Learn how to write a memorable yacht CV

Captains are exceptionally busy people and often lack time to read an essay-length resume. We would say that you have ten seconds or likely less to really capture their attention. You therefore need to keep your yacht CV concise and to the point. A 2-page CV is ideal since you generally need that much space to properly list your experience and present yourself.

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Use your yachting CV as an opportunity to build a quick picture of yourself. Its purpose is to secure an interview, while the interview itself is there to expand on your skills and experience. Include 3 key attributes that really qualify you for the role you are for which you are applying.

You want to make your resume as clear and easy-to-read as possible, so using one good font across your CV is advised. Classic fonts are still the best option — Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, Helvetica etc. are all easy to read, clean and professional.

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While your entire CV should only be one font, you can still play around with how you stylise it. For example, increase the size of your name and important sections like “Certificates” or “Professional Experience” and put in bold the name of the yacht you’ve worked on. 

For many people, adding a photograph may seem like an odd thing to add to their CV, however, on a yachting CV, adding a photo is the norm. The idea behind it is to get another piece of the puzzle on who you are, make people remember you more easily and to help picture you as a crew member on their superyacht.

Your CV photo should professional-looking, with good lighting and a nice background, taken from mid waist up. Try wearing a professional and tidy white polo or a navy polo on a sunny day, as this will make it easy for people to picture you as a crew member already.

Here are a few tips on how to take a good photo:

• Show us your smile — this is very important as it will make you look more approachable!

• Professional and friendly are the keywords

• Make sure your hair is tidy

• Wear minimal to no jewellery

• No selfies or vacation photos

• No sunglasses or hats

• Make sure the lighting is good and photo is good quality

It sounds so simple, but you would be surprised how many people forget to include this vital information on their yacht crew CV. Yachting is an international industry and your captain may be based anywhere in the world. Include the international dialling code with your telephone number. Make sure you include an email address and Whatsapp contact details, too. You want to make it as easy as possible for the captain to be able to contact you.

You should also include which country you are currently based in, your mailing address, along with your citizenship and date of birth. And, if you speak multiple languages, this is a great thing to highlight on your yacht resume, especially for those applying to work on charter yachts where you will be working with guests from around the world. 

As you are applying for a professional role in a professional setting, your yachting CV should be clear and easy to read. Some colour is ok on a yacht CV, but we would advise that you avoid the latest trend of using block colour to attract attention. Using bold colours will be a distraction from what matters the most, which is the content of your CV. In many cases printed CVs are still used during the hiring process and having coloured blocks not only wasted ink but can also make CV harder to read when printed in black and white.

For the best results, a yachting CV should be elegant, professional and easy to read. By focusing on the content and keeping the format simple, you can create a CV that stands out for all the right reasons.

Although it’s easy to make and overlook spelling and grammar mistakes, most Captains respond negatively to them no matter how insignificant they may seem. To some, a single mistake can rule out a well-qualified candidate. This is because it signals that your attention to detail might be lacking or you are not really serious about the job.

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Most of us rely on the grammar checker to point out the mistakes by highlighting errors with those little coloured squiggles that appear underneath, but don’t rely on that completely. They will not recognise the difference between a correct word and the right word, or catch homophones such as your/you’re, accept/except etc. So, double check and proofread your CV a few times before sending it.

Most of the time, agencies will check your references prior to putting you forward for a new position. The Captains and other HoDs also like to contact previous employers directly to get feedback before offering the position to the candidate.

You should list them starting with your most recent ones and make sure they include:

• full name

• position

• name of the yacht

• email address 

• phone number

While you may not feel as though a lot has changed since you last looked for work, you are likely to have gained a lot of new skills and experience in a short space of time. Make sure to update your yacht CV every time you look for a new yacht job.

Now that you know what's needed to create a great CV, go ahead and download a professionally designed free CV template that you can fill out with your information.