In 2013, Tourism Australia’s hosted the ‘Best Jobs in the World’ competition. 34,000 people from 197 countries applied for six amazing jobs.
Competition prize
Each of the six jobs took place in a different state or territory of Australia and came with a six-month contract with a salary package of A$100,000 (US$97,200) including all accommodations, food and expenses!
Read the press release for Canada
Popular positions
The Chief Funster position, which involves attending festivals and events, was the most popular job, with 20.2% of the applicants going for that one, followed by Wildlife Caretaker with 19.9% and Park Ranger with 17.5%. The others got about 13-14% of the applications.
Chief Funster finalist
Crazy enough – I was shortlisted! My 30-second video got me into the second round as one of 150 finalists and the only Canadian amongst the 25 people shortlisted for the Chief Funster position!
I was so excited for the opportunity to represent SFU, Vancouver, Canada and YouTube Partners in this international competition!
Watch my 30-second video application and see why I wanted to become Chief Funster!
Generating buzz
I couldn’t believe the news, but as soon as the finalists were announced, that’s when the real work started. The second round was all about generating buzz.
This time, finalists were selected based on their ability to generate publicity and support for their application over the course of two weeks, including finding influential figures to endorse them for their chosen job. This was not easy as you can probably imagine.
Thankfully, since I knew someone from the SFU Public Affairs office, they agreed to help me as SFU alumni support and sent out my press release to their contacts.
Tweeting up a storm
Since the majority of my network weren’t celebrities, but I still wanted to leverage support from my friends and family so I asked them to promote my campaign on Twitter by tweeting:
Send @salinasiu to @Australia! #Salina4ChiefFunster #BestJobs Please retweet!
Getting media attention
Tasked with generating as much PR as possible in two weeks, I was able to generate more than 22 media appearances, which included 3 TV appearances, 3 print articles, 15 online articles, and 1 radio interview.
Getting celebrity endorsements
I was up against some heavy hitters as among the celebrities recruited by finalists included a US talk show host, an Olympic gold medal winner, an Academy Award winning actress, a German supermodel, and a world champion boxer. But I reached out to my network and had some great support. Thank you everyone for my endorsements!
Simon Fraser University President, Andrew Petter
Watch President Andrew Petter’s testimonial video
“Salina is ready and able to take on the job of Chief Funster. So what are you waiting for? Make Salina your Chief Funster, you’ll never regret it!”
Global News Meteorologist, Wesla Wong
Watch Wesla Wong’s testimonial video
“I vote for Salina for Chief Funster! She is amazing at social media, she has event planning skills… and she’s ready to turn up the heat in Australia!”
Mayor of Surrey, Dianne Watts
Read Mayor Dianne Watts testimonial letter
“Salina takes an innovative approach to entrepreneurship through social media. Salina would be an excellent Chief Funster and bolster the profile of Australia as a premier tourist destination.”
2009 Finalist for Best Jobs, Erik Rolfsen
Watch Erik Rolfsen’s testimonial video
“When I look back on 2009 and think about what I might have done differently to become the Island Caretaker, …I needed to be more like Salina Siu, and that’s why I’m endorsing Salina Siu to be Chief Funster for New South Wales.”
Analyzing the stats
At the end of a crazy two weeks from running around doing promotions and media interviews, round 2 was over. I collected all my stats and created a PowerPoint and infographic as my submission.
- 8,300 page views on Best Jobs related blog posts
- 5,378 YouTube views
- 1,265 likes, retweets, and favourites on social media
- 337 posts on social media from supporters using the hashtag, #Salina4ChiefFunster
- Over 22 media appearances, which included 2 TV appearances, 3 print articles, 20 online articles, and 1 radio interview
- Personal endorsements from the President of Simon Fraser University, Mayor of Surrey, Dianne Watts, and Global News personality, Wesla Wong.
All within 14 days and across 15 countries – phew.
Contest submission
As my final submission of round 2, I packaged my results into an infographic and powerpoint for the judges to view. I felt that this was the best way to showcase my creativity, design skills and highlight my stats.
Final results
In the end, I didn’t make it into the third round shortlist. The top 3 for each position were chosen and they all got to fly to Australia for a week of real-life tests and challenges.
Although, I wasn’t able to go all the way in the competition, it was a great learning opportunity for me. I gained tactical skills in media relations and interviewee protocol, as well as expanded my network and received international recognition!
I’m extremely proud of what I was able to accomplish and how far I made it in the competition out of 34,000 applications!
For Tourism Australia, it was a hugely successful campaign for them in gaining exposure and attracting young people from around the world to want to join Australia’s Working Holiday Maker program.
I’ll be coming one day Australia!
Salina Siu 