Seven Canadians were among the final 50 candidates for the Best Job in the World -- a six-month position, offered by Tourism Queensland, that pays $150,000 Australian dollars and requires the winner to help promote the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

But ultimately only one of them -- Vancouver's Erik Rolfsen --  made it to the final 16 selected by Tourism Queensland to interview for the island caretaker position.

Here is Erik's profile, along with the six other Canadians who made it to the final 50 before being cut from the list.

The job begins on Canada Day.

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Name: Erik Rolfsen

Hometown: Vancouver

The pitch: Rolfsen's pitch lays out what he is giving up by leaving Vancouver, by choosing to go to Australia.

"It's one of the few cities in the same world where you can play golf, go skiing and hit the beach all in one day," says Rolfsen, explaining what daily life in Vancouver is like.

But the problem, as Rolfsen sees it, is that he is too busy working -- in his case as the website editor for the emVancouver Province/em newspaper -- to enjoy his local outdoor surroundings.

But working as a website editor also has its advantages, as Rolfsen believes he can put his skills to work to promote the islands.

"I saw a link to this contest back in early January and it just looked like something, first of all, a job that would be great to do, being down there, living there for six months and just being able to blog about things, make videos, and it required some of the skills that I had," he told CTV's Canada AM recently.

"It seemed like a good fit and I just had to check with my wife to see if she would be willing to go down there and the answer was yes," he added.

Rolfsen said he is banking on the fact that with his experience as an editor and reporter, he will be among the most qualified applicants to promote Australian tourism.

"I think if you look at the top 50 (applicants), you might find a better writer in there, you might find a better videographer, you might find a better photographer," Rolfsen said.

"But I like to think that you won't find one person that can do all of those things at the same level that I can and that's what I hope to bring to the job."

• WATCH Erik Rolfsen's application
• Best Job In The World: Erik's profile

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Name: Mitchell Moffit

Hometown: Guelph, Ont.

The pitch: The Guelph University biology student wrote a musical number about how much he dislikes the cold weather that comes with living in Canada.

"Life in Canada, when truth be told, there's one little problem: It's too cold," Moffit sings in his pitch. "But if you told me that I could get out of here, I'd go."

The song then details how Moffit would be able to put his biology degree to use, satisfy his thirst for adventure and spend more time outdoors, by landing the plum job as island caretaker.

Moffit's song, which features a choir of friends following him down a sidewalk, culminates with him singing about how he is "ready to share Australia with the world."

He told Canada AM that he wrote the song in one weekend while studying for mid-terms and rehearsing for his part in an upcoming production of the musical Fame.

"It was a pretty crazy upcoming week," Moffit told CTV's Canada AM. "I heard about the idea and then I was thinking about what I wanted to do for it, and then I realized I only had one weekend to do it because the week after I had four mid-terms coming up and a couple of assignments."

And with Reading Week fast approaching, Moffit knew some of his friends would be leaving town. So very quickly, he wrote the one-minute musical bit and rallied his friends to star alongside him in his video pitch.

Moffit said he is enjoying the experience of applying for the Best Job in the World.

"It's crazy. I didn't really expect it and it's a pleasant surprise, I guess, and now it's just riding the wave and just enjoying it while it lasts," he said.

• WATCH Mitch Moffit's application video
• Best Job In The World: Mitch's profile

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Name: Melissa Schenk

Hometown: Stratford, Ont.

The pitch: The would-be "Island Caretaker" stars in a slick commercial that highlights her skills as a TV weather specialist and owner of a video production company.

"When we looked at the criteria, it was: 'Tell about yourself and say something about the islands -- something unique, your knowledge of the islands,'" Schenk told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday. "So we wanted to create this island caretaker persona that would solve the problems of the island, the tourism problems."

Noting her experience in video and television in her pitch, as well as her background as a cruise ship port lecturer and competitive swimmer, Schenk compels her audience to come visit her in Australia -- presuming that she gets the job.

"Share it with me!" Schenk says in the pitch. "All those things you've dreamed of doing, there's something for everyone on islands of the Great Barrier Reef."

Schenk, a weather specialist at London's 'A' Channel who has travelled abroad and once interned with CNN in Uganda, told Canada AM that she has long admired Australia's efforts to promote its tourism.

"They've always been very smart with their marketing and this campaign is no different, and I think, the best job in the world, who doesn't want it?" Schenk said.

If given the job, Schenk said she would like to use the power of the Internet to show travellers the advantages of travelling to Australia.

• WATCH Melissa's application
• Best Job In The World: Melissa's profile

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Name: Christine Estima

Hometown: Toronto

The pitch: The nomadic freelance arts and travel writer was born in Canada, but has backpacked across the Middle East, Europe, South America and the Caribbean and has recently spent time living in London.

Her pitch comes in the form of a rapid-fire, sing-song rhyme, assisted by a series of props, including a Canadian flag, a cartoon globe and a travel book that she was published in.

"My name's Christine Estima and I'm Canadian by birth. I've lived around the globe and I've travelled around this Earth," Estima tells web viewers at the start of her online pitch.

"From Istanbul to Kosovo, to Ukraine to Brazil, Dublin, Warsaw, Bucharest, I just can't stay still."

