Remember the contest that Australia’s tourism board held to win “the best job ever“? The job was spending half a year living on scenic Hamilton Island off the Great Barrier Reef, writing a blog about it, and earning £75,000 in the process? Well, I’m coping with the disappointment of not landing the gig myself, because it seems like it went to a pretty worthy candidate.
Britain’s Ben Southall, 34, (pictured, while on a trip to Africa) has landed the coveted job. His “uniform” – a wet suit and snorkel – just arrived in the mail. He has a degree in science and has spent the last few years working as a charity events manager and fundraiser. In addition to the free housing, golf cart, and other amenities on the island, Ben is bringing his long-distance girlfriend, who lives in Vancouver, to the island with him so they can be together. Everybody all together now: awww.
He beat out 35,000 other applicants to land the coveted spot. You can see a video of Ben talking about his new job, which starts July 1, here.
Gallup (the same people who do the Gallup poll) apparently gives out annual awards for great workplaces. And this year’s big winner is… Country Inns and Suites.
Since we hadn’t heard of them either, we did some searching around on their site. Here’s what we learned about them: their website is phenomenally boring. If you want to look into career opportunities, click here. Regardless, boring website or not, kudos on being crowned America’s Best Workplace.
