As Ben Southall bags "the best job in the world" and becomes the caretaker on Hamilton Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, what lessons can be learnt from his success? What aspects of Ben’s application can help the rest of us when applying for travel jobs?

Australian tourism has received a much needed boost in recent weeks as its innovative travel recruitment strategy has drawn to a close. Tourism Queensland’s campaign to find someone to act as "Caretaker" on Hamilton Island incorporated social media and Reality Television-style elements into its interview process, making it a worldwide media spectacle. The campaign attracted about 35,000 applicants, along with unknown thousands that were unable to register when the site crashed as they tried to apply online. Jobs and opportunities like this one don’t come along very often it seems, so it is no wonder the demand for it was so high.

The successful candidate was Ben Southall from Petersfield, Hampshire, whose first feat was to get noticed among so many rivals. Along with the 35,000 others, he was asked to make a 60-second video presentation about why he should get the job – a question any employer looking to fill online jobs will ask. Ben’s video showed him to be an outgoing, zany character, as he loudly declared his love of adventure into the camera before showing footage of him riding an ostrich and kissing a giraffe.

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Opportunity

In general, when applying for travel jobs, kissing wildlife may not be the way to go, but what is clear is that Ben made the effort required to catch the attention of his recruiters and make his application outshine the others. His application was obviously tailor-made to the employer.

When you apply online, jobs won’t all have the same requirements, and emphasis on certain skills or experience will be different, which means the CVs and cover letters you send out must be different too. Some applicants would rather send many generic CVs and vague cover letters to numerous travel recruitment companies in the hope that one will get picked up. The truth is that a targeted approach is more likely to catch the eye of the person whose task it is to sift through numerous applications.

So tailor your CV to suit each of the travel jobs you apply for, and making your cover letter just right is particularly important with online jobs where the written word may be your main mode of contact with your clients.

Enthusiasm

The most obvious element to Australia’s travel recruitment campaign was the enthusiasm it stimulated. When it comes to more everyday travel jobs, you should try to convey some of the same desire for your intended position, but sending a video of you shouting and jumping into swimming pools is not the way to get that across. Even if you want to project a sense of fun, you still have to remember that to some extent you will be the company’s reprehensive – the face of their company - so accuracy and professionalism are important, too. In Ben’s case, a sense of his dedication and hard work was portrayed by the footage of him running a marathon and swimming lengths in the pool.

Nonetheless, enthusiasm is important in online jobs. Be original, be specific, be focused. In the cover letter, and in your interview, the confidence and enthusiasm you embody will likely transfer to your potential employer, making them in turn feel confident in your abilities and consider you with enthusiasm.

Experience is Key in Travel Jobs

If the travel job you are applying for is related to a specific region of the world, try to make clear your knowledge of that area. In the case of the Hamilton Island caretaker job, not many of the thousands of applicants will have been there before. Even though the advertisement claimed that ‘no experience was necessary,’ they still had the problem of showing their suitability to their workplace.

So how would you demonstrate experience for travel jobs about regions you don’t know intimately? Ben Southall’s application made clear that he once worked as a tour guide in Africa and his video showed him scuba diving. Both activities have elements transferable to the ‘demands’ of the Hamilton Island Caretaker/Publicist role. When you apply for jobs online you should think the same way: ‘How is what I know relevant to what is required’? Your own research will have to fill in the gaps.

Ben Southall’s "best job in the world" ends in six months time, so it won’t be long before he has to start applying for travel jobs like the rest of us. He will be trying to make his experiences and his enthusiasm work in his favour.