Don’t let a lack of experience, skills or qualifications stop you from getting a job that pays you to travel the world!

Many people mistakenly believe that a career in the cruise line industry is impossible if they have no actual “on the job” experience.

Not true!

There are thousands of people working on cruise ships who had no prior work experience, specific skills or qualifications to speak of. And there tons of jobs you can do by simply using some of the skills you already possess (and yes, you do have them!) while getting full ‘on the job’ training onboard your ship.

You see, the problem is not lack of ‘experience’ but rather lack of “know-how”. And here’s the most common mistakes people with little experience, skills or qualifications make when applying for cruise ship jobs:

1. Applying for the wrong types of jobs onboard.

2. Not knowing how to ’sell’ themselves correctly to the cruise lines.

Today we’ll start with a list of some of the jobs that you can begin applying for right now, if you feel limited by your skills, experience or qualifications:

• Casino Cashier (limited cash handling & customer service exp.)
• Cruise Staff (people skills)
• Social Host (people and public speaking skills)
• Internet Manager (internet experience - like reading this Blog!)
• Gift Shop Associate (limited retail and customer service exp.)
• Photographer (training provided, although a genuine desire to learn photography must be demonstrated!)
• Shore Excursion Staff (communication and organizational skills)
• Receptionist (admin and organizational skills)
• Bar Wait Staff (training provided)
• Cocktail Server (training provided)
• Videographer (training provided)
• Tour Guide (people skills)
• Guest Speaker (ability to speak on a particular subject of interest for an hour. Please visit SpeakersCruiseFree.com for the very best info on jobs in this area)

This list isn’t exhaustive but it’s good for starters. Over the coming weeks we’ll look at some other jobs like this you can do onboard. Plus we’ll cover some of the simple things you can do to make yourself irresistible to any cruise line employer!

Neil Maxwell-Keys
Author - "Get a Cruise Ship Job!"
Founder - www.WorkOnCruiseShips.com