Thara Vidyaratne has a tertiary degree in media and communications, her own popular YouTube channel and a blog.
She achieved an ATAR score of 95.75 and has interned at various media organisations in the hope of securing a full-time job … but an offer never came.
The Tarneit resident is one of thousands of young Victorians struggling to find employment despite having all the qualifications.
So she decided to approach the predicament from another angle.
She entered a competition organised by recruitment and employment firm Randstad for an all-expenses paid, round-the-world trip, and a month-long internship with a major Australian or international company.
Applicants were required to demonstrate social media or tech savvy skills that often aren’t asked for in conventional job applications.
Miss Vidyaratne, 24, was named among the five finalists, and last month was announced overall winner, securing the world trip and an internship with major beauty brand L’Oreal in Paris.
Miss Vidyaratne says she’s counting down the days until she jets off next month.
“The plan is to make it to Paris, to visit L’Oreal’s global headquarters, as well as the US, UK, Netherlands and Singapore.”
And she hopes the trip, and particularly the internship, will lead to her first full-time job.
