THIS IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU A JOB IN THE DIVE INDUSTRY….
But it will enhance your chances
You have recently completed your PADI IDC or SSI instructor course or whatever other scuba certification you have decided to become a scuba dive professional with. Fantastic and now you are looking for a job and are wondering how to go about it?
You might already be a dive instructor and worked for a season or so with the dive shop you did your instructor course with and decided to move on and find that next paradise where to go and work.
You might be a Divemaster and looking for that job to get you into the dive industry.
But how? How do you get that job?
The following are my opinions and will not be appreciated by all and as the title states will NOT get you a job. But in my opinion will enhance your chances to get a job in the dive industry.
What qualifies me to give this advise? Well here comes the self promotion bit:
I have been working in the dive industry for most of my working life. I became a dive instructor in 1993 and now it’s 2019??? Bugger I’m getting old….
I started out as a dive instructor for one of the largest dive companies in the world
I have set up a dive shop in Costa Rica
I have owned a dive travel agency in Australia
I have led the marketing department of a major dive company promoting the operation internationally and at dive shows
I lead and set up a major dive vessel to operate out of Port Douglas, Australia
I am the operations manager for a major dive company in Australia
I am a PADI Course Director. (impromptu self promotion… Not a Dive Instructor yet? Click here to find out how to become one)
Enough about me… How do YOU get a job in the dive industry? Treat it like any other job you would apply for.
Your resume
DON’T include:
Don’t list where you did your instructor course with. Some places have a negative perception and will hinder you from getting a job.
Don’t list that you have done 200, 500 or 1,000 dives. You are an instructor and as an employer I expect you to know how to dive. So how many dives you have is irrelevant to me.
Don’t list how many certifications you have done. If you have done 35 certifications so far, it tells me that you don’t really have all that much experience. Instead write that you are competent in teaching all levels of diving including discover scuba diving programs.
DO include:
What specialties you have
What languages you speak
What other qualifications you have
What other skills you have
What do you bring to the dive shop?
What environmental volunteer programs have you partaken in? (beach clean ups, etc.) You haven’t? Well what are you waiting for?
Think about what is different about you than the next person and keep it simple. Ideally one page, maximum two. Make sure your contact details are correct!!!
Attitude
Sales. Yes, sales. You are NOT a dive instructor. You are a sales person in the dive industry with a dive instructor qualification. Want to get paid? Well the dive shop needs customers for that and needs to sell dive gear, the next course or dive trips. You must be able and willing to sell an Openwater course to someone who has just done their first discover scuba diving experience.
You must be able to sell a Peak Performance Buoyance course to a certified diver, or an advanced course or a rescue course or a Divemaster course, etc., etc. I am sure you get my drift by now.
You must be able and willing to tell your students or certified divers that had such an awesome time to leave a trip adviser review and tag you and the dive shop in their Facebook and Instagram posts.
You must be able and willing to take your students back to the dive shop and make them want to buy that cap, T-Shirt or mask strap! Let me show you how! Click here to see my personalised mask straps. Your mask needs one of these! First rule in scuba diving is to look cool, and these mask straps make you look cool!
Welcome back and thank you for buying that mask strap…. Let’s continue
FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM
Remember how funny it was to post those drunken images of last night’s party where we got completely wasted and did WHAT to that sheep? (New Zealanders will get that joke)
The first thing I am going to do before you even get the chance for an interview is google your name, find you on Facebook and Instagram and if I don’t like what I see, well then your application will be crunched up to become the basketball which I will throw and endeavour to make it in one shot into the waste basket.
Don’t get on a scuba dive group discussion and say something along the lines of:
“I’m a PADI and SSI dive instructor looking for my next job anywhere in the world. So send me a message about your job openings. Thanks”
Really, it amuses me how many times I see posts like these. Sell your self. Tell the world about your skills and why they should hire you!!!
Talking about Facebook and Instagram, if you want to follow me and see my blogs in your feeds and other really cool stuff then click here:
Ok, hopefully you get that interview. Now this is REALLY IMPORTANT:
Appearance
Heck, it’s dive industry… I don’t need to wear shoes, board shorts are good enough, heck it’s a hot day so I am going to wear my favourite 5 year old faded singlet and a baseball cap which I can’t take off because my hair looks like a bird nest if I do.
WRONG!!!!
You don’t have to wear a suit and tie, but your first impression is what sets you apart from the other 20 PADI IDC candidates who have just passed their IE last week. If you were to rock up as described above for any dive job interview in Australia you will NOT get the job.
But you are in Indonesia, or Thailand or the Philippines and things are different here…. NO THEY ARE NOT!!! Set yourself a higher standard and outshine the other person applying for the job. Get some dress shorts, make sure they are clean, a T-Shirt is fine, but make sure it is clean and not “politically incorrect” with its print. Shoes…. Those things that go over your feet. Heck, if you have some wear them!!! If not then get your best Sunday afternoon flip flops out, make sure your feet are clean!!!
In other words DO NOT SHOW UP BAREFOOT!!!
I do hope that you get that job… and have a fantastic career in the dive industry. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to further your qualifications by clicking here.
