Thank you so much for the feed back! It is so helpful. I am most definitely going to take your advice about the different resumes, and who knows maybe I will see you down there!

thanks again!

Tierney

great to hear from you, and i’m really glad you found this post helpful. i had originally wrote it so i could easily copy and paste the link when my friends started asking about, but it has also been of great service to others online.

anyhoo, here is my advice for you. first and foremost, you have to be absolutely certain and completely committed to coming down here. it is an amazing experience and i totally recommend it to anyone, but it does take a bit of persistance and determination to make it. the first year i tried to come down here i went to the job fair, but i flaked out after my first phone interview. the prospect of scrubbing toilets or washing dishes for 5 months is kinda hard to wrap your mind around. this year (my 2nd try) i told myself to completely ignore all voices of doubt in my head, and i’m so glad i did!

so, to answer your question, going to the job fair (in denver) is the best thing that you can do. all the hiring managers go to the job fair and talking to them face to face is the best way to be remembered. everyone has to apply to jobs online at rayjobs.com, but the hiring managers will remember you much more if they saw your face at the job fair. of course, it’s not required, but it definitely helps.

as far as the open positions each year, there are 4 jobs that are almost exclusively for NEW people each year: dining attendant or DA (dish washers), janitor, general assistant or GA (work monkey), and shuttle driver. most people (aside from those with actual skills, like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc) get those jobs first and then move on to other positions in subsequent seasons.

the best thing to do is to create 4 different resumes for those 4 different jobs and tailor them to each position. it’s totally OK to fib a little here and there on your experience, they just need a piece of paper that says you’ve got the experience that you say you do. most all jobs have plenty of training at the beginning.

i applied for all those jobs, but i didn’t know enough then to make different resumes, so i was only offered a posistion as a dining. it’s certainly not the best job on station, but it’s totally worth it.

the best introductory position is a GA in Operations. they go ALL over the continent to field camps and do all sorts of great stuff outside. i’d put ALL your energy into getting that job. but like i said, any of the above jobs would be awesome.

if you are interested, you can see my antarctica photos here:

http://flickr.com/photos/elisfanclub/collections/72157602618746680/

and you can follow my more day to day stuff here:

http://twitter.com/elisfanclub

best of luck to you, and maybe i’ll see you down here next season!

I am infatuated with the idea of going to Antarctica, particularly McMurdo. I will have to see about going out to a job fair. Do you know if a lot of the positions open up every year, or do people tend to go back every season?

Thanks!

Tierney