Changing positions

[yaka]

Hi, I work on a ship and I want to try and move up from being a lounge technician to a lighting technician. What is the best way to do this? While I am on the ship with the personnel there or do I wait until my contract is up and contact corporate personnel.

Thanks for any help with this.

[sz]

I'm surprised they don't have a promotion policy in place onboard ???? On RCCL, there actually is a process/form and a whole HR policy for just this. Have you told/asked your immediate supervisor or cruise director? Do you actually have the qualifications for the job already? Can you program a headliner show during the rehearsal? Can you take down and repair an intelligent light? Do they know you can do this?

IF and a big IF you can do the job already, you'll do better having onboard support. You'll need to get past the fleet technical supervisor also???

[yaka]

I was doing the lighting job, they told me that I had the position and now for my next contract they told me it was temporary and I was a lounge tech again.

So basically, your answer is that it has to be done on the ship. BTW, it is NCL.

Thanks,

[sz]

If "they" (assuming this is shoreside) told you that you had it, and then not . . . sounds like politics might be in the mix. Do you get along with onboard management /have good evaluations and recommendations from them? Or maybe someone with more seniority or stronger qualifications got the job instead? If you were doing the job already, it's worth documenting or logging what you're doing and having a supervisor sign off on it. I don't know how NCL works these days so can't say for sure if on or off the ship is the best to approach the situation.

On my line we actually do have a 'promotion' form specifically for light techs. Has about 20 items that the production manager and cruise director have to sign off on. That, with a resume and a log of individual activities (repairs/maintenance/shows done) gets sent to the shoreside technical/scheduler folks and then the interview and placement goes from there. This happens either on or off contract. This is why I think it's better to get things done while you're onboard, as it's REALLY hard to get people onboard to help or respond once YOU are off the ship. Trust me on that one!

[yaka]

I hear you. The person who put me in that position left the company, so maybe it was politics. I know have to decide whether to go back in the lesser job and try to work my way back. It was very disappointing, but my profession doesn't have a lot of chances like you can get on the ship.

Thanks,