Best Job in the World

Snorkeling with thousands of colourful fish, flying over Australia’s magnificent Great Barrier Reef to collect mail, relaxing in luxury spas, making friends with tourists and keeping blogs and photo diaries of the adventure, all while living rent-free in a luxury beachfront house and earning A$150,000 over six months. This is the tantalizing package that Tourism Queensland is offering the successful candidate for the ‘Caretaker for Hamilton Island’ position, commencing on July 1st 2009, in Australia’s picturesque Whitsunday Islands.

Although it may look like a publicity stunt, this job opening is genuine. Tourism Queensland Chief, Anthony Hayes, says, "Yes, this is part of a unique Tourism Queensland strategy to promote the islands of the Great Barrier Reef internationally, but candidates will have to go through a genuine recruitment process.”

Hopeful applicants are asked to upload a 60 second video to the website about themselves and in particular stating why they should be given the best job in the world.

The website - www.islandreefjob.com – got over 850,000 hits on its opening day and has so far received over 15,000 applicants with optimistic job seekers coming from as far away as Kazakhstan, Mexico, Romania, Brazil and Turkey.

Applications ended on the 22nd of February and shortlisted applicants will be flown to Hamilton Island in early May for the final selection process.