I have been working on the cruise ship for a long time, and I can guarantee that the crew members are the most resilient, hard-working, and committed employees in the world. Therefore, I would sincerely recommend any business owner to consider employing a former crew member, as that will certainly boost overall business operations. 

At some point in our cruise ship working career, we all must decide and settle on the land. Sooner or later, that is an inevitable scenario that can be a very difficult adjusting period.

Moving on with the "normal" life on land is very hard. Finding another job on the land is hard when you work in the cruise ship industry for several years. As time passes, you ask yourself: "Is this worth it"? Can I go back on the ship? I cannot make it on the land as other people do... The truth is somewhere in the middle. There is no perfection in life. If you work on a cruise ship for several years, it becomes your comfort zone. You are at sacred place where you feel safe to provide for your family. You don't have to worry about paying the bills and traveling to work; you can travel worldwide, but...That "but" keeps us undecided and what it takes to quit working on the ship. The other side of the story is related to the fact that time is passing by inevitably for all of us. We are naturally getting older; life is passing by. On the back of our minds is always a question mark, should we try to do something else on the land? To have some "normal" job... But the question is, what is "normal job"? This question brings millions of answers, depending on lifestyle preferences, goals, desires, and motivations. But one thing is for sure. I miss working on the cruise ship...Indeed, life on land is different, especially in terms of employees. I will highlight why crew members are the best employees in the world. I know it sounds like an idealistic statement, but it's true. Sadly, in some countries, business owners are unaware of the significant benefits they could have when hiring former crew members. Crew members are more credible for the jobs for millions of reasons than candidates with land job experience. 

Many former cruise ship employees need help to get a new and promising job or career on land.

Everyone who has worked on cruise ships has incredible experience and a varied skill set, regardless of their job onboard.

Due to the  lack of jobs available and very high numbers of people applying for every role, I know a lot of people are not even being asked to interview as our job experience doesn't tick the boxes of having done the same role that we're applying for now on land for 3 - 5+ years.

But we have so many precious, transferable skills.

Hopefully, any employer who receives a job application from a former cruise ship employee sees them as a valuable commodity and looks at the skills they can bring.

I'm not suggesting you have to hire every crew member who applies. I am suggesting you give them an interview and a chance. 

It'll be the best decision you ever make.

Here are some of the main skills and traits I think former cruise ship employees bring to the table:

 Flexibility: Cruise ship workers are the most flexible employees you'll ever have. They are used to things changing last minute. They've had the whole plan for the day ready, and then the ship can't make it into port due to bad weather. So, their work plans, and likely some fun plans to spend time in port, are gone, and instead, they have to work longer hours and miss out. This isn't very pleasant and would probably get to land workers a lot. But for ship people, they shrug it off, get back to work with a smile on their faces, and make a plan to have a fun time during the next port instead. Everything happens unexpectedly on the ship, and we have a much-needed skill to adjust accordingly and be extremely flexible with working hours and schedules. 

Benefit: You don't need to worry about them stressing about changes to original plans; they can be counted on to keep working with a smile. We are used to this when we work on the cruise ship.

Unflappability and coolness under pressure: Cruise ship workers have dealt with so many changes, letdowns, and things going wrong that they are unflappable. They stay cool under pressure because they've probably been in at least one emergency. I've personally been on a ship that has had fires, a man overboard situation, a potential murder situation, and when there have been quite a few deaths (mostly natural and one tragic accident). There is rarely something that can surprise us. As crew members, dealing with stress is our daily routine; therefore, we can adapt to any problematic situation and scenario at work.

Benefit: This means they can handle difficult situations calmly and discreetly. 

 Helpful at all times: Everyone who works on a cruise ship is an authority on customer service. Working on a ship isn't like a regular job, where you "switch on" as you clock in. As soon as you leave your cabin, you're "on." You're never really "off duty" as you never leave work. As soon as you walk around the ship, you're with customers – either the main external customers in the guest areas – or the internal customers, the other crew, in the crew areas. You can't have an off day or be grumpy if you haven't had coffee yet or are tired.

Benefit: This means cruise ship workers are used to being polite and very helpful at all times.

 Best customer service levels: Customer service standards on cruise ships is very high. Most are five stars or even above. This means everyone working onboard, from a housekeeping attendant to the captain, has been trained in this at the highest level, with impeccable manners, patience, and listening to what our customers need and giving them that. This is something that we do day in and day out. This is just different. I am talking about consistency levels. One thing is to be nice to the customer at times. Something else must be consistently lovely, friendly, and polite, regardless of the type of customers. Indeed, we always stand out on the cruise ship with consistently outstanding customer service. 

Benefit: This means giving excellent customer service is expected, an ingrained habit. So, you can expect any other job they do; they'll provide that level naturally.

 Excelling in their roles: Standards are very high on cruise ships. And competition for jobs is high. Every role on board is continually assessed and monitored by the departmental management team, guest comment cards, and ratings. Many roles have targets and goals, which must be reached every cruise for staff to keep their jobs or be promoted. Every job has ongoing training and development.

Benefit: This means you know that you'll get someone who is great at their job and committed to continual development to excel at whatever they're doing.