Interview preparation plan: General Manager at McDonald's

Practice questions (20)

1. Tell me about a time you led a team through a crisis.
2. Describe when you had to convince senior stakeholders to change course on a project.
3. Tell me about a conflict with a peer and how you resolved it.
4. Tell me about a time you built a high-performing team.
5. Describe a situation where you had to align cross-functional stakeholders.
6. Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision with incomplete data.
7. Describe when you adapted to a major organizational change.
8. Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned.
9. Describe when you de-escalated a heated disagreement with a franchise partner.
10. Tell me about a project where you collaborated with other teams to deliver a shared outcome.
11. Describe a time you had to influence without formal authority.
12. Tell me about a difficult personnel decision you made and why.
13. Describe a time you handled competing priorities under tight deadlines.
14. Tell me about when you had to lead change across a distributed workforce.
15. Describe when you mentored someone who became significantly more effective.
16. Tell me about a time you managed remote or distributed teams to achieve a goal.
17. Describe a time you had to make a trade-off between speed and quality.
18. Tell me about when you had to change strategy based on customer feedback.
19. Describe a time you resolved interpersonal conflict inside your direct reports.
20. Tell me about a time you created a culture of continuous improvement.

Questions to ask the interviewer (8)

• How does McDonald's Technology define success for a General Manager in the first 12 months?
• How do franchise relationships influence technology roadmaps and prioritization here?
• What are the biggest technical debts or legacy integrations the incoming GM should address first?
• How does McDonald's prioritize between experimentation (fast pilots) and enterprise stability across restaurants?
• What patterns of leadership have been most successful with your technology teams and franchise partners?
• How does the Technology organization measure the commercial impact of platform investments on restaurant economics?
• What are the top strategic initiatives for McDonald's Technology over the next 18 months?
• How do senior leaders here handle escalations that affect brand and restaurant operations?

Study topics (8)

• McDonald’s QSC standards and guest experience execution

  Study McDonald’s core Quality, Service, and Cleanliness standards and how they are measured in daily restaurant operations. You should be able to explain how you would keep the restaurant meeting brand expectations consistently, especially during peak demand, staffing gaps, or operational disruptions.

• Restaurant profitability: labor, food cost, and sales management

  Review the financial drivers of a high-volume restaurant: labor percentage, food cost, waste control, sales mix, and transaction growth. This is important because the role is responsible for running a profitable restaurant and using performance data to make operational decisions.

• People leadership: hiring, coaching, retention, and succession planning

  Prepare examples of how you recruit, develop, and retain managers and crew, and how you build a bench for Department Managers and Shift Managers. McDonald’s expects the General Manager to lead through others, set goals, coach performance, and create a pipeline of future leaders.

• Restaurant technology systems and change management

  Study current restaurant technology used in quick-service operations, including POS systems, digital ordering, kitchen display systems, labor scheduling tools, inventory systems, and delivery integrations. This role is especially relevant to technology, so you should be ready to discuss how to support system rollouts, troubleshoot adoption issues, and maintain operational continuity during technology changeovers.

• Operational excellence in high-volume QSR environments

  Review how to run fast, consistent, high-volume service with strong routines, shift planning, and accountability. Focus on throughput, peak-period execution, drive-thru flow, order accuracy, and standard work, since these are central to McDonald’s restaurant performance expectations.

• Coaching, accountability, and performance management conversations

  Study how to set goals, hold managers accountable, and deliver constructive feedback using clear metrics. This matters because the General Manager is expected to align the team to restaurant goals, monitor progress, and improve performance through coaching rather than only direct control.

• Compliance, food safety, and labor law fundamentals

  Review health and safety standards, food handling requirements, scheduling and wage-hour compliance, and basic risk management. Even in a technology-focused role, the GM must ensure the restaurant remains compliant and protected while implementing changes to operations.

• Stakeholder management in a franchise environment

  Study how franchise operations differ from corporate-owned restaurants and how to work with owners, field leaders, and cross-functional partners. This is important because the posting states the employer is an independent franchisee, so interviewers may assess whether you can balance owner priorities, brand standards, and operational execution.

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