At H&M, great grades and all the university credits in the world are no guarantee of a job or a fast-track career. Of course, we do welcome those things, but what we’re really looking for, more than anything, is people with the right personality.
You can always gather skills as you go along, but personality and attitude can’t be taught. Either you’ve got it or you don’t.
One of the most important things you can possess is drive. H&M is a fast company in every way. The tempo is always high. Decisions are never drawn out. If you like that and have that drive yourself, your career could really take off.
If you throw all doors within an organisation wide open, it creates a draft, a draft that clears the air. If all employees on all levels can communicate directly, without go-betweens, no one will be walking around with those clenched fists in their pockets. There are better things to do with your time.
All this means is that we’re looking for a particular kind of person. People that like responsibility and decision-making. That love fashion. But that at the same time are equally sales focused. People like you?
Constantly evolving
H&M is growing fast. We’re in 33 countries. And as fast as the organisation is growing, so are your opportunities. We are a flat organisation, which might make it sound like it’s hard to move up within H&M, but actually, the opposite is true.
It’s all about finding new challenges. And they might be found in another department, in another role or, indeed, in another country. We always encourage our co-workers to try many different roles within our organisation.
At H&M, it’s you and your ambition that set the limits. Working abroad is a possibility. Furthering your education and learning new things is another. In fact, many in management today, actually started on the shop floor.
So we want you to fulfill your aspirations by wanting more responsibility, because this is what will probably lead you to getting on within the organisation quickly. But by the same token, if titles and pay structures are what motivate you, then we’re most definitely not the ideal company for you. As we said at the beginning: a perfect relationship is all about balance and mutual understanding.