BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — TRANSCRIPT
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wanted: One island caretaker of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Pay: $100,000 U.S. for 6 months of watching whales, feeding turtles or whatever else you'd like to do on a tropical island. Oh, you might have to clean the pool at the beachfront, three-bedroom luxury house that comes with this package. And all you have to do is write a weekly blog for the Tourism Board of Queensland about your island experience. So, is it a job too good to be true?
MAN ON THE STREET: You get a three-bedroom luxury apartment with a swimming pool and 73,000 pounds a year.
MAN ON THE STREET: That can't be right. There’s gotta be a catch somewhere.
WOMAN ON THE STREET: Sounds like a good job. I should go bikini hunting straight away.
SHUBERT: Tourism Queensland insists there's no catch, just, quote, "the best job in the world." Others might call it a publicity stunt for Australian tourism, but one that just might work.
JANE NICHOLSON, REGIONAL MANAGER, TOURISM QUEENSLAND: Word of mouth is really important now. You need to hear from fellow travellers what a destination is really like. So, what better way than to create a job to allow someone to do that? They need to be over 18; they have to be able to swim. And apart from that, it's open to anybody.
SHUBERT: The land down under has been hit hard by the credit crunch. Tourism Research Australia says tourist numbers could fall by 4% this year, especially from mainstay markets like the UK. So, will the "best job in the world" spark new interest? Well so far, so good. On opening day, the Web site has been flooded with about 33 hits per second. All applicants have to do is submit a 60-second video to this Web site, islandreefjob.com, explaining why they are the perfect candidate to be island caretaker. It's very tempting.
SHUBERT: Eleven lucky finalists will be flown to Australia for a final round of interviews before an island caretaker is chosen. Twenty-six-year-old Louise Cryan saw it in the paper on Monday morning and immediately called up, one of the first to apply.
LOUISE CRYAN, APPLICANT: It's actually a real job, so that's amazing. I just thought, what a great place to go and spend 6 months. Looked out of the window; it's such a grey and miserable day, so who wouldn't want to go?
SHUBERT: So, rainy London versus sunny Australia in the middle of a credit crunch? What would you choose?
MAN ON THE STREET: For me, with everything that's going on in my life, it couldn't come at a better time.
SHUBERT: Better get your applications in. The deadline for the best job in the world is February 22nd. Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — GLOSSARY
Wanted Recherche
caretaker gardien, concierge
Great Barrier Reef la Grande Barrière de corail
whale baleine
turtle tortue de mer
island île
beachfront situé sur le front de mer
luxury house maison de luxe
weekly hebdomadaire
too good to be true trop beau pour être vrai
catch attrape
stunt coup publicitaire
word of mouth le bouche à oreille
fellow traveller compagnon de voyage
apart from that à part cela
land down under l’Australie
credit crunch resserrement du crédit
mainstay principal
spark susciter
so far, so good jusqu’ici ça va
flood inonder
submit soumettre
tempting tentant
fly someone somewhere emmener par avion
round série
apply postuler, poser sa candidature
amazing stupéfiant, ahurissant
miserable maussade
rainy pluvieux
sunny ensoleillé
deadline date limite
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — WORKSHEET
Watch the video and answer the questions.
1. What job is being advertised?
2. What is the pay?
3. How long will the job last?
4. What will the successful candidate have to do?
5. What extras come with the job?
6. Who is advertising the job?
7. How old must you be?
8. What other skills or qualifications are necessary?
9. What prediction is made about tourism in Australia this year?
10. What has been the response to the ad?
11. What do you have to do to apply?
12. How will the successful candidate be selected?
13. What is the deadline for applications?
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — SCAVENGER HUNT
Go to www.islandreefjob.com and see if you can find the answers to these questions.
1. When does the job start?
2. What is the maximum file size for your video application?
3. Apart from the video, what else do you need to send?
4. How many applications have they received?
5. Where will the interviews be held?
6. Will you have to pay to attend the interview?
7. Who will the successful candidate report to?
8. Which video application has had the most views? How many?
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — INTERVIEWS
■ Work in groups of four (or five).
■ Each member of the group is to be interviewed by the other members of the group who will play the role of the interview panel.
■ Each interview should last 5 minutes.
■ Each interviewer should give each interviewee a mark out of five for each the following criteria:
· relevant experience and skills
· adventurous attitude/willingness to try new things
· entertainment value (personality and creativity)
· presentation skills (being media-friendly)
· motivation and enthusiasm for the job
■ When everyone has been interviewed, add up the marks. The candidate with the best mark gets the job.
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — ASSESSMENT GRID FOR INTERVIEWS
Relevant experience and skills / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5
Adventurous attitude/willingness to try new things / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5
Entertainment value (personality and creativity) / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5
Interpersonal communication skills / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5
Motivation and enthusiasm for the job / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5 / 1-2-3-4-5
FINAL MARK
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — SELECTION CRITERIA
A broad range of experience is considered and Tourism Queensland will be selecting applicants based on:
· Enthusiasm for the role
· Entertainment value (personality and creativity)
· Relevant experience and skills
· Excellent interpersonal communication skills
· An adventurous attitude
· A passion for the outdoors
BEST JOB IN THE WORLD — INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
· Would you say that you are someone who can/is…?
· What experience have you had of…?
· We’re looking for someone who can/is… How do you fit that profile?
· Why should we choose you?
· What can you bring to the job?
· Are you a _____ person?
· What have you done which shows that you are…?
· Why do you want this job?
· What achievement are you most proud of?
· Tell us about a situation where you had to think creatively, etc.
· What experience have you had of…
· How important is this job to you?