Moves at the top

Q
Are there many opportunities out there for chief executives, finance, commercial and chartering directors?

A
The LNG, offshore and container shipping markets are the real hot spots at the moment. We’ve got a range of searches on the go for clients in these sectors, but it is definitely a buyer’s market. Employers can afford to be very picky about who they appoint.

Q
Are senior shipping executives looking for opportunities?

A
Absolutely. We are getting contacted by more senior people than ever before. The past three months in particular has seen a surge in activity, with what I would call passive candidates becoming active candidates. In the tough times, many people hunkered down in their jobs, helping guide their companies through the downturn. People were reluctant to switch and take a chance with a new company. With renewed confidence in the shipping markets, individuals who were previously just staying in touch with us are now actively looking for the most exciting opportunities.

Q
And where are the most exciting opportunities?

A
Most of the candidates seem to think that it’s in a shipping company taken over by a private equity firm. I would say that 90% of candidates see it as the dream ticket. They want to earn the big money they think is out there, travel the world and make the big deals. They want the opportunity to buy and sell companies, turn around companies, buy ships, make cost savings, in short take everything they’ve read about in the Harvard Business Review and put it into practice.

Q
But is this realistic?

A
No. The opportunities in companies controlled by private equity interests are actually few and far between. Private equity firms are extremely selective about the people they hire and the competition for jobs is very fierce. The interview process is extremely demanding and far more rigorous than that typically expected by a traditional shipping company. These people have finance and banking backgrounds, not shipping backgrounds and they want to get down to some serious detail and put the candidates through the mill.

Q
What is private equity looking for then?

A
They’re basically looking for people who have “done stuff.” People that have opened and closed offices, turned around businesses and can identify opportunities. They’re looking for people with an entrepreneurial spirit who have sector expertise. Sometimes experienced candidates with a long career at an oil major or other large organisation get a shock the results driven expectations of these fast moving firms.

Q
How should candidates best present themselves?

A
I find that many good and experienced candidates just don’t help themselves. They don’t think hard enough about how to sell themselves. Their CVs are scruffy, poorly spelled and use mixed fonts. Their Linkedin profile is treated like a Facebook account with irrelevant personal posts. They need a huge amount of guidance and coaching around the interview process. Faststream works in the energy as well as the maritime sector and we do see a big difference in the quality of the approach made by candidates made in these two industries.

Q
So what makes a good CV then?

A
it’s got to make an impact and be very easy to read. I can’t tell a candidate whether one side of A4 is enough or whether it should be five sides. It really depends on what you’ve got to say. You have got to do more than simply list the places you’ve worked, but sell your experience.

Q
And what are people’s salary expectations?

A
Some people don’t seem to realise that the ex-pat package is dead and buried. The days of the company house and housemaids for a senior shipping role in Singapore or Hong Kong are long gone, but still we get asked about it.

People often ask me, “what’s the norm?”.

I’m afraid that there is no “norm” in this industry. Location and local tax rates come into play. American citizens are taxed on their global income, whilst the UK’s 45% top tax rate seems high to some, but not to Scandinavians. The cost of living varies. However, salary packages are very much dependent on the candidate. Some can achieve a signing-on bonus, others can negotiate a package to suit them and their families. However, as I said before, it’s a buyer’s not a seller’s market.

Further reading

Faststream’s magazine Streamline contains features including:

Canadian shipyard seeks international workers
Europe Vs. Aisa – the debate
Hong Kong grows
Northern Europeans head to Greece
UK tax change causes seafarer uncertainty
Americans go south