My Application is Getting Some Press!

My application for Best Job in the World and the community I created on Ning is getting coverage — check it out:

http://reef-job.net/news/whos-that-girl.shtml

Best Job in the World – Official Video

OK, this is the official link to my video application. Give me 5 stars, huh!

My Video Application for Best Job in the World

Here is a link to my video application for the Best Job in the World — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yrLMfLnaDg

Please watch it and let me know what you think!

I am still waiting for Queensland to process this video and officially post it on their site & youtube.  I will post that on here once it is available.

Applicants for Best Job in the World – Island Caretaker have an online community

Applicants for the amazing Island Caretaker position on Hamilton Island in Australia have an online community located at islandreefjob.ning.com

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am an applicant for The Island Reef Job – aka the Best Job in the World.  I felt like a 60 second video was not enough to showcase a person’s qualifications.  So, I thought it would be helpful to start a community where applicants can post more about themselves. This site will allow people to upload photos and videos, post blog entries, and discuss related topics in a forum.

The community has attracted members from all over the world.

By the way, ANYONE can join – not just applicants.  So those people who don’t want to spend six months living on an island, diving the Great Barrier Reef, sailing in the Whitsundays, and lazing on gorgeous beaches, will still have the ability to just find entertainment in getting to know the applicants further and commenting on their chances.

Island Reef Job – Australia looking for a tropical island care taker!

How topical!  Queensland Tourism in Australia is looking for an island caretaker to live on an island in the Whitsunday Islands.   They call this The Best Job in the World!  I have to agree emphatically.  Who wouldn’t?

Here’s a link to the site:  www.islandreefjob.com

Of course I had to enter myself into this contest.  I mean, come on, I am extremely qualified for this position.

They want an adventurer. So an adventurer, they would have in me:

• Dropped my cushy life in Boston as a mobile software product manager and moved to Cabarete, Dominican Republic to live an island life and become a prime beachfront real estate scout and agent for large real estate developers.
• Spent 3 months backpacking through India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bali in Spring 2008.  If traveling India independently isn’t adventurous, I do not know what is!
• During a 2 month backpacking trip through Australia in 2001, went on an overland Outback trip from Adelaide to Darwin where I slept out in swags.  Swam up streams potentially laden with crocodiles in Kakadu Nat’l Park.  Dived/snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. Sailed in the Whitsunday Islands (so I know how spectactularly beautiful the area is!)
• Mountain biked the grueling Slick Rock Trail in Moab, Utah
• Sailed on a 60 ft boat from Connecticut (USA) to St. Barth’s in the French West Indies (Caribbean)
• Made countless hiking trips including multiple day overnight hikes in Glacier National Park (Montana) and the Grand Tetons (Wyoming) — grizzly bear country
• Dived/snorkeled in Curacao, Belize, Dominican Republic, Australia, Indonesia
• Snowboarded/skied in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Vermont/NH/Maine

Aside from the US, I have lived in the following countries and thrive on living in new places:

• Russia / Uzbekistan – Spent a total of 10 months living in Moscow and Tashkent while working as Assistant Tournament Manager for 2 ATP Tour men’s professional tennis events – The Kremlin Cup and The President’s Cup.
• United Kingdom – spent a semester living in London while in college
• Bermuda – spent a summer there, painting houses with a good friend from college
• Dominican Republic – spent 3 years living in Cabarete and working as a real estate agent for large real estate developers

They want an excellent communicator.  I think my Island Time in DR blog pretty much sums up how well I can communicate and how much I love relaying cool experiences from life in another country.  Oh and don’t forget my blog from my latest backpacking trip to Asia – Chicas In Asia.

They want someone responsible who can take care of the house, the pool, the pet fish.  I think my LinkedIn profile pretty much outlines that I am a  responsible individual — http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/33/405 — one cannot have those kinds of jobs and be irresponsible.  I’ll gladly supply references!

