It’s the time of year again when jobs are the minds of many. So, I thought I would do a bit of research and find out any useful interview techniques people are using to ‘clinch the job’ so to speak. The plan was to use empirical research, gather data and pass it on to others. Up until a short while ago this was aimed at the lowly crew member hoping to find a new job from a captain or manager or even owner. But I have changed my plans and now I am aiming this blog at the interviewer and not the interviewee.
1 When interviewing, first always make sure that you have a job available. Sounds a little obvious don’t you think? Well I would have done too, however, several crew I have talked to of late have been interviewed by ‘captains’ who actually had no job to offer.
2 Avoid asking the person you are interviewing to have lunch with you. You know if you want to impress the person you are interviewing then manipulating their best interest to make them have lunch or dinner with you is pathetic. Interviews should have some air of formality and if you make it feel like some weird date the interviewee will only think you are weird.
3 Do not call the interviewee in the evening and ask them out for a drink. If you do it is not an interview and it makes you look desperate. No self respecting person is going to take you seriously. Crew jobs are jobs get it. It is a professional relationship you should be propositioning not a personal one.
4 Do not send the prospective crew member pictures of yourself. It’s just plain weird!
5 Do not trawl through the resumes left at various places by prospective crew members and call them and try and get them to meet you particularly when tip number 1 applies.
Well I think I have made my point. How many times have we read posts by experienced captains lamenting the standards of crew who slouch, turn up late, wear inappropriate clothes, chew gum etc etc etc at interviews. Well there is another side to the coin. This month I have been focusing on the sometime appallingly unprofessional practices of certain interviewers and frankly I am shocked.
You have probably gathered by now that my tips are aimed at those who abuse their position as a captain (that’s what they usually call themselves) and tried to manipulate young women into having a meal or a drink with them, when they have no job and no real reason to be doing so. Rather, these losers are essentially trying to effect a date by posing as potential employers. I could be diplomatic and use phrases like in appropriate but I am pissed off about it to the extent that I think we should agree that it is totally unacceptable.
I spend much time with the junior crew who come to train with us, helping them prepare for their interviews, as I am sure other companies do. We guide them on how to present well and clarify why they want to ‘yacht’ and just what they bring to the table. We tell them all about the hierarchy and respect required to be part of a crew. And then some loser goes trawling round the resumes, left in the hope of a prospective employer finding it, and calls girls up, sends pictures of himself and lies to them in a lame attempt at making it some form of a date.
Anyhow, sorry, I have calmed down a bit now. I think it would be very interesting to hear if there are other stories people would share about this sort of thing as I suspect there are plenty. It might also make it clear that the consensus think this is the wrong way to interview crew, especially females. Perhaps then slippery Captain Nodate would start to realize that he should change his tack.
I would point out that none of the ladies who have told me about their experiences, all very recent, have actually been subject to any form of assault save for prolonged exposure to a drooling fool. However several have said that they were significantly intimidated. I am not sure just how widespread is but is surely bad for the industry.
Please let me know if you have experienced this sort of thing. Since I started hearing of this IYT has halted access to personal resume details of crew members.