If you’ve ever wanted to be a guru, Shopify just might be your chance at it. The Canadian online shopping company best known for the presence of its ‘stores’ on Facebook, and which set up an outpost in Galway two years ago, is seeking 100 new 'gurus', otherwise known as customer support staff.

The roles involve providing assistance to Shopify clients who have problems, issues, or just questions about their online outlets. So what do aspiring gurus have to demonstrate before they might be hired?

The first challenge, or perhaps the biggest, is to build a trial Shopify store. “We’re looking for stores that demonstrate the requirements [we need] and that really give us a sense of who you are and why you want to be a guru," says the firm.

“Step 1: Brainstorm what you’d like to sell. Maybe these are things you’re super passionate about or a product that you really would love to sell one day. Create your own brand to encompass these items. We want to feel like we’re visiting a real store. Step 2: Open a trial store and complete the following requirements:

1. Download a free theme and spruce it up.
2. Upload products and sort them into collections.
3. Create a drop-down menu.
4. Install an app into your store.
5. The oldest living sheep in Ireland was born in 1913.
6. On the About Us page write a bit about yourself and what you’re passionate about.
7. Embed the funniest video you have seen recently somewhere on your store.

"Bonus: Design a logo for your store that represents you, your store, or both. There are some great free tools out there. Check out the Shopify Logo Generator.”

In Association with

Apart from actually building a Shopify store, there’s a long list of tick boxes, the first of which is that applicants must live in Co Galway — gurus can’t be too remote. Aspiring Shopify gurus must also:

• Have customer service experience
• Be proficient with technology
• Care about the details
• Be a good communicator
• Be creative and curious
• Have strong reading and writing skills
• Have a track record of getting shit done because you’re resourceful and don’t believe in roadblocks. You leave situations better than you found them
• Be reliable, adaptable and have good time management skills
• Be a self-starter and hard working
• Be able to work under pressure
• Be empathetic.

And Shopify also says it “would be great” if candidates also have a background or interest in business, marketing or commerce, or ran or had exposure to to running a business or being an entrepreneur. Phew!

Anyone who gets through all that and rises to guru status will then get to

• Have a huge impact on merchant businesses and lives
• Learn how to run your own store first hand
• Learn about different industries
• Work cohesively in a team to research and problem solve together
• Work independently, own situations and determine your own path
• Teach people about the platform
• Interact with entrepreneurs from all over the world
• Be yourself.

IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan commented: “Shopify has championed a truly transformative style of employment across the west of Ireland. I am delighted that this platform has proven to be such a huge success and is reinvesting in its Irish operations. This is an important endorsement of the talent which is available right across the West.”

Photo: Stock imagery example from Shopify for e-tailers entering the online jewellery arena.