How to write a yacht CV.

Your CV is usually the first thing a captain or crew agent sees of you, often before they ever meet you on the dock. A yacht CV does not look like a normal employment CV. It is shorter, it has a photo, and it puts your certificates where everyone can see them. Get the shape right and you give yourself the best possible chance of a callback. Get it wrong and you get binned in seconds, no matter how good you are in person.

The golden rule: one page

A yacht CV is one page. That is not a guideline, it is the norm across the industry. Captains and agents skim through stacks of these, so everything that matters has to fit on a single, clean page. If yours runs to two, it usually means you have not learned to cut, and that is exactly the wrong first impression. Tight and clear beats long and thorough.

The structure captains expect

Top to bottom, a yacht CV follows a fairly fixed order. Here is what goes where:

1. Photo, top corner. A professional, smart, friendly headshot.
2. Name and position sought, for example "Deckhand / Green Crew" or "2nd Stewardess".
3. Personal details: nationality, date of birth, current location, phone, email, visa or right-to-work status, smoker or non-smoker, tattoo declaration if relevant.
4. Certificates: STCW, ENG1, Powerboat Level 2 and any others, each with issue and expiry dates.
5. Profile: two or three honest lines on who you are and what you are after. No waffle.
6. Experience: yacht work first if you have it, then transferable work, in reverse date order.
7. Skills, interests and languages: anything genuinely relevant such as watersports, diving, cooking, mechanics or languages spoken.
8. References: names, roles and contact details, or "available on request" if space is tight.

A yacht CV template you can copy

Here is the layout written out plainly. Drop your own details into each block and you have a CV in the format the industry expects.

The photo: get it right

Yes, you put a photo on a yacht CV, and it carries more weight than people expect. Crew live cheek by jowl on a boat, so a captain wants to picture you fitting in before they invite you aboard. The photo should be:

• Professional and recent, head and shoulders, plain or simple background.
• Smart but approachable, a collared shirt or polo, with a genuine smile.
• Clearly you, well lit, looking at the camera.

What it should never be is a cropped holiday photo, a night-out shot, sunglasses, or anything with another person half cut out of frame. That tells a captain you did not take it seriously, and they will wonder what else you do not take seriously.

What to leave out

Just as important as what goes on is what stays off. Leave out:

• Long paragraphs. Nobody reads them. Use short lines and bullet points.
• Irrelevant jobs from years ago that add nothing to your case.
• Personal details that do not belong, such as your home address or marital status.
• Expired certificates. Listing a lapsed STCW does more harm than leaving it off.
• Anything you cannot back up if asked about it in an interview.

References

References matter in yachting because the industry runs on word of mouth and small networks. List one or two referees with their name, role and a current way to reach them. If you have boat experience, a captain or head of department reference is gold. If you are green crew, a manager from a previous responsible job works perfectly well. Always ask the person first, and double check their contact details are right, because a referee who cannot be reached is worse than none at all.

Common mistakes that bin a CV

Most rejected CVs fail on the basics, not the content. The repeat offenders:

• Running over one page.
• An unprofessional or low quality photo.
• A careless file name such as "cv final 2 (1).pdf". Name it Surname_FirstName_CV_2026.pdf.
• Spelling and grammar errors. Read it twice, then have someone else read it.
• Hiding the certificates and contact details where a busy captain cannot find them in five seconds.
• Listing expired certs or being vague about dates.

Once your CV is ready

A finished CV is your tool for the next two steps: getting in front of agencies and getting in front of captains on the dock. Register your CV with the crew agencies, covered in our guide to registering with yacht crew agencies, and carry printed copies when you go dockwalking in Antibes and Palma. If you are still working out where you fit, our career pathways break down each department and the certificates that go with it.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides: How to get a superyacht job with no experience → · How to register with yacht crew agencies → · Dockwalking in Antibes and Palma → · How to get your STCW →