The Do's and Don'ts of a Yachting CV - theseaworthystew.com (2024)

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First things first… a Yachting CV is very different to a land based CV. To makeYOUR CV stand outit needs to tick the relevant ‘industry standard’ boxes to ensure you get a look in onboard.

Imagine a Captain or Chief Stew has 150 CV’s on their desk… if your CV doesn’t look like a Yacht CV you are probably going straight to the shredder.

SO to save you time, wasting paper and increase your chances of getting a job let’s dive deep into equipping you with the Do’s and Don’ts of a YACHTING CV.

Do’s of a Yachting CV

#1 Turn your CV into a Skills-based layout
Instead of the first thing people see is your work experience, they can also see what SKILLS you have from previous jobs which ultimately translate into yachting! Have you had experience working in a restaurant? List the amount of patrons the restaurant could seat, type of service, did you serve alcohol, and make co*cktails? This is all relevant information for your yachting CV.

#2 Take the time to get a good CV photo for your Yachting CV
This can be done on a smart phone with the right settings and light. Nothing fancy required, just: White collared shirt, a smile, professional hair & minimal makeup (females), water or a plain background. The Photo should sit at the top right of your CV. You should be getting your photo in the sun either early morning or afternoon not midday when you can’t even open your eyes and suddenly look squinty eyed. My tip for CVs is to get someone to help you take loads of shots, look down and then look up directly to camera (Stopping any squinty eyes from getting a look in!)

#3 Make it obvious and write what position you are going for clearly under your name in large font and maybe with a dash of colour to stand out. If you are interested in two departments e.g. Deck/Stew role don’t box yourself in by going one way- It’s better to be broad when you are starting out then you can work out which career pathway you would like to choose later. Right now we need to get you some experience onboard.

#4 List your previous jobs under their job titles and then add the transferrable yachting skills under these so it’s clear. If you have no yachting experience YET. Break down your experiences in terms or what is yachting relevant and expand your land CV. Look at all past jobs and think about every task completed in that job which could be useful on a Superyacht.

#6 Do a clean up of your social media
A yachting CV now extends to captains and heads of departments doing a search of you on social media. So make sure you do a clean up of your social media! You don’t want to create a kick ass CV only to be turned down by a photo of you drunk at a full moon party or something similar.

Don’ts of a Yachting CV

#1 Don’t put your Passport number on your CV. I see many green crew putting their CV with private information on it like their passport number, location etc. out to the world on facebook group pages. You don’t know who is in these groups so keep that information secure and if a a yacht needs your passport number they will reach out. It’s better to keep this information off your CV to be safe.

#2 Don’t put something on your CV you are not trained to do or willing to do. E.g. you may be a qualified Massage therapist if you put this on your CV and your Captain discusses your role involving guest massages you will be expected to do these along with other duties onboard. Don’t set the expectation you have these skills if you don’t have it.

#3 Lie on your CV to get a job, these days reputation is your resume and you don’t want to start out with a bad reputation. You will come to know everyone knows everyone in the industry.

#4 Let’s talk about your hobbies. Please don’t put socialising as one of your hobbies on your CV. I’m sure you are much more interesting and have other hobbies you can add. Maybe it’s your Open Water Dive qualifications, you are a Lifeguard, Professional swimmer, Kite-boarding instructor, Yoga Teacher. These are all value-added skills which can do your CV wonders if you have this experience. It’s also a space where you can add your personal touch so don’t be afraid to add in what makes you unique!

#5 Styling and spelling! When adding your personal touches to your CV please make sure there no more than two different font types (otherwise it tends to look messy and unorganised) and on that note ensure you have zero spelling and grammar mistakes. I’ve said it before that yachting is hugely based on presentation and this comes down to your CV as well, If it has poor grammar or spelling mistakes it reflects back on you. There are great programs out there, Such as grammarly which you can use to do a full check of your CV.

So there we have it, the do’s and don’ts of yachting CV’s, i hope these help give you some guidance into crafting your CV.

Remember your CV is most likely the first point of contact a yacht has with you, it needs to be professional- it’s your personal sales pitch to the captain!

Want the step by step guide on how to create a standout yachting CV click here.