7 Tips for Landing Your Dream Job

For years you've dreamt of sailing off into the wild blue yonder, or being able to travel and earn money while you did so or simply dreamt of having an unusual job that's challenging, fun and lucrative.

For whatever your reasons you've decided that yachting is your dream. Here are seven tips on improving your chances of landing that dream.
Part of this process is asking yourself how serious you are about achieving it. Nothing more like dooming your chances to failure if you aren't 100% sure of your motivations and expectations.

1. Are you really right for yachting? First there's no point in going after a job like that if you you aren't 100% sure it's right for you. If you like waking up in the same place every morning, popping round to mum for a cup of tea when the mood takes, having your favourite hair dresser and meeting your mates down at the local at least once a week, maybe yachting wont be your scene. Be sure you are suited to the industry before you decide it's your dream. Quite often the idea of something is very different from the reality.
   
   
2. Do you have experience? No? This isn't a catastrophe and don't let a lack of experience in the field dent your confidence. Thousands start off with little or no relevant experience. If you really want to work on a boat life had a way of getting round problems like lack of experience. Do daywork. Offer to work in relelvant areas for free so you can gain experience. Want to be a Deckhand? Offer to help a painter/carpenter for free to gain some experience. Want to be Stewardess? Offer to help out your local florist in return for flower arranging lessons, your local dry cleaner in return for fabric care skills. All these little snippets of experience add up and become invaluable.
   
   
3. Offered a Steward position when you wanted to be deckhand? Don't turn it down out of hand, think about it. It might make sense to use the opportunity to gain as much onboard experience as you can and learn from the deckhands, help them out when you can. When a deckhand vacancy comes up onboard you can apply for it or try another boat.
   
   
4. Feeling old? Unfortunately for crew starting out in the industry, trying to break into the field when you are in your forties is considerably harder than when you are in your early twenties but don't be deterred if this is what you really want to do.
   
   
5. Are you feeling down and depressed? Just finished a sailing course? Just read a yachting book? Just chatted to an agent or a another crewmember? It might not be a job yet but every ounce of info gleaned, every scrap of experience garnered is a step closer to your goal. Keep collecting skills and information and keep positive. Your mood will often show in your body language and depression or desperation can be pretty offputting!
   
   
6. Are you really using all the avenues open to you in your job hunt? Following a dream often requires you to be proactive. Get out there. Don't send your cv to a few crew agents and hope for the best. Network, Dockwalk, daywork, it all counts.
   
   
7. Are you wearing rose tinted glasses? When you are passionate about something it's easy to focus only on the good but it's not always the case by any stretch of the imagination. Working on a yacht can be awful. Horrible guests, foul seasick making weather, grotty fellow crew, tiny crew mess, workng miles from home and family and friends. Not every day is a sunshine day. Keep your expectations real.