They want prior experience.  Would 3 years of having lived on a tropical island and blogged about all the wild and fun things that I did/experienced count for prior experience?

I managed somehow to submit my application the first day before the site went down with too much traffic.  Perhaps luck is already with me…?

Once Queensland Tourism puts up my video, I will post a link to it on here.  Do not want to have multiple links on as you can win a wildcard with having the most views of your video.

By the way, this is an excellent use of social media marketing techniques on the part of Queensland Tourism.  On top of it all, I know that the caretaker role would enable me to further my interest and skills in social media while also being able to take the mail plane, dive the Great Barrier Reef again,  sail around the islands, etc.!

Wish me luck!

Hands Up for Who Has Moved to a Tropical Island?

So who dreams of moving to a tropical island?  Loads of people.  Those who hate the cold and are tired of scraping the ice off their cars all winter.  Those who are sick of the rat race or their job.  Those who want to walk around in shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops everyday.  Those who want to swim, walk the beach, and drive around in a jeep with the top off every day of the year.

Who doesn’t dream of moving to a tropical island?  Plenty of people.  Their thinking goes something like this…”A week or 10 days is great on a tropical island.  I can kick back in a hammock , read that book I have had by my nightstand for months, sip fruity rum drinks, and swim in turquoise water the temperature of my baths.  But to live there, no, I would get bored.”

How many people have the guts to actually leave behind their life and move to a tropical island?  Not many.  Not many at all.

If  someone does move to a tropical island, at what point in their life do they do it?  Probably early to mid 20s before they start their careers or maybe even never intend to start “careers”, as well as those who are at retirement age.   In other words those at the beginning of their work lives (however one defines work) or those at the end.

So what about moving to an island in the middle of your work life – like your mid 30s?  That’s pretty unusual.  But that’s what I did! I lived in a cool beach town called Cabarete in the Dominican Republic for 3 years.  What did I do there for work?  Real estate sales – but more on that at another time as there is much to say on that.

However, I did something even more unusual than moving to a tropical island.  I moved back to non-island life.  To a city, Boston specifically.  I can tell you that not many people after 3 years of an island life will choose to move back.  Why did I come back?  I ask myself that a lot, especially with today’s current economic woes making it very difficult to find a job.  I came back for more opportunities both professionally and personally.  I guess I had a bit of the “But I’d get bored” in me. Though I would say that the ideal situation for me would be to live 8 months of the year in the DR & 4 months in the US. Yes 8 & 4 and not 6 & 6.

While there, I did blog extensively about the experience. If interested, check it out: http://www.islandtimeindr.blogspot.com

I did not rig up that blog to hyper market it.  The blog was mostly for friends and family, though I wish I had known then what I know now about blogging as a means to make a living or at least provide supplemental income.  I think I could have taken that blog far there….oh well, you live and learn.

There was just so much fodder for writing there in the DR.  I hope to find the same inspiration here with this blog which I intend to be my outlet to discuss things of interest to me – and maybe to you.  It will include topics on:

• Social Media – a newly found area of interest for me, particularly the idea of utilizing it for marketing purposes.
• Boston life – restaurants, cool things to do, places to go.  I know the area well having grown up here and lived nearly all of my adult life in the area.
• Travel – I love to travel and have been to lots of places all over the world. I recently spent 4 months traveling to India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, Netherlands, and Spain. So I may randomly post about some part of the world that I have been to or want to go to.
• Dominican Republic – I still may have things to say about it, as I do miss it.  If you have any questions about the Dominican Republic, I am happy to answer them.  I know the North Coast (Cabarete) and Samana Peninsula areas (Las Terrenas etc.) very well but can also speak about Santo Domingo and a bit about Punta Cana. I can recommend all sorts of stuff – hotels, places to go, beaches, real estate tips, etc. I was a local for crying out loud! Well, an expat anyway.
• Finding a job in this difficult economy – no whining, I promise.