Creating a Resume

The article offers a step-by-step guide to creating a resume, tailored specifically for seafarers. This comprehensive guide will teach you how to correctly fill out all the required fields so that your resume looks professional and attracts employers' attention. After reading the article, anyone can independently and for free create a seaman’s resume / application form / CV. Time to complete - 10-30 minutes (depending on experience and the number of documents).

📄 Basic Information

👤 Personal

• Photo as on official documents. This is the first thing employers will see. It should be clear and professional / selfies are not suitable. The photo should show only you, with no other people or animals. If you don’t have a separate photo file, you can use a photo from any document, cropping it to photo size.
• Availability date when you are guaranteed to be ready to start work, to be deployed to a vessel.
• Primary position on the vessel you are applying for.
• Secondary / backup position, you are willing to apply for if there is no vacancy for the primary position.
• Salary: Indicate the minimum salary you are willing to accept.
• Pay period: Indicate the period for which you want to receive pay (monthly or per day of work). A month is the standard option for most seafarers. Daily rate is for those who work on a 1/1 or 1/2 rotation on drilling platforms or offshore.
• First name: Enter your given name.
• Last name: Enter your surname.
• Date of birth: Enter your date of birth.
• Gender: Specify gender (male/female).
• English level: proficiency in accordance with the desired position (fluent - for those ready to work in a fully foreign-crew, intermediate - for those who can perform duties in English but may not pass complex tests, poor - if you have little to no English).
• Citizenship: country of your primary citizenship.
• Residence: country where you currently reside.
• Address: your residential address.

📞 Contacts

• Mobile: primary phone number.
• Telephone: additional contact number, if any.
• Viber: phone number linked to your Viber account, if any.
• WhatsApp: phone number linked to your WhatsApp account, if any.
• Telegram: nickname or phone number linked to your Telegram account, if any.
• LinkedIn: link to your main LinkedIn profile, if any.

🧬 Biometric Data

• Hair color: color of your hair.
• Eye color: color of your eyes.
• Height, cm: your height in centimeters.
• Weight, kg: your weight in kilograms.
• Clothing size: your clothing size.
• Shoe size: your shoe size.

👥 Next of Kin / Relative

This is a mandatory field, required by international standards.

• Next of kin: Name, contact phone number and address of the next of kin for emergency contact if needed.

🛳️ Work Experience 🚢

• Position on the vessel: the position held on the vessel.
• Type of vessel: the vessel type (merchant, passenger, offshore, tanker or fishing).
• Vessel name: the official name of the vessel.
• Flag: the country under which the vessel sailed.
• IMO: official identifier/IMO number of the vessel (7 digits).
• Vessel owner: name of the company that owns the vessel.
• DWT: the vessel’s deadweight tonnage.
• Main engine name: name / model of the vessel’s main engine.
• Main engine model: the exact model name of the vessel’s main engine.
• Main engine power: the main engine power of the vessel in kilowatts.
• Auxiliary engine: all information about additional power plant systems on the vessel (power, model, make).
• Contract start date: the start date of work on the vessel (day, month, year) as recorded in the seaman’s passport.
• Contract end date: the actual end date of work on the vessel (day, month, year) recorded in the seaman’s passport.

📑 Documents

In this section provide the details of all valid documents.

• Number the document number.
• Issued by the country where the document was issued.
• Issue date the date the document was issued.
• Expiry date the date the document expires.

📙 Passports

Seaman’s passport and international passport.

📕 Visas

If you have visas, be sure to indicate them.

📋 STCW Certificates

List all certificates you have that may be required to work in the maritime industry. For example, STCW, OOW, GMDSS, ECDIS, H2S, BOSIET, etc.

📘 Work Diplomas

A seafarer’s competency certificate is the primary document that confirms that a seaman has all the necessary skills and authorization to work on a ship in a given position. This document is governed by international rules, for example, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), and may vary depending on the country.

📗 Documents

In this section provide any other documents that may be useful for working in the maritime industry. For example, professional development courses, vaccinations, medical certificates, etc.

➕ Addenda

🔖 Cover Letter

A text document that you can attach to the resume to further describe yourself and your experience. It is recommended for explaining long breaks in employment, career changes, or other non-standard situations.

🛠️ Hide Engine Fields

In the 'Experience' section, fields related to engines can be hidden for all seafarers except engineers and electricians, as they are not mandatory for others.