TQ I am perfect for this job

In a last ditch effort to communicate with Tourism Queensland, I wanted to post a final email that I sent them today. Hopefully, I will be getting an email from them indicating that I am a potential 50. Here's hoping

Dear Tourism Queensland,
I am Zeni, this is my video link, http://www.islandreefjob.com/#/applicants/watch/BmQo5WeCj_o I’m the guy from Colorado who works for a college and has that cool “cloning” shot of me in all of my “gear” in my video. I wanted to write you a brief description of why I am the perfect person for the job. Also, I wanted you to know of the things that I have done to help garner exposure for Queensland and myself. Yes, I am hoping this will help my chances of being chosen for the 50 person Short List.

Becoming the Island Caretaker would be a dream come true for me, as I figure it would be for many of the other applicants. You have a difficult job ahead of you. Choosing 50 people from the thousands of applicants will be no easy task. I have seen some good applications and some not so good. In my review of the competition, I have seen single people, couples, and families. I am technically one of the single people, though as I say in my application, because of my network of family and friends, I am actually a virtual “Everyman”. I say I am “Everyman” for two reasons. First, I have the skill and ability to experience everything the average person would try on the islands. I can snorkel, dive, sail, camp and hike just as easily as I can relax and enjoy the pampering of lying out and going to the spa. All my life my parents have shown me both the extravagance of 5 star hotels and meals as well as the practical of the packed lunch on the beach (a picnic in my family is still about good authentic food). I come from a practical family who embraces the life. My parents made the conscience choices in life so my sister and I would know how to travel the world and be comfortable anywhere.

The other reason I feel that I am able to be “Everyman” is in my plan for how I will experience the islands. I plan to highlight the varying possibilities of the Whitsundays through my friends’ and family’s experiences. Why hire a person who represents a small niche, when you can hire someone who can represent almost all niches? My friends and family range from young and older, single and married Americans to the same from Europe and elsewhere. Many of these people have traveled before, but never made it to Australia. Why? Because they never knew it was a possibility. Who will show them that possibility? Me. I am very approachable and can appeal to all. Through my current position as an Admission Counselor, I have daily interactions with people ranging in age from 15 to 60 and from all backgrounds. I know how to adapt and appeal to all manner of people.

Making my application video was a blast and seeing the tremendous support from my friends, family and strangers has been great. I know that I am the perfect candidate for this position. I see being the Island Caretaker or spokesperson for an Island chain as a very similar job to the one that I currently hold. As an Admission Counselor for a small college in a resort Mtn town, my job requires me to promote both the educational benefits of my school and the recreational and lifestyle possibilities of Durango. Many of the proven skills I currently use to recruit students are the same for bringing the Whitsundays and Queensland to the world. Sharing my personal experiences, highlighting the possibilities and showing everyone their “fit” to the area are all things I would do as the Island Caretaker.

In hopes of gaining exposure for my application and my experience and passion for this position, I began three initiatives. First, before I even scripted or shot my 60 second Application Video, I created a blog and Twitter account. I branded these efforts, “Aussie Island Bound”. I felt these efforts could show how I am able to effectively and creatively communicate through a written medium. You can find my blog at www.aussieislandbound.blogspot.com To date, I have posted 8 blogs, 7 about my experience with the application process and 1 to help garner support for the Victoria Wild Fires. I have enjoyed blogging about the application process and can’t wait to start blogging about my experiences as the Island Caretaker.

The second initiative I have conducted is the creation of a Group and Fan Page on Facebook. The group is “Zeni is Aussie Island Bound”. The Fan Page is “Zeni the Future Island Caretaker”. The Fan Page has seen some interest and participation, an average of 29 fans after about a week. This has been less popular than I had hoped for, though, the Group has exceeded my expectations. “Zeni is Aussie Island Bound” currently has 275 members! This is after a little more than a week. The membership of this group has been built purely on “Word of Mouth”. I have found it very interesting that I only know about half of the members. Some are people I haven’t seen or spoken to since High School or College. Through this group, I have been able to begin my third initiative.

I plan to appear on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show”. This is a nationally syndicated TV talk show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, the Comedian, Celebrity, and wife of Australian, Portia De Rossi. How can an average guy get on a national television show? Well, when he has the support of 275 and growing, people, anything is possible. Nothing has been confirmed yet, though I would like to point out, through my efforts I have learned that a friend of mine has a relative who works on the show and has said that he would help on his end. So keep your fingers crossed, choosing me for one of the 50 spots, could garner National, American Television coverage for Queensland and the Whitsundays.I know that you have a very difficult task ahead of you, choosing the applicants for the 50 spots on the Short List. I hope, by showing you my qualifications and dedication to this process, I have made the task ahead easier for you. I promise you won’t be disappointed choosing me for the Short List.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Zeni Whittall
Hopeful Short Lister!

