Dock Walking

There are many important things that need to be achieved together in order to make you a desirable candidate and Dock Walking is one of the most important things when you want to secure your first job on yachts.

The first impression is always the most important when you look for a job, specially on a yacht. How you present yourself counts many many points to make you stand out or to ruin your chances.

I am going to tell you some common sense now, but as a friend of mine always says: "Common sense is not as common anymore".

• Have loads of copies of your CV or business card;
• Make sure you have a neat haircut for the boys and a professional tied up hair for the girls. (And yes, not hair down, I had a few chief Stewardess telling me they wouldn't hire someone who doesn't even make an effort to tie their hair up);
• Girls wear some light make up. Not too much to make your face melt in the sun but just enough to make you look healthy and fresh;
• Be at the first port at 8 am;
• Be polite when approaching the crew and never approach a boat with guests on;
• Wear appropriate clothes. You need to look as if you are an yachtie already (A white polo and khaki/navy shorts, no need to spend a lot on it);
• Make sure you are not hangover. It is easy to get into the party mode when you are in a crew house with all the other unemployed people but remember that you need to look fresh and rested when talking to a possible employer. Leave the party for the weekend.

Example of Crew Uniform for Dock Walking

After spending the morning dock walking, finish it off by going to the agencies. Go to all of them, no matter how small, and make sure you visit each of them at least once a week.
Use every free time to check jobs on the Facebook groups, as more and more jobs are being posted there and they fill up quickly. 

Last but not least, remember that when you are in a town full of yachties you need to be have as if your future captain is on the table right next to you, because this is a very small industry and sometimes he will be. ;)

The Million Dollar Question: How to start your Yachting career?

For all my friends who ask me about it all the time.

First of all, as I am Brazilian myself and have many non-english speaking friends, you need to be fluent in English. Not only have a good knowledge of it, actually be fluent.
A yacht is way smaller than a cruise ship and the masses of Brazilians haven't found it yet so it is highly likely that you will be the only person speaking portuguese onboard. Apart from that, all the courses and regulations are in english, so you need to be able to learn all the technical stuff and to communicate properly with the rest of the crew and guests.
So, english is the Yachts language and you need to be fluent.

Now, the main two requirements for all jobs out there: STCW and ENG1.
STCW is the basic safety and security course that all the crew onboard a boat is required to have. The course duration is generally 5 days (heard of longer ones in different countries) and it costs 1200 Euros at Bluewater, you can do the course in any country as long as it is approved my MCA.
ENG1 is a medical certificate done by an approved doctor saying that you are fit to work onbard a yacht. Again it can be done in any country as long as it is approved by MCA, you can find a list here.

These are the bare minimum requirements and are already a big commitment and investment without any guarantee that you will find a job.


People who wish to start as a deckhand will most likely be required some other courses (Power Boat Level 2, for example) but I am a stewardess and that is what I know more about.

 

The main thing after having these is to try and stand out from all the other candidates (There are literally hundreds every season). For the interior team, that would be having hospitality experience, preferably on high-end establishments. The more experience you have the more you will stand out, obviously.
There is also the look and age thing, please don't hate on me but is quite obvious that young and pretty girls are more likely to get hired. I am a brunette and was 26 years old when I started so after checking in on one of the many crew houses, I thought I would never find a job over the sea of blondes and 19 years old competing for the same position... But I did! Quite fast for a green stew (in just 2 weeks). I have to say, I think I was very lucky to be on the right place and hand out a CV to the right boat. But I also saw many girls with great qualifications that had to go back home after their visa expired because they never found a job.

Please don't think I am saying that you might be to old or anything, I have a friend who got her first job at 33, so you never know, it is also a matter of networking, luck and being confident on your potential.

And of course, make sure you have a great simple CV, that you go to as many agencies as possible and that you dock walk.

Dock walking: Literally going from one port to the other and giving out your CV to every boat you see! That's how me and many of my friends found jobs.

I think that's enough for now!

It is already a lot of information and I hope I gave you enough for you to start making your own research online and decide if the risk is worth it.

Leave any other questions you might have on the comments and I will do my best to answer. :)