The Perception of Crew Agents...

Here we are, let’s set the scene. Having flown into Nice to meet yachts and crews for the week ahead I thought it only be appropriate to take my time (after a day of walking 30,000 steps boat-to-boat) to go?and casually talk to crew in a popular spot. To see how they were getting along and to buy them the odd pint ahead of a busy season.

Now 95% of the time, we share similar stories, have a laugh and create some connections. After all, having spent eight years on the water, obtaining the Chief Mate 3,000 and climbing the ranks, I would like to think we could share some similar experiences and laughs.

But as with all human nature, it is the 5% that strongly stand out. “I can’t stand you crew agents”, “You never get back to my Whatsapp messages”, “Why do I spend hours signing up to your sites”, “You always have stupid requirements”.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to think some agents were great but I also raised some of those questions about one or two, albeit, kept to myself. In the years on board, I always remember a certain gentleman at The Crew Hunter, he always got back to me, advised me and was generally there for me. I always went back to him and still speak to him.

Eventually I stepped ashore last year and naturally wanted to transfer my knowledge to something relevant and help people who I can relate to. It only seemed right that I reach out to The Crew Hunter, after all, their empathetical, ethical and personal approach always went down well when I was a crew member.

So, in answer to some of those points made by a crew member.

“I can’t stand you crew agents”. Yes, it is a great shame that the small percentage tarnish the majority of great, professional and experienced people out there. At the Crew Hunter, we are all ex- Chief Stewardesses, Pursers, Officers and Chief Engineers. We know what it is like. We speak your language and no, we are not robots.

“You never get back to my Whatsapp messages”. I remember it taking days, sometimes weeks for people to get back to me and sometimes never. I am writing this now and have 13 unread messages. But I will always respond. Every evening before dinner and upon waking up I set time to clear every Whatsapp and email. Often in my free time. What is sometimes hard to forget is you might be on a one-hour interview followed by a team meeting followed by a client calling and then a last minute spanner in the works. Please just bear with, I aim for no later than 24 hours but, with the joys of modern tech, with Whatsapp on the phone and laptop the 1% get opened by mistake and missed. A simple polite nudge or even a smiley emoji is a good prompt. Do not get me wrong this was a huge bug bear as a crew member!

“Why do you ask me to sign-up, it takes ages and you never get back to me?”. When I was looking for my next role I remember this painful process of re-logging in and updating/registering with a handful of agents. This was tedious and boring. It was only until I became an agent did, I realise it was actually an MLC requirement that you could not send over a candidate who had not registered, let alone been interviewed. Unfortunately, this is the nature of the beast. But, save your time, only register with the agents that are good and truly care, help and speak your language. Build a firm relationship with the handful and they will be the ones that get you far. It is a bit like selling a house, if you market it with five agents, there is less effort and attention for all sides. Market it with two and you will get a far quicker sale. Instead of registering with 20, just register with 5.

“You always have stupid requirements”. Now let me be frank here, it is not the agent being a pain or the agent winding you up. We sometimes wish there were less of these but at the end of the day if the yacht has a particular unusual machine/tender/guest preference then as agents we must listen to our client’s needs. We then try our hardest to deliver these requirements. Obviously, goal posts move and there is some wiggle room. Or, you may have something even better to offer that ‘trump’s a requirement. If the job says no visible tattoos, it is not the agent making this up because they do not like tattoos (they may even have one themselves), it might just be the fact that they have high end charter clients who often have a distaste for them. I recall a job post lately saying on the lines of ‘must be a Capricorn, Virgo and not a Aquarius’. And, that my fellow yachties is just absurd. Must speak fluent Japanese, a master wine sommelier and an ex pro golfer who gets a hole in one each time. Sorry, unicorns do not exist!

Well, thank you for reading, I hope you found the above interesting and appreciate that myself and colleagues are here for YOU. At the end of the day, without good crew the yacht can’t sail, serve guests, carry out repairs or get on and off the dock!

Joseph. Chief Mate 3,000. On board for 8 years.

For all recruitment enquiries please email me at [email protected]