Getting on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

2 days until the close of applications! I’m glad I submitted my application early. I wish the best of luck to those finishing up their apps now and trying to submit before the deadline.

This may very well be my final post as an applicant before applications close, though, I hope to be writing in the future as a Short-Lister. If this is to be my final post as an applicant, I wanted to let you know what I have been doing to help my chances of making the vital 50 person Short List. Early on in the process of applying for the “Best Job in the World” my mom gave me the idea to ask Ellen DeGeneres to have me on her show. At first, I thought, “no way, why would Ellen have me on her show?” As the idea percolated in my mind, I began to think more seriously about attempting what I thought to be impossible. Yes, I would do everything I could to show Ellen, she should have me on as a guest.

The plan started with the idea of making a video expressly for Ellen. In the video I would ask Ellen to help me gain some exposure for my bid to make the 50 person short list. I even promised to dance with Ellen if she would have me on the show. I shot the video, then edited it into my Application video. You can watch the video here “Ellen Video” The next step, I saw, was getting Ellen to watch the video. How do you get an amazing celebrity like Ellen DeGeneres to watch your video? Well, I figure, you ask her. So that’s exactly what I did. I, along with everyone from my Facebook group, sent Ellen a message telling her what I was doing and asking her to watch my video.

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  I created a group “Zeni is Aussie Island Bound” to help promote myself. I invited all of my friends and in-turn, asked all of them to invite all of their friends and over and over again. I figured that if only 20 friends of each person I invited joined and so on, there would be quite a lot of people rallied around a central cause, Me and my bid for the “Best Job in the World”. Today the group stands at 262 members (after only a week) with a few more joining everyday! I truly have great friends.

As of this morning, I have not heard from Ellen, but I figure it’s due to the fact it’s Oscar’s week. I think she might be a bit busy. The Oscar’s are kinda important in the entertainment world. I have heard from a friend that has a family connection to the show though! It’s beautiful I think, how you never really know until you ask. I am hoping to hear from Ellen next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Thank you for following my bid for the “Best Job in the World”! I hope that you have found this blog entertaining and informative. Who knows, I may be talking to you very soon as one of the 50 Short-Listers.




If you would like to email Ellen on my behalf, here is what you can do:
1. Here is a link to her show’s email. http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=10
2. Please fill out the form with your information
3. Choose “Suggestions” in the “Type of message” box
4. Then fill in the text of the message with this: Also, feel free to add anything you think would help.

Ellen,
My friend Zeni Whittall is applying to be the “Island Caretaker” of Hamilton Island, Australia. You know, “The Best job in the World”! He needs help in making it through the first round of selection to the 50 person Short List. Zeni has made a “Group” and “Fan Page” on Facebook to promote himself. He’s also made a video asking you to have him on your show. Here is a link to the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xIOUyM1Or8
He needs to be on your show sometime between February 22nd and March 2nd, that’s when Tourism Queensland will be making their selection of the 50.
Please help my friend get some exposure for his application video and have him on your show, so he can make the 50 person Short List. I know that he would be perfect for this job.
Thank you,
(Your name)
PS, you can reach Zeni at aussieislandbound@gmail.com

Victoria Wild Fires

Welcome back to Aussie Island Bound. My posts to date have been updates of my experience in applying for the Island Caretaker position and what I have learned about the Whitsunday Islands. I hope that you have found my blog posts entertaining and informative and will support me in my bid for “the Best Job in the World”.


In light of the recent wild fires in Victoria, Australia, I wanted to use the Aussie Island Bound platform to help raise awareness and support. In 2002, the area where I live, Durango, Colorado, experienced the destructive and tragic power of wild fires during the “Missionary Ridge Fire”. Much of the area and people in my community were affected by the “Missionary Ridge Fire”. As tragic as the fires were, it was a great thing to see people come together, organize and lend aid to my community.


If you would like to help those affected in Victoria, but aren’t sure what you can do, living half a world away, I would like to suggest donating to the Red Cross in Australia. I think that any aid could be best received if given directly to the source. I have included a link to Red Cross Australia, so you can learn what you can do to help. Also, if you would like to make a donation directly to the Red Croos relief fund for Victoria.
My thoughts and heart go out to those affected by this horrible tragedy.

Victoria Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm


Secure Red Cross Donation
https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

The Video is up!

