Recent research studies have shown that becoming an influencer or a YouTuber is among the top jobs for young people, especially for Gen Z. According to pre-covid research from the UK, becoming a social media influencer (17%) and YouTuber (14%) were the 2nd and the 3rd most desired career choices. Further research from Google query data found that being a YouTuber and Influencer is among the top 10 most desired jobs globally. In some countries, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain these are the most searched-for careers.
In this context, travel-tech company Kiwi.com looked for six new team members for a 4-week summer job to travel the world as World Travel Hackers. This is possibly the most wanted job of the summer as the successful applicants would also get to travel with a like-minded travel buddy of their choice and be given a €10,000 budget to fund their travels.
The main challenge was that interested applicants had to create a video about their hometown, and travel hacks other people can use there, and share them on with Kiwi.com’s team as a CV/letter of intent, showing off not just their travel savviness, but also their content creation skills. Applicants had to be comfortable with becoming a travel-hacking influencer, and posting online about their hometown, and their summer job.
The first phase of the campaign was the launch of the Job Advertisement. This was done through a press release, sent out to generalist, marketing and HR outlets. Additionally, the job ad was simultaneously listed on IQ Ads, detailing the requirements for becoming a World Travel Hacker, as even though the job is for just one month, traveling and creating content is still work. Applicants had to submit their video CVs through the dedicated landing page.
Across the four weeks on the job, the successful six and their travel buddies would complete special travel challenges decided by Kiwi.com in partnership with Visa. Successful candidates needed the skills to film, photograph and share their adventures and top hacks by producing social media content. Whatever they save from the €10,000 budget after completing all the challenges, they will get to keep.
At the end of the recruitment process, the overwhelming quality of the applications received prompted Kiwi.com’s team to add a seventh pair to their team of travel hackers.
The 7 travel-hacking duos were selected from Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, the UK, and Greece. Each pair received a 10,000 euro budget.
Since the start of the recruiting campaign, 1200 submissions have been made, and the applicants are from 73 countries and 475 cities around the world.
91 Hungarian applied for the summer job, of which 4 made the shortlist, by presenting the best things to do in their hometown, while on a budget (their “resumé” for applying for the job).
Most applicants to become part of Kiwi.com’s travel hacking team are from Europe (895), followed by traveler aficionados from North America, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and South America, respectively. Part of the applicants’ assignment was to choose a travel buddy who will travel the world with them. Most applicants (64%) chose a friend or the best friend to travel the world with, while 21% chose their significant other. 12% of applicants partnered with their sibling, while the rest chose other members of their family (including someone who chose to travel with their ex-wife).
The local free PR campaign started with a press release about the job offer, and then reported on the results and introduced the Hungarian pair, with a total reach of 5,2 million. We made several interviews with the couple and used their experiences and expert tips for many branded content materials.
