How do you find work in Yachting?

How can you find a job on a yacht when everybody asks for experience, of a year or more? If you are new to the industry what are the possibilities of securing your first role?

Ok, so there are lots of contributing factors to securing that all important first position, here we will give an overview, and during the coming weeks we will go into more depth on each area.

1. First of all, you must have completed your Basic STCW training and researched if your desired department requires any extra training courses that will help you on your way.
2. You must have a well-written CV.  You have no idea how many people think this isn’t a major factor if you have all the skills, but it is. A spell checked, neat and tidy, clear and concise CV that is easy to read will help you immensely.
3. Your CV photo must be a good one. Showing a neat and tidy appearance, remember the old saying dress for the job you want. Its recommended a polo shirt for the guys, blouse or smart t-shirt for the ladies, chef whites for galley staff if you have them, head and shoulder shot wearing a smile. From a recruitment perspective a friendly, happy, smiling face would really make someone want me to read all about you.
4. If you are not getting any work then are you looking for home or a local yachting hub? It is rare, if not close to impossible, to secure your first yachting position from home unless you are an A star stand out candidate who ticks all the boxes of the job brief and even that can be hard to do from home when you are new to the industry.

Know roughly where and when each season starts

For crew who do not have US work authorisation I would always recommend starting your job hunt in Europe. The vast majority of first positions on yachts do not come from conducting your search via agencies or Facebook groups from home on your computer, although it is still important that you do this to start building relationships, you should be situated in a local yachting hub, walking the docks and networking.

Walking the docks will get you meeting and engaging with crew

This could lead to day working, which could lead to a full time job.  The new position could either come from the boat you are day working on or  from one of the crews friends, if they have recommended you. Remember, a lot of the yachting industry is word of mouth and who you get to know. In those early stages of your yachting career, more often than not opportunities arise from a face-to-face meetings rather than from behind a computer.

The yachting industry is full of hopefuls looking for their lucky break to get started in the industry every year, so you really do have to put yourself out there and be based in a yachting hub to stand a chance of getting started.

I would be suggesting right now that the South of France, or Palma if you prefer, for the start of the Med 2017 season and heading there anytime from Mid-March.

Meanwhile, get as much relevant experience as possible, working towards gaining as many transferrable skills as you can to make you a more desirable candidate.

Please post on the Facebook wall if you have any more questions about the industry that we can help you with.