January 13th was an eventful day, the first day I learned of “The Best Job in the World”. However, February 6th was an even better day. Friday morning I logged into my gmail account…and…the email was there waiting for me, “YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN APPROVED!”. Wooo hooo! Watching my blood, sweat and tears live on Islandreefjob.com was the best feeling. My VIDEO is up and being watched by Tourism Queensland and the WORLD, I am officialy in the running. Now, the greatest struggle ahead of me is going to be getting Tourism Queensland to choose me for one of the 50 spots on their short list.

Once the initial joy of knowing that my video was now live, I began working on building the buzz for my video. Of course there were a slew of txts and calls made, and then it was time to start reaching out to the world. It’s great that my video is on the site, however, unless all of the people I know and the people they know watch the video, it’s all a matter of chance. I mention in my video that I pioneered the use of Facebook in my current position as an Admission Counselor. I am going to use the knowledge I gained through that process to help me move on, to the short list of 50 and hopefully, be chosen as one of the 11 to actually interview in-person.

Friday I launched my Facebook initiative. I have created a group “Zeni is Aussie Island Bound”; sticking with the AIB (Aussie Island Bound) brand that I’ve created with this blog. I have also created a fan page “Zeni the Future Island Caretaker”; outside of the AIB brand because of the different uses of groups and fan pages within Facebook. Through the group, I have been able to invite all of my friends and inform them of my bid for “The Best Job in the World”. The fan page is a passive tool for me to reach all of those people who may not have a Facebook account, like my parents.

The group and fan page are launched, now what? For two specific reasons; this is a contest, Facebook is a public forum, I will be a little cagey and withholding on each initiative I launch. What I can talk about right now though, is the reasoning for doing more than just the video and why I am using Facebook. First off, the video application I submitted is great but, it is only 60 seconds long. I want Tourism Queensland to have as full a view of me as possible. When they watch my video and see this blog at the end, I hope that they come and check it out. Then, by reading all of these thoroughly exciting blogs, they will get the rest of the story, started by the video. Hopefully, by reading this blog and learning more about me, they will be compelled to bring me to the second round, the 50 person short list. My second effort I want to highlight here, is my use of Facebook.

We’ve all heard of the six degrees of separation, and this is exactly why I have chosen to tap into the world of Facebook. I only have around 200 some friends on Facebook, though, each of my friends has somewhere around the same number of friends. If each of my friends join my group and connect with my video and then in turn, get at least half of their friends to join and connect and then they get their friends, you get the idea. The benefit here is that I am tapping into a personal connection. More than just a random video among thousands, I now have created a personal connection to that one random video. When one of my friends watches my video and one of their friends watches the video, they are watching someone they know with whom they have a connection. I know that I always like things more when it has a personal connection. So what will I do with all of these group members and fans? That’s what you’ll have to wait for and read about next time.

More teasers for the greatest application

The flight from the wedding was uneventful, which is always a good thing during a plane trip. While I was sitting at DIA, Denver International Airport, waiting for my flight back home, I started to think about how great it would be to be waiting for my Quantas flight to the Interview on Hamilton Island. I am still waiting to hear from Tourism Queensland on when my video will be up on the site. The wait is killing me. I know that I would be the perfect person to tell the world to visit the Whitsundays. Enough of my impatience, let’s talk more about my video application.

I have given you teasers, the Snorkel scene, my qualifications, and hinted at knowing about the Whitsunday chain. Now I will share what I believe to be my unique slant of who I am, as it pertains to the needs of this position. I have seen plenty of videos where a young guy or girl are talking about themselves and why they want the position, though, what I haven’t seen a lot of is an applicant tapping into the expanse of their experiences. True, I am a guy from the Western United States, however, I am also:
· A Newly Wedded couple
· Families with Young Children and teenagers
· College Students
· Young Adults
· Middle Aged Retirees
· Friends from the UK, Sweden, Mexico, Columbia and Taiwan

In my application video, I explained how I have a close and extensive network of family and friends who will be visiting me when I get the position. This is where I believe I am better qualified than the rest. Hiring me will be for Tourism Queensland, like hiring all of the people I listed above. I through my own experience and perceptions can speak to the world of only so much. However, when all of my family and friends visit me, I will be able to relay their experiences and perceptions to the world. The way I see it, if you were a family with small children, planning a family vacation, who would you rather here about the vacation possibilities from, a hot young guy or girl with no children? Or, would you rather here the review and experience from another family with small children? Exactly, you want to hear it from someone like you. The only real problem I see in my plan is, I only had 60 seconds to share all of this and more. So the video doesn’t have this full explanation of why I was talking about my family and friends, just a sound bite. Of course, this is why I am writing this blog, so that hopefully Tourism Queensland will check it out and get the full background on the 60 second masterpiece that they are hopefully watching right now.

