Over a Year ago I had the pleasure of welcoming Meg onto one of my Interior Training Courses.
Meg is a delightful person whose personality is catching, her lovable Bristolian accent is sure to be the height of amusement for a internationally diverse yacht crew and I loved it about her. She arrived with a multitude of stories and looked me with her big beautiful eyes as I spoke about the yachting industry and expectations of a Superyacht crew member. She took the information in and put much effort into getting her CV perfect.
She handed her notice in at Tescos where she worked as a manager and packed her bags (multiple I imagine despite my advice of packing light!) and headed to Palma, Mallorca in search of her new career on Superyachts as a stewardess. I was recently in touch with Meg who was busy working on a motor yacht in the Caribbean but found the time to tell me how happy she was and pleased that she took the time to take part in my course where she believes she was given the best head start in yachting.
Here are some words from Meg
I headed to Mallorca 1st of march, looking back on it now was farrr to early (I thought I would get ahead of all the other greenies but there was no jobs at that time of year)
I notice that April is when all the boats started to cross back or positions were opening up again for stews!
I only dock walked a few times but I found it just wasn’t for me and I had more luck online (Facebook mostly ! And yotspot aswell)
I stayed in Palma port hostel , it was the cheapest accommodation at the time …however there is a lot nicer hostels very close if you have the money (Palma port had bed bugs , poor hygiene and unfair treatment by staff)
It was only towards the middle of April I got hired (I had 2 weeks left on my 90days in the EU) so my best advice is don’t go to early !!
And mr best advice is : really take time on your CV , make it colourful and easy to read…captains/1st officers spend hours a day going through cv’s when hiring and if your cv looks like an essay then they will loose interest…you have plenty of time to express yourself in the interview!!
Also save your money once you get out there , it’s very easy to get sucked into spending a lot of money food wise and alcohol wise but give yourself a limit each week.
Go out and socialise …I know it sounds crazy but the best contacts I got was through bars , clubs and events…be super friendly but don’t be pushy.
Something that I had to learn the hard way …it’s ok to be selfish , as bad as it sounds your friends are often your competition and they will take an opportunity as quick as it is offered…don’t waste your time worrying about how other will feel …you have flown out there to find a job , never take your eyes off the prize !
And the last thing yachting has taught me ; it will sometimes make you feel so low that you feel like you have no chance and you will never succeed in this industry…but the moment you hit rock bottom is when it will hand you one of the most amazing opportunities of your life …and suddenly everything becomes clear as to why things happend the way they did. My point is ; whatever is meant for you will find you 💕 always believe in your capabilities…and one thing I was told repeatedly is ; fake it until you make it !!!
Also another thing I believe in ; your first job is not what you want …it’s what you need and your second job is what you want !
I love hearing stories of past students and how their reached their goals, please share yours with me if you haven't already, and if you want to reach your goal and work on Superyachts like Meg does then drop me a line and we can make a plan.