5 tips for getting your first Superyacht job

Getting your first superyacht job is tough. You are pitched against a group of incredibly motivated people with a great set of skills and qualifications. So how do you stand out from the rest and get your first superyacht job?

1. Be in the right location at the right time

You are going to need a base to help you land your first superyacht job. You want to be able to network with existing crew and dockwalk to be able to get day jobs and those all-important first references.
There are a number of key hubs within the superyachting industry and the best location will depend on which season you are hoping to join:

October to April: The Caribbean Season
Get to Antigua or Sint Maarten. Not bad locations to spend your time. Whilst you are there looking for work don’t forget to continue developing your skills. A great way to do this are the free ACREW workshops. So if you are headed over to the Caribbean for the start of this season you can join:

• Caribbean CrewFest: 11^th– 1th January at St. Kitts Harbour
• Port de Plaisance: 19^th -20^th January in Sint Maarten

April to October: The Med Season
There are two main places that you want to consider as your base; Palma in Majorca and Antibes in France. There are two key Palma events for crew from ACREW:

• Nautical and Crew Expo: 20^th – 21^st April
• Palma Superyacht Show: 28^th April – 2^nd May

On occasion, you can also pick up work in Palma or Antibes at the end of the Med season as there will be a number of yachts undertaking the transatlantic crossing for the Caribbean season.

2. Never burn a bridge

Your best opportunities for a full-time position are referrals and day work. This means that your network becomes your most valuable asset. No matter the circumstances, never burn a bridge.
Yachting is a close-knit community and news travels fast. This is great when you have a good reputation, but you don’t want to be starting out your career as a ‘difficult’ person. You need to be able to work well with others in close quarters. This is good practice in biting your tongue and getting on with the work.

3.Upskill and differentiate

Getting into yachting is incredibly competitive. There are a lot of incredible people already working in the industry and this means that expectations are high when it comes to new recruits.

Up-skilling yourself, be it through training courses through the PYA or IYS for example, or through the free professional workshops provided by ACREW, will help you stand out from the hundreds of other candidates vying for the same positions.

This isn’t something that you should forget about once you land that first job. Setting aside cash to invest in your on-going personal development is a great way to ensure that you are never out of work and are head-hunted for the best positions on the best yachts. United Advisers Marine can help you build a financial plan that will account for your professional development needs.

It wouldn’t be right for us to write this post without consulting the experts in recruitment! Nicola from Wilson Halligan gives her top 2 tips:

4. Spend time on your CV

It is the first thing that employers see, so make sure it gives a good impression and ask for help on it if you need it. Check and re-check for spelling & grammatical errors – they don’t support your claim, that you have ‘great attention to detail’!

5. DON’t Be TARDY

Important for meetings with crew agents, or for interviews with prospective employers – again, make a good impression, make sure you know where you are going beforehand, and arrive in plenty of time.

Did we miss anything? If so please let us know on our Facebook Page so that we can write the ultimate blog!

We also want to say a special thank you to Kevin Yu who let us use this photo of his son on our blog. You can find him on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mr_kibs27/