Top 3 w
ays to
find work
1. Networking
The idea of ‘networking’ terrified me. I went
to a few events but felt like I was caught
between school-disco-awkwardness and
speed dating shame. I didn’t know what to
do – should I have a glass of wine or will
they think I’m an alcoholic? Will not having
a drink make them think I’m boring? Should
I eat? What if someone starts to talk to me
while I’m eating? I opted for nursing one
glass of wine in my hand all night and eating biscuits. An almost perfect plan except
that I wound up covered in biscuit crumbs.
2. Dockwalking
Dockwalking is usually an excellent way
to find work in the industry. Head to a
superyacht marina in the morning armed
with a sunny outlook and a handful of CVs
and hope someone is offering temporary
daywork or a more permanent position.
You will have to develop a thick skin for
job hunting this way. “We found someone
with a better personality” (that hurt), “You
should probably take your university stuff
off your resume as captains might find that
intimidating” (cue intense rage), “You need
to include your height and weight on your
CV” (this is not Britain’s Next Top Model;
behave yourself). Yachting is a HR person’s
worst nightmare!
In the end, I discovered that as a British
national in the US I was not allowed to look
for work this way.
3. Agencies
There are plenty of agencies out there
placing crew. Trouble is they have a rigid
list of requirements and if you don’t tick all
the boxes then it is goodbye.
Despite having a CV that included work
with high net worth individuals, hospitality experience and a smattering of foreign
languages, all but one agency turned me
away. According to them, I didn’t have
the right visa to leave the States aboard a
yacht. “How do I get one?”, “You need boat
papers”, “So, I need a job to get a visa, but I
need a visa to get a job?”, “Yes”.