The Captains View Point

Let’s face it, the captain is the one that counts when it comes to hiring and firing crew so when you are looking for work a captain is frequently the one person that you need to impress. With that in mind I got one of my favourite captains in the industry to give me his low down on what he looks for when it comes to employing crew.
As a highly experienced and internationally respected skipper with many years of experience in both private and charter yachting this is what he had to say:

Steward/ Stewardesses and Deck hands:
The biggest problem that I have encountered when it comes to employing junior crew is the attitude of so many newcomers to the industry. Seemingly solely interested in the money their approach leaves a lot to be desired.
If, as a captain, you find crew who are willing to work, be taught the necessary skills and just get on with the job whatever the circumstances, then these crew are like gold. They will be looked after by the senior staff and in time will progress and have great references.

When it comes to skills for inexperienced deckhands new to the industry, I look for previous small boating experience. Driving (boat), maintenance, engineering etc experience is a bonus.
For the junior interior crew, experience in the hospitality industry is always an asset and certainly something that I look for but by no means consider it essential.
But mainly, what I look for, above everything else in both departments is attitude.

With the right mindset you’ll go far.

The Chef:
There are many cooks out there but not many chefs and chefs are able, with relative ease, to hype up their CV’s and there is little way of checking whether they can actually do the job until they are actually cooking. If you are looking to chef on a yacht, don’t be tempted to lie about your experience. The proof is very much in the pudding!
At the moment the trend in yachting is to go through chefs at a very fast pace, weeding out the good from the bad until the captain finds one he’s happy with. There is absolutely no point in hyping your skills only to be fired two weeks later as you couldn’t cope.

Again the typical downfalls for new chefs is the inability to get on with everyone and the failure to manage food stocks in situations where you have a lot of crew and guests with limited resources when the boat is on the move.  It is not uncommon for the captain to charter small boats/choppers to bring food stocks to the boat when necessary but you had better have convinced him you had maximum capacity onboard before the cruise started and maintained
every avenue since to keep ahead of the food situation. This second point will be learnt with experience relatively quickly but is the largest deviation from hotel cheffing where fresh produce is available daily.

The most important aspects are to be honest to who asks the questions and have the ability to work hard over long periods of time and get on with other people. Chefs definitely work very hard but they are also the third highest paid onboard behind the captain and chief engineer. Remember that the owner will want 55 star service for his wages.

Mate:
When it comes to finding a mate I tend to look at length of tenure on previous vessels as either mate or bosun. The position of mate on board is an important one and is considered long term. Ideally a long term position on a previous boat where the person has joined as deckhand and progressed to bosun is ideal. Someone who has jumped from boat to boat is likely to find it hard to get a placement. 
Background checks are an essential part of the interviewing process for the captain so there is no point in being into alcohol or drugs because, again you will just not get a look in.

Engineer:
Good engineers are hard to find and when a captain finds one he tends to do everything he can to hold on to him. Engineers are a necessity and essential to all aspects of maintaining the boat and associated with all the crew in various departments. So when I need a new engineer, after all the necessary tickets and paperwork, I look for friendliness and congeniality above all.
Skill wise you will be found out fairly easily if you are not up to scratch so there is no point in lying about your skill level.

In Closing
Yachting is a very small industry. Establishing a reputation for honesty, reliability and a good work ethic early on will prolong your career indefinitely.