We were very fortunate during this tenuous 2010 job market to find work as together in Concierge/Villa Management.  Unfortunatley for us the company is suffering from the financial crisis and our situation here is very fragile.  We have been on the active job market for the quite some time now and there appears to be little movement with any of the jobs presented to us over the past few months.

We continue to

Based on this reader’s sweeping racist claims, I have included a link to an essay by Dr. Peggy McIntosh called “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”.  It is an essay used to raise awareness of racism within the white population.

As a white woman with British heritage I benefit from white privilege.  I am keenly aware of its existence because of my background, education, training and work experience. I will continue to be inclusive in my personal hiring practices even if that means working a little harder with crew or staff integration. I will try to be aware of my prejudices and white privilege when I make decisions and choices in life that impact others.

In response to Dr. McIntosh’s closing question in this essay “What will we do with such knowledge?”, I will continue to write about my experiences and those of others in the hopes of raising awareness that will bring positive change to the yachting industry.

Reading your story brought out so many responses in my experience that I turned them into two additional blog entries.  Yacht Crew Profile talks about finding work, prejudices and crew agencies while Ex-Pat Life: Community talks about ways of integrating in a new community.

I may be too late as I just returned from England, but let your partner sign the contract! Nothing is permanent, least of all yacht jobs or contracts.  It is so much easier to find work when you have a job.  Also, he is now on the inside and can discretely inquire for work on your behalf. 

Unless you are looking for work alone, I wouldn’t recommend getting your STCW.  If you are presented with an offer together, it only takes one week to get the STCW, if it is required.  All the jobs I’ve had have not required it – lucky me!  Be prepared to take the course it if a couples job is offered (with a signed contract). 

The importance of having a happy secure home-base is so very important in a relationship.  This is especially true if you have not worked together in the past and are untested as a team or as co-workers in the stressful and “public” luxury yacht service environment. 

I would say keep your job and apartment as it will be your refuge.  The season is short in terms of away-at-sea time and his experience may be able to help you both in the long term.

Find your community in Nice and if you have weekends free try dockwalking and working some events as a Stewardess for fun, money and connections.  You are in Monaco where all the big Spring events happen. 

Good luck on your path and please let me know if you find anything together so that others can benefit from our experiences.

Our Current Situation March, 2009:
For the past two years we have been trying to transition to a land-based high-end service position.  We have had some success so far and continue to take the time to find the right opportunity.  I will update my blog with these details.  From Tuscany….Sincerely, Dee

Agencies do not represent the crew, they represent the paying customer, the yacht captain/owner.  Agencies typically rapid-fire resumes of their “best” candidates (see above industry favoured types) in order to place a candidate before another agency does and claim their finders fee which is typically a a months salary of the found crew member. 

Agencies encourage you to go out and get training.  A minimum STCW is required to work on all commercial vessels.  However the cost of this training is astronomical and is not required on private vessels.  I support safety training but feel that a the cost of 1200 euros too expensive and an unfair burden to place on an applicant without a job in-hand. 

Agents deny that they operate in a xenophobic industry.  We actually asked. Yes, English is the maratime language required by law however having an accented english does not make you uncommunicable.  I believe English speaking crew are requested because they bond through their favourite pasttime – drinking.

If you work on the yachts, it seems that alcohol fuels many of the
bonding experiences and is a major outlet for this high-pressure work
experience.  In fact, many crew agencies host pub/club nights while advising yachties to drink and party responsibly.   If you don’t share the same big drinking culture it is very difficult to relate when most stories begin with “I was so wasted…”. 

I do not fit the “profile” most requested by yachts who use agents.  As a result, I found all my yachting jobs outside of the agencies.  Walking the docks is difficult to do but it works.  Day work can get you referred to a more permanent position if you work hard, smart and have the right personality. 

I have had so much fun working on European crewed yachts as the crew tends to be more worldly and open in most aspects of culture and conversation.  I am fortunate to have had this work experience and had warm, friendly relationships along the way.

Keeping in touch with people with whom you work on yachts is very difficult because the nature of the work means you are constantly on the move.  Wider internet access helps to maintain contact but in many cases acquaintances  simply drift away to new boats, countries and careers. 

Life as an ex-pat is challenging because institutions that bring together communities in the home country like work, school and family are not as secure or may not exist at all in the new country.

There are clubs and groups you can join to meet new people based on your specific interests. However, if you work on the yachts it is almost impossible to have a regular community-based activity during the “season”.  I would recommend doing a “shout out” via community bulletin boards or through work to organize even a one-time meet-up. This way you can pick and choose  activities based on your interests.  I met a couple of lovely people this way.

I highly recommend taking language lessons, especially if you are going to be on your own.  Learning a foreign language is still one of my goals and I am studying via CD which I hope to take to the next level of in-class study.  I think this will be help me be more comfortable in the community and help me become employable.