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The world of video is playing an increasingly important role when it comes to recruiting superyacht crew. We hear from two recruitment agents about the pros and cons of using a video in the recruitment process, from video CVs to Skype interviews.…
The world of video is playing an increasingly important role when it comes to recruitment – and in no industry would it seem more applicable than the superyacht industry, where candidates will be applying from all over the world, to a job on a yacht that is travelling all over the world. We look the role of video recruitment in the superyacht crew industry.
“The yachts are video interviewing more and more, because you’re going to be living with someone months on end and you need to get more than what would from a telephone call. It’s got a great place in this industry,” Liam Dobbin, managing director of wilsonhalligan Large Yacht Recruitment tells The Crew Report.
The face-to-face feeling is invaluable in the interview process. With the capabilities of the internet – even on board yachts where, although with slower speeds, still exist – there really is no excuse to hire someone nowadays without having a face-to-face chat.
But what about video CVs? According to Dobbin, paper CVs are becoming what he calls “carbon copies”. “If you have the same people going to the same training college, they all come out with the same CVs, just different names on them,” he explains.
Titta Uoti-Vaisanen has set up Monjin Yachting, a platform for video CVs and interviews, and tells The Crew Report, “We believe that video CVs are part of the future.” According to Uoti-Vaisanen, research undertaken at Monjin Yachting has revealed that the video CV allows you to discard 20 per cent of candidates applying.
But do file sizes of video CVs cause problems? For Dobbin the answer is simple: yes. “One of the problems we’ve found with sending videos CVs is the file transfers. Some of the yachts’ email systems can only take a 10mb or 20mb file,” he explains. “We then needed to try and find a cloud system or drop box, and then it becomes quite a large infrastructure; rather than me interviewing somebody, sending the CV and getting them to have a Skype call with the employer.”
Uoti-Vaisanen believes video interviews work well for junior and senior positions, due to the saving of expenses for the client. “Our research has shown that we can save up to 70 per cent of time and a considerable amount of cost for our clients when recruiting, dispensing with travel expenses and so on.”
Dobbin, however, believes junior positions should take up the majority of video interviews and for those higher up the ladder, there really is only one option. “When it comes to the more senior positions, yachts expect people to fly down to them, or the yachts will fly the candidates out. We have two clients who don’t reply on anything but face-to-face interviews,” Dobbin reveals. “One of the captains will travel round, and if somebody’s on rotation they will fly them out to the yard. They would rather spend the money on a flight than get the wrong crewmember, which to us is completely common sense. Nothing can replace face to face. But video and Skype calling is a close second.”
“The yachts are video interviewing more and more, because you’re going to be living with someone months on end and you need to get more than what would from a telephone call. It’s got a great place in this industry,” Liam Dobbin, managing director of wilsonhalligan Large Yacht Recruitment tells The Crew Report.
The face-to-face feeling is invaluable in the interview process. With the capabilities of the internet – even on board yachts where, although with slower speeds, still exist – there really is no excuse to hire someone nowadays without having a face-to-face chat.
But what about video CVs? According to Dobbin, paper CVs are becoming what he calls “carbon copies”. “If you have the same people going to the same training college, they all come out with the same CVs, just different names on them,” he explains.
Titta Uoti-Vaisanen has set up Monjin Yachting, a platform for video CVs and interviews, and tells The Crew Report, “We believe that video CVs are part of the future.” According to Uoti-Vaisanen, research undertaken at Monjin Yachting has revealed that the video CV allows you to discard 20 per cent of candidates applying.
But do file sizes of video CVs cause problems? For Dobbin the answer is simple: yes. “One of the problems we’ve found with sending videos CVs is the file transfers. Some of the yachts’ email systems can only take a 10mb or 20mb file,” he explains. “We then needed to try and find a cloud system or drop box, and then it becomes quite a large infrastructure; rather than me interviewing somebody, sending the CV and getting them to have a Skype call with the employer.”
“One of the problems we’ve found with sending videos CVs is the file transfers. Some of the yachts’ email systems can only take a 10mb or 20mb file."
- Liam Dobbin, managing director, wilsonhalligan Large Yacht Recruitment
Uoti-Vaisanen believes video interviews work well for junior and senior positions, due to the saving of expenses for the client. “Our research has shown that we can save up to 70 per cent of time and a considerable amount of cost for our clients when recruiting, dispensing with travel expenses and so on.”
Dobbin, however, believes junior positions should take up the majority of video interviews and for those higher up the ladder, there really is only one option. “When it comes to the more senior positions, yachts expect people to fly down to them, or the yachts will fly the candidates out. We have two clients who don’t reply on anything but face-to-face interviews,” Dobbin reveals. “One of the captains will travel round, and if somebody’s on rotation they will fly them out to the yard. They would rather spend the money on a flight than get the wrong crewmember, which to us is completely common sense. Nothing can replace face to face. But video and Skype calling is a close second.”
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