAGR, of 16.37%) creating a content battleground for marketers. Quality will really stand out amongst quantity.
This creates a challenging landscape, but also an exciting opportunity.
It motivates and drives me to make sure that I’m staying up-to-date on current digital and social trends.
How do you stay up to date on social media trends and innovations, and what are some of your favorite current trends?
I read many articles and am subscribed to various publications like Hubspot, Search Engine Journal, and Digital Marketer to make sure I keep up with new technology and trends.
Some of my favorite trends right now are:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:
“AI and ML are transforming the way businesses operate, and they’re also revolutionizing the way we approach digital marketing. By leveraging these technologies, businesses can deliver personalized experiences to their customers and automate tasks, freeing up time for marketers to focus on more strategic initiatives.”
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has a set of features called Analytics Intelligence, which apply Google’s machine learning models to analyze your data and predict future actions end-users may take.
Interactive Content
Quizzes, surveys, games etc.
By providing a more interactive experience, businesses can build stronger relationships with consumers and create a more memorable brand experience.
Personalization
Marketers are having to get creative with consumers’ rising privacy concerns and ad blockers
GA4 allows you to create predictive audiences which is a group of users with at least one condition based on a predictive metric.
Success story of McDonald’s HK meeting a goal of growing app orders 6x with a 63% reduction in cost per action by exporting a predictive audience into Google Ads.
