How I Landed An Audio/Visual Job On A Cruise Ship

Have you ever wanted to be a videographer on a cruise ship but didn’t know how to go about doing it? Being a film school graduate I always wanted to combine my passions of filmmaking and traveling. So when my parents came back from a cruise and told me about the camera crew they saw on ship, I had to check it out. Where the heck do I start? I thought. I surfed the web continuously in an attempt to find any type of information I could get my hands on. I found a lot of info but I did not find anything about how to land a job.

Once I exhausted myself from research. My next step was to compile a list of all the potential cruise ships I wanted to work for. One problem, how do I get my resume in the right hands? I came up with the only solution I knew best. I called the general hotline for every single cruise line and asked to be connected to their entertainment department and told them I wanted to speak to someone in charge of the AV department which was easier said than done. I was given the run around many times, but after calling every other day I had a list of people in charge of hiring and their contact info.

Day by day I kept on calling and kept on getting answering machines. Finally I was able to talk to someone at Carnival and they told me to send in my resume along with a demo reel. I was finally getting somewhere. I sent them all of my materials in mail and online. I waited for about a week and nothing. Alright, I’m not giving up. I couldn’t stand being a delivery driver anymore especially after graduating from a four-year university. I call back and ask the lady on the other line if they received my resume. She tells me no and that they will call me once they receive it.

Another week goes by not another word. I call back. I ask the lady again if my demo reel came in. She tells me that they would call me once it came in. I could not be pushed around once again, so I persisted and told here I sent it about two weeks ago and that I was concerned that it did not make it. She puts me on hold. A minute later she tells me that it’s in the office. But once again she tells me that they will give me a call once they review everything. And believe it or not another week goes by and not a single word. I call her back and ask her if they reviewed my resume and demo reel. She tells me that they’ve been busy and did not have time to review it. I asked if I could call back next week to check up on the status and at first she tells me that they would call me back, but I kept on pushing and she said I could call back if I wanted to. By this time one month has past and I’m still driving around in a little VW Bug with flames on the side becoming more irritated by the day.

Finally I make another call. The lady tells me that they would call me back once they review my reel. I could not take that for an answer so I persisted and told here I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with the DVD and if it was playable. She puts me on hold. Three minutes go by and she comes back and tells me that she talked to her supervisor and that he wants to set up a phone interview with me next week. Finally! Next week comes by I wait for the phone call that would make my dreams come true and… drum roll please…nothing. What the hell! How could they do this to me! Two months of my life has been wasted and for what nothing. Calm down, breath slowly. Okay so I call back, the secretary answers the phone and she tells me the hiring manager is in a meeting and he would call me in ten minutes. To make a long story short my interview was an hour long. I was asked basic questions on filming and editing, which I passed with a breeze. After the interview I send a follow up email and thank him for the interview. The next day I receive a call. I got the job. After two grueling months I finally landed my dream job.

September 9, 2009

Posted in Carnival Cruise Adventure.