1. You should create a list of any previous positions you've held before, paid and voluntary. Write down any certificates you've gained from school, training or higher education. Don't forget to add any training courses you've taken part in and skills you have acquired.
2. After you have completed your list, rewrite it with your best strengths listed at the top all the way down to your 'least' strength. Be honest about your strong points and weaknesses.
3. Now it's time to find out what cruise ship vacancies are presently available. The majority of cruise lines will place advertisements with the leading job websites online, so spend some time looking through these. Use a search engine to locate the top employment sites.
4. Consider the available positions and weigh up which vacancies are best suited to your experience, your qualifications, your skills, your personality, and your aspirations. Take some time to consider what cruise ship employment is the best fit for you.
5. After you've chosen which cruise ship vacancies to apply for, start building your resume. Check it carefully to ensure no spelling mistakes and make sure it looks professional i.e. typed correctly with proper spacing and aligned margins, etc. Try to make your resume as imaginative and interesting as possible to stand out from other applications.
6. Write confidently! Select powerful words that portray you as a confident person with a strong belief in your own abilities. Never over-estimate your capabilities but at the same time don't undervalue yourself either. Just be honest and choose words that sound right for you.
7. If you are applying for more than one cruise ship job, optimize your resume accordingly for each vacancy. Change it a little to target the positions you're writing your application for, ensuring that any relevant abilities and skills you have in this field are highlighted. This point is essential in the cruise ship industry.
8. Once your resume is polished and sparkling, give it to family and friends to critique. This is a good way to spot any errors you may have overlooked and get an honest opinion on its appearance and content.
9. Now your resume is out of the way, its time to concentrate on your cover letter. This part is crucial so spend extra time getting it just right. Your cover letter is the key to enticing the recruiter to read your resume; and your application should invite the hiring manager to call you and practically beg you for an interview!
10. Once everything is completed, it's now time to send it. Don't spend days or even weeks drafting copies until its perfect. If you can, start right now and get your cruise ship employment application ready as soon as possible. Concentrate on nothing else until it's ready, you want to secure that interview within the next week.
That's it! Now just sit back and wait until that interview letter pops through the door. While you're waiting, here are three bonus tips to improve your chances even more.
Bonus Tips
1. Ensure your application is addressed correctly. Have you spelt the receiver's name correctly? Did you make sure you got the correct position for them? Always double check because the last thing you want is to make a mistake at this important part!
2. Whilst you're waiting to hear from the company, brush up on your interview techniques. Consider the questions you may be asked and think how you will answer.
3. Keep a record of all cruise ship jobs you have applied for. Write down which companies you have applied to, which positions you applied for, the date you applied, the name and position held by the recruiter, the name of the agency, and their physical and website address.
By following this advice you should be well on your way to a successful application for cruise ship employment. Remember, if it doesn't work out this time, keep persevering and polish your application next time until it stands out from the rest. Good luck!
Having worked up to 5 years on two different kind of cruise ships , one of being an enormous size carrying 2500 passengers and the other being a smaller luxury ship with a capacity of 114 passengers , my recommendation is to go for the smaller ships.
The advantages of working on a smaller ship are numerous beginning with the accommodations. When I worked on the bigger ship there were about 1000 crew aboard which meant the rooms were smaller and more crew lived per room up to six and eight. Also the shower facilities were down the corridor and shared rather than having a separate one within the room itself. As well cabin inspections were less regulated and cleanliness less enforced than on the smaller ship just due to the enormity of the task at hand. So working on a smaller ship with a capacity of no more than 300 and relatively new is what I would suggest going for when choosing a ship to work on.
The food , ah yes , the food which can appear so abundant and delicious on television when looking from a passenger point of view can be one thing but what the staff eats can be something totally different. The big ship I worked on was such an example. There were a couple of galley cafeterias in which I could eat in and the crew cooks were all from Asia. Not too appear against food from that part of the world and I like rice but there was not a lot of variety to suit North American taste. On the other hand there is more catering to our taste here and in Europe on a smaller ship as they hire more European and North American crew to serve their guests therefore the staff food lends itself to more variety.
The difference between a smaller ship and a large ship is definitely the workload. This can mean a workload that is excessive by North American standards or a workload that is tolerable and balanced by the amount of other things a crew member can do during his or her contract. Let's be honest on any cruise ship there are no days off. You work a pre-determined contract from 4-6 months up to 9 in some cases. What you do not want is to say you worked on a cruise ship and that was it. No chance of seeing the places the ship stopped at , no time for anything else but work.
So look for a cruise ship that is smaller , where there are great ports of call such as the Greek Islands , Mediterranean ports of call , Scandinavia , in other words ports of call are the ship's main selling point. Not only will you get time off due to the fact all the passengers went on shore excursions during the day but you will be able to do the same and see the world. On the small ship I was on the passengers actually all went to Luxor overnight allowing the crew the whole ship to themselves to do what they want. Crew also took turns going to Luxor as well. Stay away from the big Caribbean cruise ships because the ship is the selling feature with all the entertainment on board. You will always be working to serve the masses.
As well if you want to make a good income which should be an important consideration look toward the smaller luxury cruise ship as they tend to cater to the most expensive taste. You will be serving people somewhat older , educated and more affluent with more dollars to spend. Unless all one does is want to party then in that case just head to the big ships of the Caribbean.
A smaller ship is great too for getting to know everyone else who works on it so it creates a close environment where friends are made. I had the opportunity to visit co - workers all over Europe while on leave from the ship. A big ship is like a big city so you may see someone once every few days if you are lucky and before you know it they are gone before you got a chance to know them.
In summation , on any ship you will have fire drills , busy embarkation days , and sometimes annoying demanding guests but know what you want beforehand before hastily choosing a ship to work on because the difference could be between finishing your contract and enjoying your time ,or just wishing you had not thought of ever working on a cruise ship.
Both Neil Maxwell Keys & Steve Nicolle are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Neil Maxwell Keys has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cruise Ships, Small Business and Cruise Ships. Neil Maxwell-Keys is an ex-crewmember, hiring expert and best-selling author of "Get a Cruise Ship Job!". Claim Neil's popular free e-book TODAY which shows you how to get. Neil Maxwell Keys's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.
Steve Nicolle has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and leisure, Careers and Job Hunting and Cruise Ships. His engagements are both funny and informative. Find out more about Steve Nicolle at his website which is at http:// www.stevetalks.ca. Steve Nicolle's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.