It’s the start of a brand new year so what better time to put in place some good habits that will see you through the next twelve months while you’re away working at sea? Anyone who works in a seafarer job will know that being organized and disciplined is a must, so with that in mind we thought we’d come up with a few New Year's resolutions to help you on your way to success.
The symbolic clean slate of a new year can be motivating for making changes, even if those changes would have been possible at any other time.
However, one thing we will say before we get started is to make sure you set realistic and achievable goals. Setting either overly ambitious or vague goals can lead to disappointment and frustration.
Here are a few ideas that should be well within your wheelhouse!
7 New Year's resolution ideas for those working in a seafarer’s job
Make sure your seafarer documents are valid
The new year is the ideal time to make sure all of your seafarer documents are in order and will see you through your next few contracts.
Of course you can do this manually but if this is one of those tasks that you always seem to forget about, did you know that Martide makes it easier for you to check your documents?
If you use Martide to look for jobs at sea and apply to our seafarer job vacancies, you will have uploaded your documents into our system so that employers and manning agencies can check them before they hire you.
And when your documents are reaching the date of renewal, we’ll send you a reminder by email so that you make sure you take care of this in good time.
Make sure your health insurance is up-to-date
While we’re talking about paperwork, it’s also a good time to make sure that your personal health insurance is valid for the foreseeable future.
Yes, your shipping company will very likely cover some costs in the event of an accident or emergency while you’re working at sea, but it is possible that they won’t cover all of them - particularly if you are injured through any fault of your own.
Open an emergency bank account
If you haven’t already got one, this is one thing you should do as a priority. If you have a bank account to which you’re the only person who has access or you are needed as a joint signatory, what is your spouse or partner to do in the event of an emergency?
There’s nothing worse than knowing your family is facing a problem on shore and needs money while you’re away at sea.
Opening an easy-access bank account that your family can use as funds when they’re in a tight spot could provide valuable peace of mind for all of you should anything happen on land while you’re away working on a ship.
Transfer as much as you can afford to do so comfortably into it upon opening the account, and top up with your salary as and when you can.
Create a Martide account to find seafarer jobs
We hope that you already have a Martide account but if you don’t and you’re looking for your next seafarer job contract, there’s no time like the new year to create one!
It’s free (and always will be) for seafarers to sign up to Martide and once you have an account and have filled out your seafarer profile you can then apply for any of our jobs on ships that you feel you are qualified for.
Martide also makes it easier to stay in touch with employers and manning agents and lets you track your seafarer job applications quickly and easily.
Download the Martide seafarer job app
And while we’re on the subject, we might be biased but we highly recommend that you also download the Martide mobile app.
Created by us especially for anyone looking for a seafarer job and/or working at sea, the app lets you apply for our maritime jobs quickly and easily no matter where you are in the world.
It’s also free to download and use and doesn’t have any annoying adverts. It’s purely for you to find your next job at sea, track your applications and receive messages and alerts about your contract and travel arrangements.
Get - and stay - organized
If you’re not a naturally organized person you might find it a little tricky to stay on top of your job search. There are multiple ways that you can make finding jobs at sea easier, from using our app or website to creating a spreadsheet so you know which ship jobs you’ve applied for.
Being organized doesn’t have to be a pain, even if it doesn’t come naturally. All you need to do is to take a few moments to sit down, make a list of what you need to consider when you’re looking for a new seafarer job and the things you need to do before you leave home to board your vessel.
We’ve even written a blog post about the 9 things you must do before you leave home to go and work at sea to get you started!
Get your seafarer resume up-to-date
We know that there’s not many people that love to spend time creating or updating their maritime resume. (Or any resume, come to that!)
But making sure your latest contract at sea, your vessels, and any new skills or licenses you’ve acquired are all listed is crucial if you want to impress a new employer.
Luckily, Martide makes that easier for you with our seafarer resume builder which is all contained within your seafarer profile.
Your Martide profile contains information about you, your past or current employers, vessels, dates of employment, documents, certifications, and more. This acts as your seaman CV and - best of all - you only need to fill it in once and it’ll be there for employers and manning agents to view for as long as you need it to be.
That way they’ll know exactly who you are and what you do and they’ll be able to quickly make the choice whether or not to employ you.
Are you looking for your next job at sea?
From ETO jobs to Chief Officer jobs and from Second Engineer jobs to jobs on container ships, our trusted employers and manning agencies are always looking for great crew to work in their jobs at sea.
Whether you’re looking for a change of employer or are interested in working on a different type of vessel, make this the year you start making life easier for yourself by finding your next seafarer job through Martide!
Happy New Year and we hope to see you onboard soon.
Eve Church
Eve is Martide's content writer, publishing regular posts on everything from our maritime recruitment and crew planning software to life at sea. Eve has been writing professionally for more than two decades, crafting everything from SEO-focused blog posts and website landing pages to magazine articles and corporate whitepapers.
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