I just became an AB recently and haven’t had any luck finding work. I live far from where I can conveniently commute on my own (all my previous jobs flew me to the port of departure). I did work for Oceanwide last year and pay for travel. Can someone recommend other staffing agencies or companies I could try applying with?
That is a very good question. I think many of us might benefit from a list. Here are a few companies that are mostly headhunters but some that are manning agencies too. I think that any legitimate temp agency, except maybe in Louisiana, pays travel.
Oceanwide (a Dutch company with offices in Thibidoux ,Louisiana and Houston)
C-MAR ( worldwide with a Houston office)
Core Group Resources (Houston)
Faststream (worldwide with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Houston)
Flagship Management (Houston)
MMS (a Crowley company in SeaTac, Washington)
WRS (British) worldwide)
Spencer Ogden (British)
Northern Marine Manning Service (Scottish)
Alliance Marine Services (Houston)
Alliance ( a different Alliance in Louisiana that I’ve hear bad things about)
It would be nice if mariners who have actually worked through these companies would post their experiences.
I’ll also mention Kelly Sweeney at Maritime Headhunters near Seattle. He specializes in temporary placements with employers and charges the mariner a reasonable 10 percent of the first hitch fee. So if you work a 30 day hitch, you pay 3 days. If the employer calls you back for another hitch, you pay nothing more. Normally, I would not recommend any the-mariner-pays-his-fee type of headhunter, but Kelly Sweeney is a rare exception.
Awesome list, thanks a lot. I got in touch with Kelly Sweeney, in fact. He hasn’t found me any work but my experiences communicating with him have been pleasant and helpful. I’ve had trouble getting Oceanwide to even respond to me. So, that’s my limited experience.
I am usually working, and usually more than I want to. But I’m always open to new opportunities, and I like doing temp work.
Oceanwide. I turned down a couple offers from Oceanwide because I was not available.
Faststream. I turned down two jobs because I was not available. One of the guys I talked to was very good, the other was ok, but obviously new.
C-MAR. I have gotten a couple of inquiries. They proposed me for one job, but the client would not accept me because I lacked one of the unnecessary certifications that the client was insistent upon.
Core Group. They have offered several jobs. Nice people.
Alliance Marine (the one in Houston). I inquired about a job, but immediately got hired elsewhere so did not pursue it. They seemed ok.
MMS (owned by Crowley). I have contacted them several times, but never get any response. That’s funny, because I get about one inquiry a month from the in-house recruiters at Crowley.
Tugsailor I went on Kelly Sweeney’s website and registered today. So hopefully they can find me some work. I’m entry level trying to get my foot in the door. MSC turned me down. I have my MMC with OS, WI, SD, and STCW/BST. I also have current passport and TWIC. Hopefully the headhunters will be able to help me get started. I live in Jacksonville Florida, would they still work with me even though they are on the west coast?
Generally speaking, headhunters usually do not get job orders from employers for inexperienced new hands, or entry level credentials. Headhunters mostly place experienced mariners with specialized credentials that are in significant demand by employers.
At this point in time, green hands might want to consider starting out on yachts or fishing boats to gain some experience.
[QUOTE=ddash79;148199]Tugsailor I went on Kelly Sweeney’s website and registered today. So hopefully they can find me some work. I’m entry level trying to get my foot in the door. MSC turned me down. I have my MMC with OS, WI, SD, and STCW/BST. I also have current passport and TWIC. Hopefully the headhunters will be able to help me get started. I live in Jacksonville Florida, would they still work with me even though they are on the west coast?[/QUOTE]
Kelly will find you work where the employer pays travel, he won’t leave you in the lurch.
Thanks catherder, have you ever used Kelly’s services before? What was the experience like?
