Heidi Fischer
18, from Canada

What made you decide to come and work here?

Well, when I decided to come to Australia, working was not originally part of the plan. I came to see the country and sights, but I soon learned that I would have to find employment to keep alive my my dream of travelling the east coast.

How did you land your new job?
I emailed out resumés through seek.com and got a call back within a couple of days. I had to go for an interview and then an observation day and at the end they hired me.

And what exactly is it that you do now?
I technically work in marketing. But what I actually do is go door-to-door and sell Optus phone packages.

What are you planning to do with the money you earn?
If I end up making any money, considering the job is commission-based, I will spend it travelling up the east coast.

Where are you heading next?
I am heading to Melbourne for about a month.

Any funny stories to share?
Every day is pretty crazy. Each morning we have these ‘pump up’ meetings where we put on dance tunes and do these chants. But the other week we had a meeting at one of our other offices where the vice president of the company was giving a speech and it was really hot and since I had just gotten to Sydney I wasn’t used to it and I fainted in front of the entire group of about 30. I still haven’t lived it down.

What are the good points about your new job?
It’s really fun and I like everyone I work with. The hours and days you work
are pretty flexible as well.

And are there any bad points?
There are a couple, but the biggest is that it’s all commission-based so if you don’t sell anything you come home with no money. It can also give you blisters, there is a lot of walking.

How’s the pay?
If you make a lot of sales you can make a lot of money, but if you don’t make sales you earn nothing.

What advice can you give to other travellers considering your job?
I would say it’s a great job to try out for about a week. But if you’re not selling anything let it go, it’s not worth the gamble.

Why would you recommend your job to others?
I would recommend this job to people as long as you don’t need to have an immediate income because it can take a while to get paid.