Video link → http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7824395.stm

It's being billed as "the best job in the world" - six months working as a "caretaker" on Hamilton Island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef. But with competition for the post sure to be cut-throat, how can you make your application stand out?

As winter gloom settles in across the UK, Tourism Queensland has cannily cast a wide net in its search for someone to take the caretaker job. The indigo skies and rolling golden sandy beaches of Hamilton Island couldn't look more appealing to your average Briton at the moment. As if these weren't enough, the job comes with a pay packet of nearly £70,000 and a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool.

In return, the successful applicant will be expected to spend the six-month contract exploring the idyllic surroundings, filing weekly blog, photo diary and video updates and conducting "ongoing media interviews".

Interested? The first step in securing this role is to send a 60-second video application explaining why you are the ideal person for it. But what do you need to do, and to emphasise, to put your application near the top of the pile?

A geography background, any experience of wildlife management, a role as a forest warden, some kind of outdoor role involved in monitoring and observing - that's going to put you ahead of 75% of the other applicants(Corrine Mills, HR adviser)

1. Get the basics things right