It’s late May in the South of France, and the seasonal migration of young hopefuls looking for work as superyacht crew is in full swing.
Having once stood on the dock looking to step up the passerelle into yachting myself, below is a summary of some key points that we shared with ‘greenies’ that were walking the docks in Antibes yesterday:
🤔Consider what your point of difference might be, at this time of year there are lots of eager candidates with similar CVs and experience levels.
🧩Attitude is everything. Willingness to learn, fit in and help out is critical. A well run boat will hlre for attitude and train for the job.
👟Try to put yourself in the recruiter, crew, captain, manager, broker, supplier or client shoes to understand what their challenge or need is. If you can help address this, you are adding value.
👀Candidates that have ‘restaurant eyes’ and can anticipate what might happen next around them are at an advantage. Reading a situation well is the basis of good service and slick delivery.
🙋♀️There is no such thing as a stupid question. Attending events, reading around subjects online and mentioning a particular topic or article in an interview or conversation could be enough to show commitment to standing out and securing a role.
📸The ability to generate engaging content onboard yachts is increasingly demanded to document trips and promote yachts digitally. Drone flying, photography and video editing are all good skills to highlight.
🛠️Likewise other trades, hobbies, interests, languages or previous employment outside of yachting. Yacht crew have to wear many hats and work hard to deliver a high level of service so demonstrating complementary skills, creativity and talents is an asset.
📺 The TV show Below Deck is not an accurate representation of working onboard a yacht as crew. If this is your motivation it is misguided.
🔁 Interviews are a 2-way street, although it is difficult to reference check the crew culture and client dynamics, be alert to avoiding toxic work environments, poor leadership and difficult clients.
🚤A Powerboat Level 2 qualification is a minimum standard developed for recreational boating. This doesnt usually cover more yachting related topics such as tender launching, guest operations and longer distance passages. Any further boating experience or qualifications that can demonstrate competant boat-handling and seamanship will be an advantage.
Finally be persistent. One thing will lead to another. Daywork can result in a temporary job, then a seasonal role or crossing and a full time position onboard, or even a multi decade career in yachting. Good luck! 👍
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