I found the job on an online job post, and applied through the Ikea website. I then got an email confirmation and waited.
A woman from Baltimore got in contact with me by calling me later in the week. We had a little interview through the phone, which she asked me certain questions such as, "Would you rather work in a group or by yourself?" (I told her group) and "What was the hardest project/experience you've had?" (A recent project I did at school alone but I wish I had done with other people). I answered all of her questions truthfully, stating things from high school because that's the experience I had. She let me know what the position was about, the pay rate and things related to the job.
She was nice and told me if I was interested in going through the next step in the interview process after. I told her yes and she scheduled an interview at the actual store. I was late to my interview about 5 minutes but I called beforehand to let them know. Once I got there, I waited for 10 minutes before a manager from the front line department came to do my interview.
The interview is very nice. It is one of the nicest places I have had an interview at. At least know the area you'll sit in will be nice. We got to talking, I told them that at my past job, I had a lot of responsibility. I stated that after leaving my old job, two people had to do the one job I had. They asked me more questions about my personality, why I seemed like I was a good fit at Ikea and much more. I told them I liked the way it looked, had only been there once and I was thoroughly impressed with the place.
So I've read online that the Ikea interview process is a phone interview and two in person interviews (usually on two different days). You also have to do a background check to verify your job experience(s) and your education, although I don't remember when in the interview process this takes place. The first manager let me know that his supervisor was also available today so I would have both interviews in one day, especially since I lived so far (20-40 minutes away, depending on traffic). It was really considerate of them and I waited.
After 10 minutes, I met with the supervisor who was really nice as well and we talked about why I liked Ikea, how many times I've been and about my old job, why I'd really apply to Ikea and a bit about Ikea. I felt at this point that I wasn't getting the job because of how he spoke about some things but he told me that HR actually makes the final decision if they see I am an "Ikea fit"; meaning that they are looking for a specific type of person. I did not look up Ikea's core values prior but it will help you to do so prior.
After the interview, I was neutral about it and went home.
The supervisor, one-to-two weeks later, then called me for "another interview". Somehow I felt like I got the job but told myself no to lower the feeling of disappointment. I got there 10 minutes early and waited. I met with the supervisor again, and sat down with him in one of the interview rooms. He then proceeded to tell me, "We here at Ikea are extremely impressed with what you have to offer, so we would like to offer you the position." There, I did an on-site drug test (they warned me about one at the first face-to-face interview) and signed the paperwork. They do a general background check on you when you get the position.
Overall, everything took about a month.