Why It's a Cut-throat Industry for the Staff

The standards are extremely high. I completely agree that it is a "cutthroat industry" for the staff. Guests readily fill in questionnaires and if an employee receives few negative comments they will be near termination. With severe and increasing competition among the cruise lines no one can afford to lose guests and let them spread negative comments about it to their friends, relatives, etc.

Here are examples of what some of the 5 star companies pledge to their guests:

Carnival- "exceptional vacation experiences"

Royal Caribbean- "the most outstanding vacation experience on land or sea"

Disney- "excellent service"

Costa- "zero defects and complete guest satisfaction"

When it comes to the 6 star cruise lines everything goes one level higher:

Silversea- "Above and beyond all expectations"

Radisson- "Above and beyond service"

Crystal- "a memorable experience, which the guests will cherish forever"

As you can see the cruise lines promise exceptional experience to the guests who select them for their vacation. Who will deliver on these fantastic promises? You!

Now, let us take for example a person who applies to Royal Caribbean. In his standard cover letter he expresses his wish to work for them as a Waiter. He states that he is a good person, good professional, and will do the job. In his standard resume are listed his jobs in 3 hotels with their descriptions. The screener asks herself: "Is this applicant going to provide "the most outstanding vacation experience on land or sea" for our guests? No". So his application goes to the trash.

Now let us see what will do the same person following the L.A.S.E.R strategy. The first step is to locate the most appropriate for him 2-3 cruise lines. How? First he reads the cruise line employment profiles and visit the site's of the most appealing ones. Once he knows, which are the most appropriate 2-3 cruise lines, which hire people with his level of experience, skills, and accomplishments he moves to the second step- anticipation. For this purpose he spends 1-2 minutes on their job lines.

The result is that from the three companies only Royal Caribbean has an open position. So he continues learning the name, title and phone number of the hiring manager. In just 1-2 minutes he has confirmation for open position and the contact information of the hiring authority. He calls and again within 1-2 minutes learns exactly what are the specific requirements and expectations of the hiring manager for this position. Then it is time for the third step- to stand out even more. How? He uses the gathered information and the guidelines in Impact Cover Letter Writing. Easily he creates exactly what the hiring manager will immediately label as "outstanding and exactly what I am looking for". The applicant uses for "start with a bang" of his cover letter:

Dear Ms. Harrison: Thank you very much for the time on the phone two days ago. You mentioned that anticipation with the guests’ needs, energy, and teamwork will be key qualities of the perfect candidate. Anticipation with the guests’ even unexpressed wishes and needs has been the constant focus of my work as a waiter for more than 2 years…

In the resume’s Focus Statement positioned in the visual center on the page he will selectively highlight accomplishments and facts, which directly relate to the key requirements. In this way during the initial screening Ms. Harrison will immediately see that he can really deliver anticipation, energy, and teamwork.

Then it is time for the forth step- express mail the application package so it will bypass the screeners, go directly to Ms. Harrison, and grab her full attention.

In the cruise industry it is common practice an applicant who stands out on paper to be hired without an interview. This is true especially for entry and line level jobs like Waiter. That is why in the example Ms. Harrison would most probably not call him, especially after they have had a short phone conversation.

However, for responsible or higher in the hierarchy jobs an interview will be conducted. For a person who follows the L.A.S.E.R strategy it is the last short and easy step because the hiring manager needs little in addition to the outstanding impression, which the applicant has already created to close the sale and get the job.