by Bob Sparrow
No, Jauntaroo Who is not the bon vivant brother of Cindy Lou Who, the wee tot in The Grinch That Stole Christmas, who espied the Grinch on Christmas Eve stuffing the family Christmas tree up the chimney. Rather it is a relatively new travel agency that has caught my eye and the eyes of several thousand other people recently with a unique employment opportunity.
They are offering a $100,000 salary to a person who will travel to some 50 destinations during the course of 2014, mingling with various cultures, helping those less fortunate and using social media to keep the rest of the world abreast of all the adventures that ensue.
How do I know about this? I was working in my office, which is a loft in our bedroom while my wife, Linda was getting ready for work in the bathroom, watching the Today show, where Jauntaroo was getting air time from Al Roker and Mel B about their ‘Best Job Around the World’ employment offer. Linda called my attention to the ad and said, “This job has your name all over it!” My uneasiness over my wife’s enthusiasm for me applying for a job that would put me on the road through most of 2014 should I win, was tempered by my excitement over the prospects of doing just that.
So, yes of course I’m applying! I am currently in the process of filling out the application, part of which requires a one-minute video on why I should be Jauntaroo’s first Chief World Explorer. That video is in the making as I write this and should be ‘in the can’ (that’s Hollywood talk for finished, not in the garbage can) by September 6th, as the deadline for applications is September 15th.
Once the video is posted, I will be bugging every person I know to go on line and ‘Like’ it – EVERYDAY, as you can ‘vote’ every 24 hours according to the Jauntaroo rules. As part of the ‘interview’ process, Jauntaroo is looking to see how much social media attention job candidates can generate – so I’ll need help from all of you to show these young wiper-snappers that there is still plenty of tread left on these tires.
If you like travel, their website at jauntaroo.com has some interesting features, like their unique ‘Vacation Finder’, ‘Travel With A Cause’ and their daily ‘Travel Tip’. They take a very personal approach to matching travelers with the right destinations. You can also click on ‘THE CANDIDATES’ and you’ll be able to see all the videos that have been submitted thus far for the ‘dream job’. Well, you won’t want to see ALL 1,000+ videos, but hopefully you’ll see one, mine.
I’m apologizing in advance for the ‘reminders’ to vote that I’ll be sending out to all of you and asking you to send them on to all your contacts. The video is short and you’ll hopefully be entertained . . . for 60 seconds.