Tweet

Email

Out of the Top 50 candidates currently in the running for the best job in the world, seven of them are Canadian. One of these Canadians is Marcella, whose approach to this contest was similar to my own, and though she may be my arch nemesis, I've been following her progress since she was announced as one of the Top 50 candidates being considered to win the best job in the world. 

You see, Marcella and I both know that the best way to share your knowledge about the Great Barrier Reef isn't by shoving it into a 60 second timeslot. Instead, we both started writing blogs about the contest back when it first began in January, which have served as showcases of our personalities, writing styles, and knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef.jobin Even our domain names were similar..mine was originally being hosted at http://imgettingthebestjobintheworld.blogspot.com, and Marcella's blog can be found at http://iwantthebestjobintheworld.ca. Great minds think alike I guess! Unfortunately for me, the judges probably never even checked my blog. If they would have, maybe things would have been different. But coulda woulda shoulda, they didn't, so all the power to Marcella!

Anyways, Marcella's blog has given me some insight into what would have happened in the early days after the contest closed if I had been selected as a candidate for the short list.  Between February 22 and March 2, applicants being considered for the short list were contacted by email and had to undergo 30 minutes of psychometric testing. Positively everyone I told this to asked what psychometric testing might entail, and I really had no idea. Marcella explained the actual test on her blog..whether you understand what she's talking about or not is however totally subjective. 

"So, before getting whittled down to the top 50 shortlisted for THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD, we had to take two tests to make sure we were fit for the job. The first test was a conceptual test that was timed. We had 12 minutes to try and finish 50 toughies. It was pretty funny because they gave us 5 example questions that we could practice with which were easy as 1-2-3-4-5.

Then after the practice round you press a button that says START. The first question was nothing like the easy practice questions ~ it was a bunch of dots, circles, organic shapes, rectangular shapes, shapes within shapes, shapes touching other shapes and more shapes being weird shapes. I finished about 35 out of 50 questions about shapes.

Then the personality test. This one was a lot easier to master. Questions like - Can you stand up? Do you see little animals in your shadow? Do you think a criminal that escapes from jail is successful? You know…personality stuff."

Ok, I can understand what kind of test Marcella's talking about only because I recently had to take one at a job interview..but if I hadn't, the whole "shapes" part would have me confused. "More shapes being weird shapes" eh? Jeez, I hope Marcella is better at describing the Great Barrier Reef than she is at describing these test questions Marcella, otherwise I'll be twice as sad I didn't win. Jokes aside, Marcella's blog is a great spot to check for updates in the life of a top 50 candidate, check it out here! 

Marcella's audition video is well made, I'll give her that. It's obvious she's got some serious computer skills and put alot of thought into it. Here are Marcella's Top 25 Secrets to making her application video (as described on her blog). You'll see how she and I are different. Other than #1 and #23-25, I was playing a whole different game.

25 secrets on how to create an application video: (according to Marcella)

1. You must be unemployed for quite awhile and love spending time daydreaming and living in a fantasy world.  

2. You must live in a small apartment with someone creative who only works part-time and agrees to help you for free. 

3. You must be able to stay up late and wake up early for 12 days in a row.

4. You must love coffee or other caffeinated substances.

5. You must be able to research the organization that is hiring and be able to read the job description thoroughly. 

6. You must be able to walk around the block a bunch of times and come up with a video idea.

7. You must  be able to change your mind the next day about your original idea because it was just too weird.

8. You must be able to write a script and then time yourself to make sure it isn’t too long and boring.

9. You must be able to borrow a friend’s Rip Roar - Creation Station green-screen.

10. You must have a camera that can take photos and make videos.

11. You must be able to move your living room into your kitchen.

12. You must be able to rig up a make-shift studio with cheap work lights, broom handles and duct-tape.

13. You must have power adapters, extension cords and extra fuses.

14. You must have extra towels laying around to hammer into the walls to absorb hollow sound.

15. You must borrow a microphone from a friend that used to be in a band.

16. You must be able to put on your own make-up.

17. You must be able to get over how you sound and look on video.

18. You must be able to lose your voice from laughing so hard.

19. You must be able to use Photoshop, After Effects and Ableton Live.

20. You must be able to find free MIDI music and sound effects online.

21. You must remember to feed the cat, do the dishes and do a load of laundry when the place starts to smell.

22. You must be able to work magic in small spaces

23. You must enjoy cold beer.

24. You must have patience.

25. You must want to win “The Best Job in the World.”

Well done Marcella. Your 25 tips on how to make a successful application video certainly paid off. I was banking on passion and personality, but it looks like you've got the equipment and the expertise to make better produced video diaries for Tourism Queensland than I ever could. And lets face it..I'm not cut out to be a celebrity. I'm sure my bangaroo concept would have totally been misinterpreted by the media..I've already heard enough jokes (mostly of a sexual nature) about that costume to last me a lifetime.  Marcella and the 6 other Canadian candidates may be great island care takers and great celebrities, but they will never bangaroos. Good luck Marcella!

Only 12 days left for Wild Card Voting..make sure to cast your vote here!