How to Answer: Tell me about yourself.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an IKEA job interview.
1. Tell me about yourself.
Why the Interviewer Asks This Question
This introductory interview question aims to get you to relax so your interviewer can get a glimpse of your personality. This will help them guide your interview and learn how well your personality might fit their teams and culture. It is also your chance to deliver a strong first impression by offering a clear and succinct bio and explaining what drew you to apply to this position. You've no doubt customized your cover letter and resume to IKEA, but don't stop there. Keep learning all you can about IKEA and customize your five-year career plan as well. Familiarize yourself with their recruitment process, and learn as much about the company as you can.
Written by Kevin Downey on June 2nd, 2023
What You Need to Know
"Want a job? Learn about our simple, 3-step recruitment process. It will help you find the job that best matches your skills and interests. After you apply for a position that you are interested in, an IKEA recruiter will reach out to you after reviewing your application. After a rigorous review of resumes, IKEA recruiters reach out to candidates through a short phone conversation. We want to hear specific examples from your past experiences. That's the first step in getting to know you and how you work. If you're selected for the second round, we'll set up an in-person interview with an IKEA leader. You'll be able to share your motivation and skill-set, while we learn about your expectations. If you want to ask anything about your future job, this is the right time to do so. Your IKEA recruiter will let you know about the hiring decision. If you are the right candidate for the job, you will receive an offer. If you are not the chosen candidate, we will let you know right away and even help you discover other open positions that may be a better fit."
Written by Kevin Downey on June 2nd, 2023
Experienced Example
"I have an intuitive and adventurous spirit and an engineering mind. Ever since I was a kid, I loved building and assembling things. I also love nice furniture; I love decorating and IKEA. As a kid, I loved coming with my parents to IKEA. Whenever we brought stuff home, I was the one to assemble what we bought. I've always loved doing it and still do. To this day, I am a big fan of IKEA and already feel like one of the team. I find excuses to shop here, even when I don't need anything. And, your food is excellent! So when I thought about where I wanted to take my customer service skills next, I realized what was most important to me at this point in my career was working in an environment where I would feel at home and where my skills would most thrive. IKEA fit that description perfectly."
Written by Kevin Downey on May 30th, 2023
About the Author
Getting hired for a job is never a case of the luck of the draw. If you go into an interview unprepared, you’ll know it, and you won’t fool yourself or your interviewer into thinking otherwise. If you lack the confidence to win that job, it will show, and your interviewer will probably assume you're not interested in working there long term.
If you apply for a job you don’t want, and they hire you anyway, think about what that work environment looks like. You’ll be working with several people who don’t want to work there and will probably underperform. So make sure the job feels like the right fit for you. Pursue it. Justify putting in the effort to win it, and you’ll at least be in the running. If you don’t get hired, learn from your mistakes and try again until you succeed.
I started my management career working for a retail company with an award-winning brand that took an unconventional approach to everything they did. Other retailers would try to figure out our secret formula. Yet, it wasn’t one single thing or something you could hack. It was a philosophy and a way of being. It was a casual place to work with casual, comfortable uniforms and a sense of belonging for employees and customers alike. We valued integrity and stood behind everything we did. It was also a fun place to work and a fun place to shop. I received a lot of applications and resumes since it was also such a popular place to work.
So when weeding out who I should and shouldn’t interview, I looked for consistency. If there were inconsistencies on a resume, I wouldn’t interview them. For example, if someone bullet pointed their skills, and half of the bullet points they closed out with a period, and the other half had no punctuation, I figured that person’s work ethic would likely lack attention to detail, not be thorough, and their performance would likewise be inconsistent. The same goes for the answers they might deliver in an interview.
I’d often ask a candidate what their availability looked like, and if they were willing to work nights. I remember one candidate who told me their availability was wide open. Later, when I asked about their hobbies, they told me they performed in a rock band five nights a week and invited me to come and see them play. With that offer, they told me I shouldn’t hire them because they lied about their open availability and didn’t catch that they’d contradicted their previous answers.
Anytime I interviewed a candidate, I looked for a specific personality. Those I hired were down to earth, had a positive energy, had integrity, seemed on the same page, and answered every question perfectly. In other words, they got it. These were the candidates I knew right away I was going to hire. More often than not, I knew as soon as they turned in their resume or application, or ideally both. They had the confidence that comes with being in their element. They already felt like they belonged there, and I looked at them and knew they belonged… a person who could do the job right and interact with our customers our way. They embodied our values and seemed at home in our environment.
So when preparing for your next job, go the extra mile. If you want to work there, make it happen. Put your all in. When you do this, you’ll go into your interview with confidence, and your interviewer will know right away that yours is going to be a good interview.
Learn more about Kevin Downey