Assignments – It’s all in the Detail

In this blog we’ll explain what we mean by a ‘description’ or ‘narrative’ of your Assignments and why it’s important you complete this section.

WHAT DOES ASSIGNMENTS MEAN?

The Assignment section of your Digital Profile is where you enter all your sea-service and then keep it up to date as you go. When you add your sea-service into the profile you’ll begin to see analytic information on your sea service (more on this in a minute!). A fully completed sea-service allows a prospective employer to take a closer look at your experience and can provide valuable insight into your suitability for a position.

Required sections include Company, Department, Rank, Vessel Name, Vessel Type, Flag and your start and end dates – all this information is in your seaman’s book, allowing you to easily complete this section. We have also added the ability to use rotational assignments if working on the same ship on rotation for up to one year. If you have over a year working on the same vessel you will need to add an entry for each year.

WHY DO I NEED TO ADD A DESCRIPTION?

While entering the details of your assignments don’t skip past the ‘Description’ as it’s the most important section for someone looking at your profile!

Why?

In each interview the superintendent or personnel manager will look through your seaman’s book, asking questions about individual vessels you have worked on. They usually ask about trading area, engine or auxiliary types, cargo ops, gas freeing, grade changes, pilotage exemption, DP type, DP hours, diving operations, major overhauls, drydocks, surveys and your duties. Or for Customer Service areas you may want to tell us about how many cabin areas you were in charge of, passenger numbers you cooked for etc. This is the sort of information we are asking you to add in the description. Additionally, it’s beneficial to include any challenges you faced along with how you were involved in a solution or corrective action to a particular issue. This immediately allows the hiring manager or superintendent to have visibility on your suitability for a role and will help the decision on whether you should be invited for interview.

Don’t worry, we’re not looking for an essay, you only have 400 characters on each of your assignments, just enough information to give a prospective employer more detail on what you did while on board. We cannot stress how important this is, regardless of your role, as it will provide valuable insight into your experience.

WHAT ARE SEA SERVICE ANALYTICS?

Finally let’s chat about Sea Service Analytics.

On your home page as you add your sea-service, you’ll be able to see your Sea-Service Analytics developing. The system collates all the information you add and calculates analytics including;

  • Time in Rank

  • Time in Company

  • Time on Vessel

  • Time on vessel type

So next time you’re asked how long were you in a particular rank on a particular vessel type you can find the information easily. Please ensure you are careful to detail the vessel type so that the analytics are accurate, you may have had 15 months on freight RoRo and 22 months on RoPax.

If you have any questions, then please have a look at our Digital Help Guide or get in touch and we’ll be happy to offer help and guidance.

Ankaa Help GuidesMarketing DepartmentAnkaa Recruiter, Ankaa Marine