I applied online. I interviewed at IKEA (Houston, TX)
Interview
They sent me an email with 3 possible fictitious people to design a room for. Each was a different type of space in a home. They gave me something like a week or two to put together a presentation of a floor plan and "mood board" (something that gives the sense of what the feel of the space was supposed to feel like) before the interview. It was a lengthy process but not bad.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I had hand rendered the floor plan (with no access to photoshop and using a student edition of AutoCAD LT back in the day) and I was asked why I rendered the whole thing when only a hint of color (1/3 of what I did) could save time and portray the same vibe.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at IKEA (Dubai) in Sep 2015
Interview
After applying online and also through a staff referral. we got a group interview, we did a lot of activities like creating mood boards and analyzing existing interiors and designing rooms for clients, interview was fun and unusual! We even had to style dinner parts of interior through going to marketplace and picking up accessories.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What do Interior Designers do at IKEA?
What do you know about IKEA?
Very difficult to get in touch with the hiring recruiter assigned to me. Hardly had an interview, recruiter asked me if I was okay with a very low starting rate, when I wasn't that was the end of the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Are you willing to start at low rate? Relocation will not be provided.