Saturday, October 3, 2009

Legitimate Recuiters

Always read older posts for pertinent information

Without being too negative, not every online website or recruiter, is "recognized" or "approved" by cruise lines.

As you have probably seen, there are literally hundreds of sites for cruise ship jobs, all claiming to have some kind of "cruise ship" affiliation etc. This is not true. Or they claim to be an "Offical Hiring Partner."

Nowadays, most cruise lines have employment links and information on their on company website. So, before you lay out a bunch of cash, you have to ask yourself, what will they do for me that I can't do on my own?

Wanna know the truth? if can't hustle your own job, you probably won't last long on a ship. Of course I recognize the exceptions. But, its the whole process of finding the job that educates you, about the cruise lines you are interested in, their customer profile etc, and the industry as a whole.

So, what might be an example of a credible agency? Of course these are the ones I suggest because I work as a Cruise Director, and I have seen thousands of crew come and go and after a while, you start to notice where the good ones come from. It's that simple. And, the best agencies, the most respected agencies from an insiders point of view, are the agencies who DO NOT CHARGE YOU! Why? Because credible recruiting agencies are paid by the cruise line!!!!!! Now of course you may have to pay for your medical or travel or STCW safety certification, but you are not required to pay for the job!

If an agency asks you for money up front, ask for a written guarantee that you will get the exact job you are paying for; and see what they say - probably something like this: You will get a full refund if you can provide them with 3 letters of rejection. Guess what, cruise lines don't send letters of rejection. Therefore, you will never see your refund. The only letter you will receive from a cruise line, is if they are intersted in your services as a potential crew member. Also, I have noticed many websites charge you and all they do is provide links to other websites.

If you want a list of all cruise lines, go to www.cruising.org as this is the offical cruise line association website.

These recruiters are legitimate and no, they pay me so stop asking you cheeky monkeys: (these are not links, you will have to copy and paste into your browser)
www.pmcmarine.com
www.vhospitality.net
www.sixthstar.com
www.cruiseshipemployment.ca
www.mmec.com (these are ENT's agents and they may require a standard %)
www.proship.com (these are ENT's agents and they may require a standard %)
www.karsttalent.com (these are ENT's agents and they may require a standard %)

Always be respectful of the requested method for applying. But don't be afraid to pick up the phone.

If you reside in the US close to major cruise ports Like Miami or Long Beach, just go to the termianl office. If you do not live near a prt, simply go through the comapny website as per requested. Don't be afraid to call teh cruise line and ask them who is responsible for hiring for the position you are intersted in. And follow up - phone, fax UPS, phone fax, UPS....

Keep coming back and I will post contact information after iI have confimed it to be up to date. I am on a ship, so I always don't get here on a daily basis.

S, after all that, if you still choose to use an internet agency - give me your money instead, I need a new hairpiece.