[QUOTE=ddash79;148275]Thanks catherder, have you ever used Kelly’s services before? What was the experience like?[/QUOTE]
Yes, you register on his site or call him and he sends you paperwork to fill out. He’ll want copies of your credential and a resume. Now, he will ask you for a recent physical and drug screen too. I sent him those but with the stipulation that he not send the physical to anyone w/o my permission. There’s enough privacy issues out there without adding to them. And he came up with a relief job for me pretty quickly, they paid his fee, and my transport to and from the ship. Very smooth.
Thanks catherder and how long after using his services did you find something more permanent. You seem pretty knowledgeable. So I wanted to ask for your advice. I am facing a dilemma. I read through all these threads daily just to see what new things I can learn because I have to hand it to you, you all are great with pouring out information on these posts. Some is useful and some is not. I’m really grateful for the forums because without them I wouldn’t know anything at all. Here is my dilemma: I have no maritime experience, no offshore experience, etc. The only boat experience I have is being in the Navy from 1997-2000. I really want a career in the maritime industry. I want to provide a good living for me and my family. I want to work 1 job and have the desires of my heart but all I have is a TWIC, passport, and a MMC with OS, WI, and STCW/BST endorsements and no maritime experience. The only jobs I have on a resume are call center office jobs because outside of the Navy that’s all I’ve ever worked. I want out of corporate America and I want to be a mariner. I can’t afford to go to an academy because I’m 35 years old and I have bills and expenses so I have to keep a job, and taking upgrade classes is not helping me get anywhere if I can’t get sea time. So if you can understand my dilemma, is there any advice you can give me to find a way to break into this wonderful industry as an entry level mariner.
[QUOTE=ddash79;148320]Thanks catherder and how long after using his services did you find something more permanent. You seem pretty knowledgeable. So I wanted to ask for your advice. I am facing a dilemma. I read through all these threads daily just to see what new things I can learn because I have to hand it to you, you all are great with pouring out information on these posts. Some is useful and some is not. I’m really grateful for the forums because without them I wouldn’t know anything at all. Here is my dilemma: I have no maritime experience, no offshore experience, etc. The only boat experience I have is being in the Navy from 1997-2000. I really want a career in the maritime industry. I want to provide a good living for me and my family. I want to work 1 job and have the desires of my heart but all I have is a TWIC, passport, and a MMC with OS, WI, and STCW/BST endorsements and no maritime experience. The only jobs I have on a resume are call center office jobs because outside of the Navy that’s all I’ve ever worked. I want out of corporate America and I want to be a mariner. I can’t afford to go to an academy because I’m 35 years old and I have bills and expenses so I have to keep a job, and taking upgrade classes is not helping me get anywhere if I can’t get sea time. So if you can understand my dilemma, is there any advice you can give me to find a way to break into this wonderful industry as an entry level mariner.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that. I’m hardly the most helpful person here but I think collectively, we try.
What did you do in the Navy? Depending on what you did and where you did it, some of your time might be creditable toward a qualified rating or license. Did you know that?
I see that you tried MSC. They are competitive for the entry level jobs. There are other agencies that hire mariners. I still work for these guys on a flex basis and they are hiring direct now http://www.moc.noaa.gov/shipjobs/ they often have entry-level positions for General Vessel Assistants. You can send them a resume. It’s a good way to get some experience.
Also do you live fairly near a union? There’s that angle.
Keep scanning the threads and the job listings for ideas and for info on Navy seatime, it’s been addressed loads of times.
Thanks Catherder I was a radioman in the Navy and when I applied for my MMC I sent my sea service transcript that I got from the Navy with my application and the coast guard still gave me entry level endorsements. So that’s why I need to find a way to get sea time as a mariner so that I can upgrade.
[QUOTE=ddash79;148371]Thanks Catherder I was a radioman in the Navy and when I applied for my MMC I sent my sea service transcript that I got from the Navy with my application and the coast guard still gave me entry level endorsements. So that’s why I need to find a way to get sea time as a mariner so that I can upgrade.[/QUOTE]
Oh, ok. Well, try the noaa link and you can also re-apply to MSC in the future, plus read the knocking on doors thread.