Estima told CTV's Canada AM she heard about the job from a friend in London and was compelled to put together a pitch -- immediately.

"With this video, I made the script in one day," she said.

Two days of memorizing and two takes later, Estima was ready to send in her clip.

"On the second take, we got that and I was like: 'Upload, send, done,'" she said.

Estima said that travelling has given her life "meaning" and has inspired her writing.

And with her experience as a blogger and writer, she believes she would be a perfect fit to take on the best job in the world.

"I already have my own blog and I've done travel writing and I've done video blogging and I've done photography, so that's why I want the job," she said.

Like Schenk, the York University M.A. grad also has some experience on TV, having appeared on the U.K. reality show "When Women Rule The World" -- a show Britain's Channel 4 billed as "the ultimate gender experiment."

• WATCH Christine Estima's application
• Best Job In The World: Christine's profile

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Name: Anny Chih

Hometown: Vancouver

The pitch: Chih's plan is straightforward: She will take what she has learned in school and put it to use promoting tourism Down Under.

"With a degree in marketing, I have excellent communication skills," the confident Chih says, while displaying her Simon Fraser University degree in her pitch video.

"I'll make sure everyone knows how great the islands of the Great Barrier Reef really are."

Her video also provides picture proof of her interests in outdoor activities, including "hiking, ocean kayaking, skydiving, horseback riding, snowboarding, rock climbing, white water rafting, travelling and much, much more."

Chih told CTV's Canada AM that she jumped at the chance to apply for the Best Job in the World.

"I was looking for a job. I had just finished school, so I was looking for that next step and that next big step in my career," Chih said, when describing her reasons for applying.

After reading about what having the Best Job in the World would entail, Chih said she felt compelled to apply.

"I just thought I have to apply for this. Why wouldn't you?" she said.

Pressed on Canada AM to answer why she should get the Best Job in the World, Chih consulted a fortune cookie to explain her reasoning.

"It says: 'You were born with a skill to easily communicate with people,'" she said after breaking open the fortune cookie.

"A resort area will be part of your next holiday plans," she added.

• WATCH Anny Chih's application
• Best Job In The World: Anny's profile

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Name: Linda Hoang

Hometown: Edmonton

The pitch: The enthusiastic 19-year-old Edmonton journalism student says she wants the experience of "soaking up the Australian culture."

The sun. The swimming. The wildlife. The whole thing.

"I want to try everything: I want to experience it all and I want to tell the world about the experience," Hoang says in her pitch.

And that's not all -- she promises to provide the public with a highly thorough online record of her experiences.

"I'll take it further than just blogging," Hoang says in her pitch. "I'll video blog, I'll make webisodes, I'll send daily updates to Twitter and Facebook. I'll be the best six-month tourist Queensland has ever seen. I'll try every single activity possible during my time on the island and document it."

Hoang says she is flattered by the more than 4,000 people who have voted for her on the web.

"I'm so happy and I'm so appreciative that they actually want me to get this job," she told Canada AM.

But she's just as happy for her fellow Canadians who are hunting for the same opportunity.

"I think the Canadians are amazing," Hoang said. "I love all of their videos and I think that it's great that there's seven of us in the running and I think it really shows that Canadians are pretty awesome."

But despite her love for fellow Canucks, she still wants to be the person who gets the job in the end.

"I would be perfect for this job, I really want this job, it would be a great opportunity and I really want to represent Canada," Hoang said.

• WATCH Linda Hoang's application
• Best Job In The World: Linda's profile

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Name: Marcella Moser

Hometown: Vancouver

The pitch: As a seasoned tour guide and experienced traveller, Moser believes she has a long list of qualities that make her a perfect fit to be the chosen island caretaker.

Moser says she is energetic, adventurous, a quick learner, fun-loving and a great communicator.

She also speaks English, French, Spanish and Swiss German, which she demonstrates by greeting cartoon animals in four different languages in her animated pitch video.

"When I applied there was 18,000 people that had already applied so I knew it had to be absolutely creative, informative, colourful -- something that would really stand out from the pack," Moser told CTV's Canada AM in a recent interview.

"So I decided to animate myself."

Moser said she worked on the video with her boyfriend for about 100 hours in their Vancouver apartment.

"It took us forever but I think it was worth it," she said.

"I really think that I've reached out to a huge global audience not just of my age group but also children. There's kids from all over the world who are not only emailing me but want me to be Queen of the Reef."

Moser says Australian tourism officials may also want to consider her responsible nature.

"I'm really responsible, I've led tour groups all over the world," Moser says in her pitch. "I won't be just sitting on the beach, Tourism Queensland. I'm going to help promote the Great Barrier Reef."

Since launching her "I want the Best Job in the World!" blog on Jan. 13, Moser has written a long list of daily posts on a variety of Australia-related subjects - such as a post detailing the mix tape of songs she would take to the island and an imagined interview with 19th century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.

She also makes it clear that she has a burning desire to get to Australia.

"It's my dream to finally get to Australia, I've never been there before," Moser said.

• Best Job In The World: Marcella's profile
• WATCH Marcella Moser's application video