Archive for February, 2009
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
The Island Caretaker Shortlist Slated for Monday, March 2nd
There has been quite a ruckus for the Island Caretaker job as of late and an additional 7.5K applicants (including myself) raced to get their entries in last weekend before the February 22nd deadline. Some of them did not make this deadline and were unable to upload their videos to the IslandReefJob.com web site due to server issues. (And they are not happy about it!) A few were even lost. For the rest of the candidates, it is sort of a waiting game for to see if they have been selected as part of the "Elite 50" positions, which will be announced late on Monday, March 2nd. A few articles have been flying around regarding a pre-selection of the "Top 200" candidates from the 34,684 application pool on February 26th. These candidates supposedly were chosen for some preliminary psychometric testing. Unfortunately, it is believed that only those chosen for this testing will make it into the final 50 pool of qualified candidates.
In any case, I thought I would review the main items that the Island Reef Committee is using to determine their Short List.
What are you looking for in the top 50 what is the selection criteria?
We are looking for 5 key elements from the videos
- English language proficiency
Bill’s Video Self-Rating: A- Personal presentation
Bill’s Video Self-Rating: B- Technical proficiency as shown in the video
Bills Video Self-Rating: A-- Content and experience
Bill’s Video Self-Rating: B+- Motivation.
Bill’s Video Self-Rating: A+In case you missed it, here is my Video.
Proficiency in English is a must, as the successful applicant will be communicating to the world.
Bill: Agreed. I feel for all the international applicants who are kind of screwed with their heavy accents. Interestingly, my prediction on the demographics of the submissions for the largest submissions was pretty close. I predicted the US, Canada and Australia to be the most prominent, but I forgot the U.K.. (Oh Bloody Bill!) It turns out, that most applications came from the US (11565), Canada (2791), Great Britain (2261) and Australia (2061). English speaking countries clearly had a distinct advantage.
Personal presentation is obviously important in such a high profile position.
Bill: Agreed. After all, are you going to be watching this person for 6 months if you find him or her rather annoying? (Think no Traffic!) In some cases, you gotta wonder about the charismatic nature of the person and sex appeal. That clearly is key. I will be very curious to see the final ratio of Top 50 contestants too.
The technical proficiency demonstrated in the video application is an important element, as the job requires the successful applicant to produce blogs and video diaries.
Bill: I think the hard thing about the technical proficiency variable is some candidates may have hired a video production company to do all the shooting, video editing and multimedia effects. I was fortunate enough to have previous experience to be able to put together my project without any assistance under the gun. However, for others lacking a portfolio, there may be no way to know how capable they will be until their first blog rolls out.
The applicant’s experience and knowledge/understanding of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef as demonstrated by the content in the video submission is vital in assessing whether they are the right person for the job. Like any job you apply for, it’s important to show you have researched the role and the company – or in this case the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
Bill: Yes, of course it is important to gauge the candidates understanding and knowledge of the islands, but I would say it also depends on the Type of Caretaker the judging committee is seeking. Potentially, Australian candidates could have a huge advantage here if they want a local guru who can provide the ins and out of every nook and cranny of the island. However, perhaps the committee is seeking more of a biology-type who can provide insight into the various island species? Or perhaps they are seeking an outsider with experience and who has some basic knowledge, but perhaps is excited to learn and share from a fresh perspective.
Demonstrating motivation and a genuine enthusiasm for this position is vital. We need someone who can sustain worldwide interest for six months.
Bill: Motivation and Enthusiasm are certainly important. I have seen some great videos from other candidates. I also think that expectations need to be set that every video and blog may not always be exciting, but at least mildly informative and/or perhaps entertaining to capture the worldwide audience. If this blogger can attract visitors and make it a regular part of their work week to check on the site/posts and possibly interact, then in my opinion, the candidate selection was a success.
