Three Irish people have become shortlisted applicants in a global competition for the best job in the world.

April 2013 seen the close of Tourism Australia’s global competition advertising six dream jobs Down Under. More than 300,000 people applied for the six jobs, namely - park ranger in Queensland, outback adventurer in Northern Territory, wildlife caretaker in South Australia, chief funster in New South Wales, taste master in Western Australia, and lifestyle photographer in Melbourne, Victoria.

Tourism officials trawled through thousands of applicant videos, eventually paring them down to 25 finalists for each of the six job categories. Only 150 candidates from 36 countries are now left in the competition, among them, Allan Dixon, Heber Hanley and Richard Cullen, all from Ireland.

Richard and Heber are both finalists in the lifestyle photographer category while Allan, who works as a film producer for Web Summit, has become a finalist for the outback adventurer job.

“I was quite overwhelmed at reaching the top 25 as I only began editing the video two days before the closing date, finishing it just before the deadline,” Allan Dixon said of his finalist status, the Irish Times reveals.

The 26-year old DCU graduate previously made the news in 2012 for sending a blow-up doll to American billionaire Alki David and then challenging David to see how many times he had planted his company’s FilmOn logo around Dublin during the St Patrick's Day festivities. David later invited Allan to meet him in Los Angeles as a result of the stunts.

Andrew McEvoy, the managing director with Tourism Australia, said he was delighted to see three people from Ireland progress to the final stages, the Irish Examiner reports.

“The Irish entries are all fantastic. Now it’s time for the short listed contestants to show the Irish public what they’re made of. We’re looking for great storytellers, someone adventurous, inspiring — a person eager to jump into the role and soak up all Australia has to offer.”

If they win, they will receive a six-month salary worth $100,000, including living costs. Before that however, they must provide supporting job references which, if successful, will see them invited to a final assessment in Australia in mid-June. The six successful job candidates will be announced on June 21, 2013.

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