Q&A is a new series on Nomadderwhere that uses questions posed by readers and commentators to address topics of travel, alternative lifestyle design, blogging, and other interests. You can expect this series one or two Saturdays a month right here on Nomadderwhere.com. To send in your questions, contact me or send me a link to your video question on Youtube!
The videos and fun blogs posted by you and Chris this summer were wildly entertaining and made me smile as I watched each clip. Your spunkiness and energy definitely reflects on the viewers as you took us along the adventure!
To give you an idea of my foundation, I do use twitter and take travel photos everywhere I go. Since January, I have been capturing video on my digital camera for memories of being silly with friends, monologues of what is going on and practice STA Travel footage! I keep a journal on my side at all times, just in case I want to jot down specifics of something interesting that happened.
I have yet to upload videos on youtube (have videos on websites, professional interviews, promotional video used at my university, etc.), written on an online blog, or utilized flickr to post some of my favorite photographs.
Lindsay, I am willing to do anything and plan to fully prepare and engage myself in creating video montagues of all my experiences in New York, Los Angeles, everywhere I go and travel from here on out! I can send you anything your way if you would like. What should be my next step? -K
I'll start off with the obligatory disclaimer.
I am not a part of the selection process for the World Traveler Internship, nor do I know for sure what they look for each year. Instead, all I can provide is my honest opinion of what qualities help an individual prepare for and seem more suitable for the job.
On that note, let's look at the job in basic terms.
The World Traveler Interns are meant to:
- Experience a number of travel adventures and showcase their experiences daily with videos, pictures and blogs. - Describe everything they do with the ultimate goal of inspiring other students and young people to become world travelers.
Now, let's think about the job in the less obvious way.
What's a more accurate understanding of the internship?
- The interns help sell the products STA offers; therefore, this is a marketing job for a strong, global company. - The interns will be constantly changing time zones, producing a lot of work, dealing with cultural, technological, physical, mental barriers constantly, and experiencing more in 2.5 months than most do in years, if not lifetimes. This is a hard job. - And the obvious one....this is a job.
Now, let's do a mental exercise.
Imagine you are one of the judges, one of the marketing department employees at STA, looking at the hundreds of eager applicants and trying to decipher via online property who you can count on to do the best job possible. It's not about granting a prize that doesn't affect you; the interns have big shoes to fill.
You would probably want interns who:
- Know this isn't a free trip and can prove they have the work ethic to get things done well. - Can create videos, photos, and blogs that engage the STA clientele to the point of convincing the sale...not to mention have social media savvy to work the venues of the content - Exhibit the skills of an ambassador: charisma, eloquence, diplomacy, and a personable nature.
Take these points and roll with them. This is what I worked off of when preparing my application in 2009.
Planning for Next Year
If you want to hold the coveted internship for 2011 (or beyond), don't wait until the application pool opens up. Start now proving STA you're the ideal candidate. Here's how to begin:
Start a Blog
Brainstorm a title, and steer clear of something generic like Trisha's Travel Blog. Begin compiling your travel stories (or any topic pertaining to young people and living adventurously), whether you open up old e-mails to your mom while on the road, rewrite stories from your personal journal, or just start thinking back to your times abroad or stateside. You'll want to have a lot of stories in the bank to prove your commitment to documentation.
Warning: If this doesn't feel fulfilling, if it feels forced and uninspired, write about what you truly care about...and if it still feels wrong, maybe you're not meant to blog. Not everyone is a mental exhibitionist.
Tools: Start a free blog at Wordpress.com, and if you are set on a name, buy your domain through Wordpress as well for about $15.
Publish Your Photos
