Finding top-quality candidates for open positions in the maritime industry is hard enough, but hiring for leadership positions can be an order of magnitude more difficult. Management positions require much broader and deeper skill sets, including a solid understanding of marketing business fundamentals, industry-specific expertise, and the ability to communicate with diverse personalities to bring out the best in any team.

But screening resumes and conducting extensive interviews with dozens of people can take an enormous amount of time and resources, and there’s no guarantee you’ll find a good fit. How do you find the game changer who’s a perfect match for your company’s culture and goals as well as a marine enthusiast who knows what makes your customers tick?

In an industry this niche, maritime headhunters can be incredible partners that dramatically cut the time and costs associated with recruiting top leadership talent. We’ll discuss some important tips to keep in mind while selecting and working with marine industry recruiters, and how they can guide you to making a great hire.

Why Use a Recruiter?

This question has two answers: first the disadvantages inherent in doing your own search or relying on the huge internet job boards often far outweigh the results you get. Second, even if you know what you’re looking for, setting up the in-house process to get it right is expensive, time-consuming, and will be limited by the connections you have.

Many businesses turn to those huge job aggregator platforms on the internet because they supply lots of resumes quickly, but who cares if they aren’t the right people? The faceless, computer-run job sites don’t know you, they don’t know the job seekers, and they have no mechanism by which to identify what actually makes a good match.

On top of that, there is an increasing overlap of leadership applications between industries that are somewhat related to maritime sales. Businesses often get resumes from candidates with automotive backgrounds and from heavy machinery firms, and while they look impressive on paper, they don’t really know anything about marine industry culture. That means the key leader you’re investing in for your company will either sink or swim in their new environment, and if it goes badly, you’re the one paying the price.

On the other hand, professional maritime headhunters have any number of tangible advantages. The best have a passion for the industries they serve and have taken the time to develop an understanding of what makes the marine industry unique. They also have broad connections throughout the business with companies and individuals who have been successful in the areas you’re focusing on.

In other words, the top maritime headhunters have become experts in experts—and that’s what you need to hire great leadership efficiently and effectively.

Tips on Finding and Hiring the Best Candidates

Maritime headhunters deliver great people, but at the end of the day, it’s your input that helps them choose from their pool of candidates. And once you’re down to final interviews, it’s up to you to make the call. Here are a few things to keep in mind when advertising for the job and what to look for when making your final selection.

Job Descriptions

● Limit minimum qualifications. Minimums help you weed out unqualified resumes, but listing bold requirements risks disqualifying great rank-and-file talent who are ready to take the next step. Drop all but the most critical qualifications and trust recruiters’ experience in finding the best people.

● Write job descriptions that are detailed, thorough, and accurate. A good recruiter can help you with this, and taking time to really dig in and do it right is a big factor that enables them to find the perfect people for your needs.

● Hire based on attitude over skill. You can’t train attitude, but if a strong candidate for example has great experience, but hasn’t worked directly with the brands you handle or the DMS you use, these things can be learned quickly by the right candidate.

Interviews

It can be difficult to gauge management skills and intangibles from a resume, but if you don’t ask the right questions in your interview, you risk making the wrong choice. Here are some examples of good questions to ask.

● “How would you describe your management style?”

● “Tell us about the ways you plan to help employees develop their skills and knowledge in your first year.”

● “Describe a situation where you had to overcome obstacles to deliver results.”

● “Tell us what you know about the difficulties and skills involved in doing those jobs.”

● “Tell us about a time you had to deliver negative and difficult feedback to a team member.”

● “What is your experience with hiring and terminating employees?”

● “Why do you want to manage people?”

● “What are some strategies for breaking down barriers, creating more opportunities, reducing costs, and improving quality at our organization?”

Choosing a Recruiting Partner

There are quite a few recruiting agencies out there, and here are the important qualities to look for to make sure they’ll deliver the best results for your investment.

● Maritime headhunters must have extensive work experience in the marine field as employees/passionate enthusiasts and recruiters.

● Ask about the average length of relationships with other clients. If there are a lot of one-and-done jobs working with businesses, they might not be the best fit.

● Don’t push to have in-depth discussions about your business, company culture, position requirements, etc. The right recruiter will be itching to have these conversations. Eliminate those who don’t seem interested.

● In the course of initial discussions, find subtle ways to probe their marine industry knowledge.

● Check references!

● You’ve got to feel comfortable with the human beings you’re trusting to recruit. Try to differentiate between concrete objections and gut reactions, but at the end of the day, trust yourself if you’re getting a bad vibe.

Find the Top Marine Talent with V20 Recruiting + Consulting

The right choice of marine recruiter is critical to achieving the best outcomes, and V20 Recruiting is the best of the best when it comes to the powersports, recreational, and maritime industries. Our principal maritime headhunters are Douglas M. Sexton and Tom Cassidy, Jr., and they’ve got decades of combined experience building great relationships with key players in the maritime trade. That’s why we’ve established a proven track record of recruiting ideal leadership talent for businesses in this highly competitive—and highly specific—industry.

At V20, our passion for life and work on the water helps us to know exactly what intangibles to look for in the job seekers and marine companies we serve. We’re deliberately set up as a smaller agency, which gives us the crucial time to really get to know your business and the candidates we’ll be referring to you.

Reach out directly to Douglas or Tom today, or drop our office a line. We’ll put an end to long, costly applicant searches and deliver the very best candidates for your leadership positions and business culture.