Archive for the ‘Travel Jobs’ Category:
Travel Jobs: Promoting Conventions
This weekend in Reno I did the following:
- Talked to two models, who happened to enjoy late night blackjack almost as much as me (one of whom posed for Playboy).
- Had a meaningful discussion with Chuck Yeager, the man to first break the sound barrier
- Watched Tom Selleck buy an Alaskan hunting knife, while his bodyguards warded off potential photographers
- Woke up to snowy morning runs
- Worked 12-hour shifts for five days with no breaks for lunch… or anything else
- Got paid a considerable amount, with lodging, meals, and travel included in expense
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How exactly did this happen? Well, as many of you know, I am now back stateside after my travels in New Zealand looking for work. I was staying with the family for a few days after the holidays ended, doing my typical web searches in favor of writing travel articles for Vagabondish, Matador, and Iloho (yeah, I really should play catchup; I have about ten unfinished files just sitting on my desktop): Craigslist gigs in Dallas, Craigslist jobs in Austin, and Gaijinpot jobs in Japan. The usual gigs popped up: tutoring opportunities, moving jobs, and one ad written in all caps, requesting labor to help set up a booth at the Dallas Safari Club convention. Surprisingly, there was no email address, just a contact number. Half expecting it to be a scam, I called the number on Skype, left a message, and didn’t hear from them for a week.
Long story short, I was called the day before to pick someone up at the airport, set up a jewelry booth at the Dallas Convention Center, worked sales at the event for three days, broke down the booth, and was called to fly into LA, drive their supplies to Reno, and stay in a casino hotel for a week for one of the biggest conventions in the country, the Safari Club International.
Jobs like these, that allow one to travel from show to show, are not exactly rare, but usually restricted to certain kinds of people: women who are attractive enough to work as tradeshow models, the businesses themselves, and local talent (which usually means no traveling). The fact that I’ve been lucky enough to land a position and see the western US on someone else’s dime is pretty sweet, but I have to admit, I’m feeling that I’m working harder, not smarter…
The pay is decent ($1200 last show, about $15/hr with meals, lodging and gas included), but I was working incredibly hard and not moving around as much as I’d have liked. As strange as it sounds, I’d rather have a little less money for a lot more activity, so I don’t feel so full of pent up energy at the end of a workday. Running before and afterwards helps, but it’s just not enough. I bet I’m still gaining weight (enough to keep me out of the league of those Playboy models 
), and to top it off, my boss is walking a fine line between obsessive and pure evil.
Still, these shows are an interesting choice for the traveler looking to rake in a little dough. As I’ve discovered, you can pocket a bit more if the company advances you for lodging and you choose to stay with Couchsurfers.
Off to Tucson for a big gem show, then back to Texas for a bit. Peace.
Travel Jobs: World Ventures
Sorry for my lack of posts as of late; I am back in the states after my working holiday in New Zealand, and will be looking for jobs in Japan, Taiwan, and Peru starting sometime in the next several months. Whenever I’m home, I always tend to fly into Dallas, then migrate south to Austin, home of great Mexican food, good people, and Town Lake running trail, the best place to train for a marathon.
As always, my job search in the US begins (and usually ends) with Craigslist. This one ad caught me completely off guard, a seemingly perfect match:
Swim with the dolphins. Cliff dive in Costa Rica. See the Great Wall of China. Zipline through the Amazon. Taste kiwi in New Zealand. See the Glaciers of Alaska. You no longer have to sit in a cubicle at work and stare at a computer screen to see pictures of exotic places. Come play with us and make a living, well… living.
Our company headquarters are in Dallas, TX, all 38,000 square feet. We are positioned to be the “Google of the Travel Industry.” We own proprietary software and technology that makes us the best search engine on the internet for booking travel. We also have first-mover advantage on two very unique products in the travel industry. This position is 100% commission. Sales reps who help us open a new market have earned $325,000/year within their first year. They also worked their happy little butts off. We are coming into your market right now.
HOW WE THINK:
A lot of companies think that companies got soft in the new millennium because employees wore jeans to the office environment. We believe that wearing jeans has nothing to do with why these companies got soft or went bankrupt. Our revenue went up $150 million in three years in a down economy… many of us wore jeans to work. To say our product is great would be an understatement.
WHAT WE DO:
We are a company that encourages our teams to work hard. We roll up the sleeves of our best suits and shake hands with the public. Not virtually, but literally with the customers of our clients. There exists no communication more reliable and effective than face to face. Other companies can “brainstorm” all they want. While they are in their THINK-TANKS we are in the field, meeting their families, listening to their stories and making an impression that will drive business.
JUST IN CASE WE WERE NOT CLEAR:
Our company is not a creative marketing firm or telemarketing company. We do vacation sales. A lot of them. That’s why we are always growing (not thinking, or trying, actually doing). We sell beaches, oceans, and tropical climates for a living so be prepared to sample what you sell. The perks are incredible for the right person.
WHY WE ARE HIRING:
We know that the world is constantly changing. Therefore there will always be a new way to realize our vision and thus a need for new partners. We want active team members who are engaged in what they are doing. We reward those who do so. We believe in promoting exclusively from within because who knows better what it is like to be in the trenches but those who have actually been in those exact same trenches.
A FEW REQUIREMENTS:
If $750,000 in annual income after two years sounds “unrealistic”, this is not the company for you. If you do not like hard work and lack a desire to help people or sense of humor, our company is not for you. If you know you can sell like nobody’s business, are well-liked by others, want to retire earlier and travel to earn a living, we want to hear from you.
Sounds great, right? A chance to work in a moderately stable position, earn money, and stay in the travel industry.
Maybe it was my ignorance in sales. Maybe I’ve just been out of the working world for too long. Either way, I was not prepared for when I arrived at the designated interview time and place, sports coat snug on my shoulders, hiking boots on my feet instead of loafers, and arrived to a single man using the stereotypical 80’s sales voice and spouting rehearsed line after rehearsed line extolling the virtues of World Ventures.
At first glance, it all sounded pretty good: put in the hours, develop your sales’ skills, receive benefits including free travel. The only problem? World Ventures is nothing more than a glorified pyramid scheme. Ok, maybe not in the strictest sense: the income isn’t solely based on me getting friends and family to sign up for the same system and pay a fee, but also on selling travel packages. Still, the rep in Austin couldn’t have been a better salesman for such a lousy product, the whole time expressing the urgency of me signing up to sell for them ($100 one time fee plus $10/month… for ME to work). Even told me if I waited a few hours, it would be money lost. What a crock.
Here’s how this would have worked. Sign up. Pay money. Become an official representative of World Ventures. Now spend the rest of your days convincing others to sign up to be a part of the program. Let me be clear: not selling vacation deals. Getting others to sign up for the program.
Strike one for applying to travel jobs. I’ll be reporting on some conventions I’m working around the midwest soon. Stay tuned.