Aside from this little bit of the massive 60 seconds that I put together for the application, I will also tell you about the editing of the video. I have watched plenty of videos with just one scene of one person talking to the camera. There have also been a few with the basic editing of a transition here and there, but few have had much in the editing department. This is something I pioneered in my current position, and I wanted to show that I can make 60 seconds interesting and captivating, which is very important when you are trying to catch and hold the interest of teenagers. So get ready to watch an entertaining 60 seconds, and yes, the editing was all me. I mention that the editing was done by me because that is part of the job responsibilities, keeping a video diary.

I know that you are just as anxious as I am to see the video up on the official site. Stay tuned and you should be seeing my 60 seconds of fame very soon.

Weddings and Applications

Weddings are a wonderful celebration, even when they are not your own. My cousin just got married this weekend. I had a great time seeing all of my family and sharing the special day. The wedding also, helped me to add another qualification to my resume, Chauffeur. Fun times, I drove my cousin and her new husband away from the church and to the reception. So, enough about my weekend, let’s talk a little more about the Vid.

I submitted last week and have been waiting for my video to go up on the islandreefjob site. Which means that I have been checking my email constantly and going crazy with anticipation. Tourism Queensland stated in their news releases and the confirmation I received after submitting, that review and verification of the video would take a couple of weeks. I’m not sure that I can wait that long. I know that you are just as anxious as I am to see my video up on the site, so I thought I would give you a little more detail on how I shot my video.

I treated this application experience as I would any other job application. Whenever I’ve applied for a new job, I always do a bit of research on the position and most importantly, I prepare how I will present myself; usually the forum in which I present my relevant qualities, is the written word, specifically a Cover Letter and Resume. This job application process has been a great exercise in expanding the traditional application. The challenge was not my qualifications, rather I saw the challenge in converting a Cover Letter and Resume into a 60 second video.
I organized my application video with the ideas of a Cover Letter and Resume in mind. I chose how I edited the video and the entertainment value of the scenes shot, for the Cover Letter portion, and the dialogue and subtitles were my Resume, speaking to my qualifications and relevant experience for the position. I can’t wait for you to see the video, hopefully it will be up soon.

Be on the lookout for the full launch of my marketing initiative to support my bid for the island position. In my next post, I will disclose a little more detail on my video, however, right now I have to get on a plane back home.

The Video is Done!

OK, so it’s been a week since I lasted posted. Sorry about the lag and wait. A lot has happened in the past week. I spent this past weekend shooting all of the scenes for my application video. I spent the previous week working out what I wanted to say, how I wanted the video to look and how I was going to fit it all into 60 seconds. Let me just say, 60 seconds goes by a whole lot quicker than I expected.

I’ve seen a bunch of videos where the person was just talking to the camera and the scenery never really changed, I felt that Tourism Queensland and you my followers and supporters deserved more from my video. I think I delivered. It’s hilarious to me that I was able to put a full day of shooting into one 60 second video. True there were a few takes, here and there, to get it just right, however, a nice long and enjoyable experience.

When I first began to think about applying for this position, the idea of snorkel gear was of course at the top of my list. I can’t wait for you to see how I pulled of snorkeling in “Land locked” Colorado. I’ll tell you now that the water in Colorado during the middle of January is not exactly, warm. But, that’s why I am applying for this job!

Tourism Queensland states in their job description that they want to; know who you are, know what you know about the island and what your qualifications for the job are. I’ve already talked a little about my qualifications for the job in my last post. Letting them know who I am, yeah, that was the hard part. How do you show a future employer everything about yourself in 60 seconds? For that matter, do you really want to show them everything? I am hoping that I was able to show them enough to get short listed and picked for an interview, but not so much that I have nothing left with which to wow them.

What do I know about the islands of the Whitsunday chain? Pretty much everything thing you can without visiting. In my next post, I’ll give you a little sample of what the Whitsundays have to offer. But that’s the whole point of the video, right? I think that Tourism Queensland has definitely hit the mark on this promotion, whether or not I am chosen for this job, I will make it to the islands one day. Though, I would rather be chosen for the job, so that I can inspire you, and the rest of the world to join me.

Stay tuned for my next post. I will give you a few more teasers about what to expect from my video. The confirmation of my submission said that it may take a week to get the video up. I don’t want to give away all of the surprises before you have a chance to watch.