5 Tips for a Standout Yacht Crew CV
When a captain posts a job on CrewPost, they often receive dozens of applications within days. Your CV is what gets you from the pile to the interview. Here are five practical tips to make sure yours stands out — and one common mistake to avoid.
1. Lead With Your Current Role and Certificates
Captains scan CVs in seconds. The first thing they want to see is your current position, vessel size, and your valid certificates. Put these at the top, clearly formatted. If you're applying for a deckhand role and your Yachtmaster or ENG1 is buried on page two, you're making the captain work too hard.
A strong header looks like this:
James Wilson — Deckhand Currently on 45m M/Y | ENG1 (valid) | Yachtmaster Offshore | STCW II/4
2. Tailor It to the Role
This sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many crew send the same generic CV to every job. If the posting asks for someone with tender driving experience, make sure your tender experience is prominent. If they want someone who can help with watersports, highlight your PWC and waterski instruction certs.
On CrewPost, captains can add custom questions to their job postings. Read those questions carefully and make sure your CV addresses them directly.
3. Keep It to One or Two Pages
A yacht crew CV is not a corporate resume. Captains don't want to read five pages of every guest interaction you've ever had. Keep it concise: one page if you have under three seasons of experience, two pages maximum for experienced crew.
Focus on relevant experience: vessel name (if you can share it), size, your role, dates, and one or two bullet points about your responsibilities. Skip the photo unless it's specifically requested — and if you include one, make it professional.
4. Include Digital References
References are where many CVs fall flat. "References available on request" tells the captain nothing. Instead, include links to verified digital references through CrewRef. This lets the captain check your references instantly, without the back-and-forth of emailing your previous captains.
If you don't have CrewRef references yet, at minimum list your referees with their name, role, and vessel. Make sure you've asked them permission first.
5. Proofread. Then Proofread Again.
Typos in a CV signal a lack of attention to detail — and on a yacht, attention to detail can be the difference between a good crew member and a dangerous one. Read your CV out loud, run it through a spell checker, and ask a friend to review it.
Pay special attention to dates (gaps raise questions), certificate names (get the exact terminology right), and contact details (a typo in your email means you'll never hear back).
The Common Mistake: Applying to Everything
Don't spray your CV across every job posting. Captains talk to each other, and they notice when the same person applies for a deckhand role on a 30m and a Chief Officer role on an 80m. Apply for roles you're genuinely qualified for and genuinely interested in. Quality over quantity.
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