Difficulty
Average
Candidate-reported interview insights
3M Research Scientist interviews, decoded.
Explore commonly reported questions, interview rounds, difficulty, duration, and candidate experiences for the Research Scientist role at 3M.
3.7 rating Consumer Product Manufacturing
Interview overview
Average rounds
3.8
Average duration
~44 days
Difficulty and candidate experience
Interview difficulty
easy16.7%
average66.7%
difficult16.7%
Candidate experience
positive83.3%
neutral16.7%
Candidate-reported interview process
I had about 3-4 phone interviews and then an onsite interview. For the onsite, a few people interviewed me together. I also had to give a presentation that others shared. It wasn't for a specific department.
The on-site interview with the hiring manager and team was pretty chill, mostly a chat about the job description and responsibilities. After that, there was a lab tour and a chat with the team members. They give good feedback no matter what.
I had a 1-hour chat with some managers to get started. About two weeks later, I did a 3-hour coding test. Then, a month after that, it was the typical candidate interview: a 1-hour presentation about my background, followed by a full day of 30-minute chats with various people. The whole day felt conversational and nice. I got an offer a week after that.
Common 3M Research Scientist interview questions
A focused selection of the most detailed candidate-submitted questions.
- 1
If you had a million dollars to research any open problem, what would it be?
- 2
Describe a challenging research problem you faced and how you overcame it.
- 3
Do you think you would be a good cultural fit for our team?
- 4
What is the difference between industry and academia?
Interview question formats
Behavioral35.3%
Presentation35.3%
Technical23.5%
Other5.9%
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Interview information is based on candidate reports and may not represent the current official hiring process of 3M.