As you start your quest to work on a cruise ship, you will see that there are many cruise jobs to choose from. In fact the list of cruise ship positions on CruiseShipJobs.com covers over 200 different jobs. How do you choose? How qualified do you need to be? What jobs are suitable for your own skill set, experiences and personality? Do you really have to choose one specific job? To help you answer these questions, here we’ll provide some helpful tips and information that will assist you in making these key decisions.
The Most Important Step of Getting Hired
To start with the last question first, the answer is yes, you must choose a job. One of the biggest mistakes that an applicant can make is not choosing a specific job. If you just send a resume and cover letter to a cruise line recruiter without indicating which job you are applying for, chances are your application package will not be read by anyone.
When filling out an online application through a cruise employer’s website, there’s a field to fill in for which job you are applying for. If you are emailing your application package, you must make sure that you have specified a job that they actually recruit for. In the subject line of an email, you should put the name of the cruise job. And, on your resume and cover letter it must be clear which job you are applying for.
Recruiters are not going to connect the dots and figure out which job you are best suited to. You must tell them which job on the cruise ship you are most suited to and why you are the best person for that job. Your application package must fully support the requirements for the position you are applying for.
Which Cruise Job is the Best for You?
This brings us back to one of the original questions—how do you choose which cruise job is best for you? To get started, you need to determine which cruise job(s) you are qualified for. There may be more than one, but concentrate on only one at a time.
Read through the job descriptions and requirements for the positions. This way you’ll be able to determine if you can see yourself in the desired position. Have you done similar tasks or had similar responsibilities in previous jobs? Do you have the education required? You may read through the list of cruise positions and think, “Wow, I’d love to do that job!”
Unfortunately, if you aren’t qualified for a job that you think you would love to do, then it’s not likely you will be hired for it (at least not right away). The cruise industry is exceedingly competitive when it comes to hiring and cruise employers want to hire the most qualified personnel. However, don’t get discouraged! Once you actually begin working, then you can set your sights and make plans to get the job you really want.
Are You the Best Person for the Job?
When a recruiter is searching through a stack of resumes and cover letters, they are looking for the best person for the job. Will you meet their criteria? What exactly are they looking for? Although you may think that the job is best for you, you must satisfy the recruiter that you are the ideal candidate for the position.
The object for you is to get hired. In order to do that, you need to get an interview. To get an interview, your application package must highlight how your experience, skills and personality are better than all the other applicants. Once you get the interview then you can convince the recruiter that you should be hired because you are the best person for the job!
Selecting Your Cruise Career Path
Many applicants may feel that they are qualified for numerous cruise jobs. They also feel that they have the experience, education and overall requirements for the position they want. Unfortunately, there a single preferred requirement for many positions that keeps many job-seekers from initially landing their dream job. Many vacancies, whether stated explicitly or not, it’s preferred that the applicant has previous cruise ship experience.
The reality is that many cruise ship management positions and unique cruise jobs are mostly filled from within the cruise line or the cruise industry. Since many jobs are specific to a cruise line or to the cruise industry, recruiters often think that the best candidate is someone that is already working for them, which makes sense.
Consider, too, that many crewmembers are over-qualified for the job that they are doing onboard. In fact, they are just waiting to be promoted or to make a career path change with their cruise ship experience now on their resume.
When choosing a cruise job to apply for, first consider the department you want to work in. If you start in an entry level job, your skills and qualifications will allow you to be promoted quickly—and you may even learn that there’s another position that you would like even more!