To get hired for a job on a cruise ship, you need to customize your resume. Learn what to include on your resume, what format to use and which keywords are important for the cruise industry. Consider that the purpose of the resume is to convince the recruiter that you are the ideal candidate for the job and to offer you an interview.
Key Components of Your Resume
The five main parts of a resume for a cruise ship job should include:
Although these sections may be standard, the titles may differ as well as the order. How you present your information on a resume will depend on how much experience you have. Your goal is to hook the recruiter and keep the energy flowing through the resume, so they will keep reading.
You need to first state the job you are applying for and then create a resume that backs up why you are perfect for the position. Always create an effective career objective, lead with your most relevant information and highlight your accomplishments.
Best Layout for Resumes for Cruise Jobs
Whether you are creating your resume from scratch or you are revising an outdated resume, you need to decide on the layout you want. How will you list all your work experience and skills? Should you use a resume template?
Depending on how much work experience you have will determine how you should layout your resume for a cruise ship job. If you have an extensive work history, a chronological resume will work to list all your experience. On the other hand, customized resumes that focus on qualifications and skills work better for all cruise ship applicants.
You may choose to use a resume template, swapping your information in and taking the generic information out. Templates can save time in wondering how to layout your resume. You may even find keywords that you like to use. Just make sure to customize as much as possible so that it doesn’t look like you used a template.
Career Objective or Summary on Resumes for Cruise Ship Jobs
Every resume should start with the objective of the position you are applying for along with a summary of why you are perfect for the job. They can be two separate sections or one combined section in your opening.
To combine the two, you could call it Career Objective. In one paragraph, state the job you are applying for along with the number of years of experience that make you qualified for the position. For example, “To get hired as a Sales Associate with Starboard Cruise Services using my three years of retail and merchandising experience”.
Alternatively, you could separate the two into an Employment Objective and then a section called, Summary of Qualifications (or Summary of Skills). State the job you are applying for in the Employment Objective. Then, list three or four of your top qualifications and skills as a snapshot of your experience in the Summary of Qualifications.
The object with this initial section is to let the cruise recruiter know exactly which job you are applying for and indicating why you are the right person for the job.
Create a Targeted Resume for a Cruise Job
The bottom line is that your resume needs to target the cruise job you are applying for. Just as you will do with the Career Objective, identifying the exact cruise job that you are trying to get, the rest of your resume should also target the cruise job.
Your resume should contain specific keywords that are found in the job description given by the cruise employer. You want the recruiter to read your resume and see that your resume closely matches their ideal candidate.
All your work experience, skills and accomplishments should be relevant to the position you are applying for. This includes skills acquired through courses, school projects, volunteering and travelling. Try not to list any non-relevant information.
The format of the resume should list your skills and accomplishments first and then be followed by a Work Experience section. You can be even more specific with naming the Work Experience section. You can call it Photography Experience if applying for a job as a cruise ship photographer or Sales Experience if applying for a cruise ship job where sales is a big component.
Furthermore, when discussing your work experience, be sure to list your accomplishments rather than just duties or responsibilities. Try to stay away from phrases such as “Responsible for….” and “Duties included….” Instead, be specific and quantify what you accomplished. You can say something like, “Accurately managed a cash float of $5,000” or “Consistently exceeded weekly sales targets of $2,000.”
Resume Keywords for Cruise Ship Jobs
Throughout your resume you need to always keep the details of the job description and requirements in mind. The cruise employer is looking that you specifically match what they require. Keywords are also important as often times a resume may be put in the employer’s data base. If you have used particular keywords they will make your resume be found in a search of the employer’s database.
Each cruise job has specific keywords that are important for the job itself. These words are typically nouns and identify everything from hard skills and college degrees to industry jargon and past job titles. Typical keywords important to cruise employers may include Bachelor’s Degree, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, sales, and additional language.
Other Cruise Resume Tips
How your resume looks will also have impact on the recruiter. If your resume looks cluttered and unorganized it may not get read. Try to optimize white space and bullets and pay attention to your use of fonts and bold. Limit the amount of fonts you use and also be consistent with how you use it.
You want your resume to stand out from the other applicants both visually and what it contains. Your resume’s object is to get you an interview, so if it doesn’t get read, the recruiter will not get the opportunity to know how great you would be at the job.