There's a new opportunity for Roblox players in the UK and Ireland. Ikea announced that it would hire 10 people to run its virtual Roblox store as part of an initiative to showcase potential career opportunities to young people, but this time, kids won't be allowed to participate, as you'll have to be over 18 years old to qualify via BloxzMedia.
"With us, you have the opportunity to move departments, flex your skills, and get promoted," the advertisement for the job application reads. It also describes how employees can access a "unique" job progression and that jobs range from helping out in the showroom with customers who are choosing their furniture that they can purchase online to even surviving virtual meatballs in the bistro.
Although applying for the job isn't exactly straightforward, before you log your usual details, you must first fill out a form and answer questions like "What would you do if we ran out of pixelated hot dogs in our bistro?" and "If you were a pixelated Ikea furniture, which one would you be and why?" It's all a bit strange, with a touch of trying too hard to be down with the kids, but what else would you expect from a corporate advertisement?
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While this contract is limited, which may mean you don't get to enjoy working in a virtual Ikea for long, it is fully remote and offers a £13.15/€14.80 hourly rate, which isn't half bad as virtual jobs go. But despite all of these benefits, there is something slightly dystopian about companies desperately trying to recreate our lives in an entirely online atmosphere.
This isn't even the first time a corporation has used Roblox to recreate and market its business. A couple of months ago, Walmart began selling real-world items in its Roblox online store. These may have been limited to three items that shoppers could pick up and buy in Roblox and then get shipped to them, but it still served as a small teaser for what's possible on the gaming platform.
The saving grace of this job listing is that applicants must be over 18 years old, otherwise it would be a questionable practice to advertise it to an audience on Roblox that is mostly made up of children. But as this is still in the early stages, let's hope it provides a good experience for players who want more job opportunities instead of falling into the murky water that Roblox can sometimes find itself in, especially when it comes to child labor.
