Posts Tagged ‘cruise ship careers’

Develop an Action Plan to Get a Cruise Job

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Nov 07 2011

Making the decision to pursue a career at sea is the first step in landing your dream job, but now what do you need to do? Developing an action plan will help you specify the necessary steps to achieve your goal.

Before jumping in head first and sending out a slew of application packages, you should educate yourself as much as possible about the cruise industry. What cruise lines are the major players? What cruise jobs do you think you are most qualified for? What is life onboard really like? Are you really sure you know what you are getting yourself into?

Once you understand the basics, it’s time to decide on which cruise job is best for you? Are there any job vacancies? What skills and experiences do you have that closely match what is required by the hiring cruise company?

At this point you may think you are ready to send out your resume and cover letter. Have you customized them for the job you are applying for, or are you sending out the same application package to each cruise line. (Better to customize and find the name of each hiring manager).

The follow-up phase of the application process is one of the most important stages. Don’t just send your resume and cover letter and expect someone to get back to you. They won’t. You must follow up, ’cause the competition is fierce.

For more information, WorkOnCruiseShips.com members can read the 16-lesson tutorial on getting a cruise job.

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More Cruise Job Articles on WorkOnCruiseShips.com

General | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Nov 04 2011

Over the last number of months at WorkOnCruiseShips.com, we’ve been ramping up our content with more articles on how to land your dream cruise job. As we continue to enhance the site, our focus will also include maintaining the Cruise Ship Jobs Blog.

If you haven’t yet fully committed to finding a cruise job, then the Cruise Ship Jobs Blog is an ideal starting resource for you to bookmark. Here, we’ll bring you more cruise job tips, cruise industry news, excerpts from our members’ discussion forum, and a taste of what is available on the WorkOnCruiseShips.com website.

Then, once you have decided that a cruise job is what you want, then it is time for you to jump in with both feet and learn everything you need to know to get hired. Get to know how to put together a resume and cover letter specific to the cruise industry. Learn what jobs you are most qualified for on a cruise ship. Learn what life onboard is like. And, utilize our members’ forum to ask cruise job related questions.

The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll get hired!

Next blog….

How Long before I Get Hired for a Cruise Job?

 

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Getting the Most from Your Cruise Ship Job Applications

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Jun 10 2009

The biggest mistake most cruise job seekers make is NOT following up on their job applications.

Or, put another way, you need to FOLLOW UP EVERYTHING!

We often get emails from people asking, "how do I follow up correctly?" so here’s some extra info to help you follow-up on your cruise ship job applications.

Sending a simple follow up letter or email 10 – 14 days after your first application can be an effective way of getting your name to the top of the huge pile of resumes that are sitting on the desk of most recruiters!

The purpose of the "follow up" letter is to politely inquire about the status of your application. But it also shows that you’re very keen in working for that cruise line and can often prompt the employer to dig out your original application and send you an update.

In your follow up letter or email, you need to include the following details:

* Your full name
* The date you sent your initial application
* The position you applied for
* And of course ask about the "status of your application".

It’s also a good idea to include another copy of your CV/resume.

Here is a real-life example of a successful cruise ship job follow up letter you can copy.

Remember, the people who are successful in getting jobs on cruise ships are almost always the people who followed up consistently, FORCING cruise lines to sit up and take notice of their cruise ship job applications.

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How Long Will It Take YOU To Get A Job On A Cruise Ship?

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
May 07 2009

If you’ve been trying to get a job on a cruise ship for any length of time then here’s a short, inspiring message which also contains a valuable lesson. 

It was posted to our discussion forum by Karen from the UK who fly’s out to Gibraltar next week to join her ship the Aurora (right).  She will spend this summer getting paid to cruise around the Mediterranean and America!

Here’s what she had to say:

"It has been a while as to be honest I ALMOST gave up.  I have been bashing away since early December, then I was advised some positions can be a 3-5 month wait so I thought ok I will chill for a while… but the more I struggle each day to get of bed and do my current job which I am so BORED with, the more I started thinking ‘I best take action and just keep going…’

"Finally it has paid off!! I have just been hired as a Digital Living Presenter and they are flying me out to Gibraltar on the 26th April to join the Aurora on the 27th. Neil, thank you to you and your team I would have never been able to do this without your support, encouragement and wonderful website!"

You can read Karen’s original message on our forum and also find out more about how she got hired as a Digital Living Presenter.

The moral of the message is this: with the cruise industry you just never know how long it will take you to get hired. We’ve had so many members who were hired within days (literally) and many others who landed a job on a cruise ship within months.

Either way, the people who always succeeded in the end were the people who, like Karen, simply refused to give in and just kept going until they landed their dream job.

While Karen is intelligent enough to know that it will be a big life adjustment at first and even hard going at times (varied working hours and homesickness!). At the same time she knows she’s in for an amazing adventure… she’ll get to meet all kinds of new people, visit exciting, exotic destinations and enjoy a great life experience.

And that’s a goal definitely worth pursuing with determination and persistence!

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Working On Cruise Ships & What NOT to Say in Your Job Applications!

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Apr 08 2009

I heard a great tip this week and I want to share it with you because it’s very important if you’re serious about working on cruise ships.

When applying for jobs, a lot of applicants love to tell cruise lines just how much they want to travel the world and meet new people.

Well, guess what? Cruise lines are NOT here to make a crewmembers dreams come true!

The cruise industry is all about the passenger and making sure they have a great value, fun-filled vacation. The brutal truth is that a cruise line does not really care that you the job seeker want to travel the world and meet new people.

Instead, all they really care about is what YOU can do for THEM and what value you’ll bring to their paying guests.

Think about this and it will make a lot of sense.

As an example, if you’re looking to work in the on board gift shops then focus entirely on your strong sales and customer service skills. Don’t tell them that you can’t wait until the shops are closed so you can get off the ship and explore the world!

Remember, they’re NOT here to make YOUR dreams come true. When working on cruise ships you’re there to keep their guests satisfied and make sure they have a great time!

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A quick tip to force your cruise job applications to the top of the stack!

Cruise Job Tips | Posted by Renee Ruggero
Feb 21 2009

Here’s a great ‘Follow Up’ tip a former recruiting colleague of mine shared on our forums recently, that you can use today:

When you apply for cruise jobs with several different companies, create a simple spreadsheet listing the cruise lines you applied to in a column going down the page. Then, make three additional columns labeled “Recommendations,” “Call,” “TY Card”.

Here’s what these mean:

Recommendation: Two days after you send in your application, send three letters of recommendation in to the HR department.

If you don’t have any letters like this, then simply ask people for them!

Even better, write the letters yourself and get some prestigious people and/or ex-employers to sign and print them on their letterhead. When you send these letters in, your application will be pushed to the front of the stack since the cruise line must go through and dig out your original application to match these letters along with your resume.

Call: Call or email the cruise line a week later asking if they have everything they need to make a hiring decision. This is not the time to beg for a job. You’re simply calling to ask if they have everything they need from you in order to offer you a job. Take the name of the person you speak with.

TY Card: Immediately after getting off the phone, send a Thank You card addressed to the person you just spoke with.

From the perspective of someone who has hired many people to work on cruise ships, it’s little tips like these that can make all the difference and make you stand head and shoulders above your competition and ultimately land your “dream job”.

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