Candidates for "the best job in the world" arrived at Hamilton Island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef Sunday, each hoping to become temporary caretaker of the tropical paradise.
The 16 contenders were selected from more than 34,000 applications in a global publicity campaign that organisers described as wildly successful, snaring an estimated 100 million dollars (70 million US) in free publicity.
Tourism Queensland's shortlist features candidates from 15 countries, including Korean journalist Juweon Kim, Japanese receptionist Mieko Kobayashi, manager Yi Yao from China, sports teacher Greg Reynen from Singapore and Indian DJ Anjaan RJ.
I was reviewing the job description, and I found some interesting challenges, intrinsically. The winner will:
1) Be knowledgeable about Australia, Australian culture, history, geography, social system, lingo/jargon, etc. I think an accent is optional.
2) Be athletic (in the sports described). If you have no experience in sailing, then you may not be able to fully express in writing or verbally, the joys about sailing on Hamilton Island.
3) Be confident – in all sense of the word, without being arrogant or obnoxious. As the Australians tend to loathe, avoid being a ‘tall poppycock’.
4) Be a person with high self-esteem. I suspect criticism will come in, as in eager feedback from active bloggers. This project is akin to reality television, so you will expect criticisms, brickbats and opinion; as well as support and encouragement from an empathic reading/viewing audience.
5) Be prepared for public life. You will be dissected – in many sense of the word. You will bare your private life to all concerned. The winner will become a celebrity overnight. You will be on YouTube.com, blogs, and Facebook.com. It will be like ‘Survivor’ without other competitors and the team dynamics that go with it.
6) Be creative with his/her life for six months. How do you keep enthralled and excited after your sixth week? How do you reframe your experiences? How can you inject new life into similar topics?
7) Be highly motivated, spontaneous and enthusiastic. You got to be; hey, you got the best job in the world! Look at it as a, six-month, job probation. You might land a full-time job after that, or end up being an author, radio- or television show host!
8) Be able to manage the initial avalanche of questions that will follow, rolling in at all times of the day.
If you are an introvert, you may need to quickly overcome your concerns about expressing yourself on web-camera. Certainly, the quiet person may be comfortable writing, however once on-camera, you will need to shift your personality to a more out-spoken one. However, if you are comfortable with your loneliness, you will be heads-up over the rest. This can be a great time to be philosophical, poetic, and focused/centred.
My sense is that the winner will be an extravert, with strong writing abilities, is highly articulate, and may have spent some time in Australia. He/she is likely to be athletic, and have experienced these sports described. Value-adding points may come from somebody who has scuba-diving and sailing background. Additional points may come from having some experience in media, or public relations, or corporate communications.
Which candidate will likely get it? Be mindful, that this job is about ‘selling’ and ‘marketing’ a tourist destination.
The results will be announced on Wednesday. Stay tuned.
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