World Traveller Internship - The Application Process

Above: What I have been up to in the meanwhile...

My application (click here to view) has now been completed 3 weeks today and has received 972 votes! I have received many lovely comments from close friends and complete strangers :) The most heartfelt comments I have received are from people I have stayed with while traveling, people I have travelled with and people I have met on my journeys.

Here's a few:

The amount of support I have had behind me has been immense, I currently don't go a day without walking through uni and someone telling me how good they thought my application video was, how suitable they think I am to do this job and how amazing the World Traveller Internship sounds!

This application has restored my love for video recording and editing, i couldn't just stop at one video, I had to make another to prove my camera skills. Click here to view my latest!

When awaiting for the deadline to approach I thought I'd get an professional opinion on my video and who better to ask than the World Traveller Intern of 2009, STA Travel's very own legend Chris Danner:

and these words of wisdom will be taken into consideration when creating my final video (given I get the opportunity to!) The surf video chris mentioned is here!!

How have I prepared for step 2?

In preparation for the next steps in the application process I have written my CV ready to be sent, had it checked and checked again and to be honest I'm pretty happy with it. :) I have found that the Internship works damn well in timing for me as everything I have been working towards in the past two years (with my gap year, photography, web design, blogging and working with STA Travel Buzz) has prepared me for this internship.

I am at the beginning stage of thinking about my next video (THE FINAL VIDEO). I have (as always) many new ideas and approaches to this video and I'm very excited about making this happen... if i am selected for the final.

My Views on the Competition so far...

Today was meant to be the final deadline for stage 1 of the process however, it was announced last night that this has been extended for 3 more days which makes this even more exciting, i'm looking forward to seeing any new applications within these next few days.

So here's a quick summary of what I think about some of the applications so far:

- Slideshows -reaally.. no, if STA want to see your uniqueness, likability and personality I don't think this is the way to do it.

- Get to know STA before making a video - some applications (not naming names) have called STA Travel "Student Travel Australia" or "Star Travel", if you want to work with STA you've got to get their name right for a start... its "Student Travel Association"

- Camera Starers - Don't just stare at a camera and tell the world how much you love to travel, pictures and video are very important in expressing how and why you would be suitable in between clips of commentary!

From the applications I have seen so far there have been videos that have made me laugh, cry, sleep and cringe but the applicants that definitely stand out for me are:

Paddy Doyle A video full of life with confidence with that camera.

Emma Sparks "because travel should be on prescription..."

some of the really late entries have also impressed me by Amy Loader (with her guide to the creation of maple syrup), Harry Harris (with his humorous interviews and the smile that may win it for him) and of corse a mention to Chris Ambrose (with his "The World We Live In" song wouldn't get out of my head last night when i was trying to sleep).

I am excited to see who makes it into the Top 50! :)