A Year Abroad with Sunseeker?

B

B175Chris

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Jun 2006
Messages
8,226
Location
Torquay
Visit site
Hi,

As some of you may know, I have to take a year abroad in a french-speaking country next year as part of my Business Management with French degree.

I want to get as much of a head-start as possible with regards to organisation, as it's not in my nature to leave something this complicated to the last minute, so this is the start of my research.

I can choose to do a full year at a french Business University, which I'm indifferent towards, I would much rather choose the second option of organising my own work placement for the year. I've spent the last three months working as part of an entrepreneurial business - in that time I've been expected to be the marketing department, the website designer, the graphic designer, the sales team and the product exhibitor at the recent Autumn fair exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.

The exhibition really brought out a sales instinct in me that I hadn't really realised before and people really warmed to me and my non-slimy salesman style, and whilst there I generated over 150 very viable enquiries who are all very interested in buying the very niche product. I had lengthy conversations with the principal buyer for Wal-mart as well as Hallmark and I have no problem having polite, tactful and appropriate conversations with people very high in the business food chain.

So, I'd like to combine the sales instinct in me with my love of boats and perhaps work for a branch of Sunseeker/Fairline/Princess etc. basd in France.

The trouble is, I don't know a lot about how their businesses operate, for example I'm unsure as to whether the agents in France or overseas salespeople are hired through their main recruitment channels or whether the responsibility lies with the agent to employ locally. I can find this information through them, I know, but I don't want my first correspondance to look like I'm a complete newbie who hasn't done any research.

I would appreciate any insider knowledge or advice into the above and any other potential avenues to investigate in this field - obviously the position would have to be based around administration/management/sales rather than manual work or engineering.

Also, if anyone has any close relations with any insiders who could potentially have a discussion with me in the not too distant future about these kinds of opportunities they would also be great, but anything personal can be sent via PM in confidence.

I'm sure I will have missed information out but as I say this is just the start of my research, I want to make sure I'm as confident as possible about the job I choose to spend 2010/11 doing, so as always, any advice appreciated :)

Chris
 
Last edited:
"obviously the position would have to be based around administration/management/sales rather than manual work"

manual work - couldnt have that could we
 
It would be as productive for you to work in a french car dealership. And its a bigger industry with more opportunites.

Look for something more leading edge and interesting.

In the end you want to be BUYING a boat... not selling them.
 
"obviously the position would have to be based around administration/management/sales rather than manual work or engineering."

Well if SIBS is anything to go by,the Sunseeker representatives are smartly dressed in suits, ties, or cravats,tanned,well groomed, and the men don't look too bad either;-) and when you shake hands with them, you'll know they don't "do" manual;-)
 
Last edited:
Alrob said:
"obviously the position would have to be based around administration/management/sales rather than manual work"

manual work - couldnt have that could we
Click to expand...

If I was doing an engineering degree then it'd be a different story - I'm **** at mechanics etc. so why would I go for a job in that area, especially when my degree is Management-based?
 
photodog said:
It would be as productive for you to work in a french car dealership. And its a bigger industry with more opportunites.

Look for something more leading edge and interesting.

In the end you want to be BUYING a boat... not selling them.
Click to expand...

Definitely something to consider, but boats are something that I'm really enthusiastic about, I could talk about them for hours but I don't get the same thing from cars, really.

It's not a life career, just the year abroad - I'd rather spend it doing something that I enjoy than just any industry that i think will take me...

My aim isn't to work for somebody else for the rest of my life, I have my own business ideas but I want to get out there a bit first and get some experience before I choose the career path I want to go into.
 
powerskipper said:
why don't you drop an email to the company involved and ask them directly, or even better .Talk to there personnel or sales department direct. They may be able to tell you the best way to do this.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned in the original post, I could ask them directly but I know there are people who are in the industry on here so I wanted to just get a bit of background info before I approached companies with a set of more specific questions...
 
B175Chris said:
If I was doing an engineering degree then it'd be a different story - I'm **** at mechanics etc. so why would I go for a job in that area, especially when my degree is Management-based?
Click to expand...

Ahh, love it. So engineering graduates/undergrads are suited to manual work? Amazing the ignorance that surrounds eng degrees in this country. Tell you what, I would hire an eng grad (and I have done personally) for a job leading to 1 to 2 bar salary sooner than any grad with "management" in the title

Not picking a fight, just making point in strong terms in hope it sinks in :-)
 
Last edited:
jfm said:
So engineering graduates/undergrads are suited to manual work?
Click to expand...
Mmm... I'm not sure to see your point. My short answer would be yes, I'd rather have an eng than a lawyer to secure my mooring lines - though that's a sweeping generalization of course.
The whole point is that "manual work" in this context has a somewhat negative flavour.
This is what I can't really get my head around.
 
Just a thought or two about this whole issue of 'manual work' and 'management'.

Chris, if you were offered a job as a boat detailer by a large Sunseeker dealership in the South of France, would you refuse it because it was 'manual work'?
(Boat detailers are the skivvies who do all the polishing, cleaning and basic maintenance).

If you did refuse it, just think of the possible opportunities you could be missing out on.
You would be paid to potter about (ok, work hard) on lovely Sunseekers, while getting some good job experience. This would probably also involve crewing on demonstration trips for prospective punters, maybe the odd delivery as well (?)

AND - you would have an excellent opportunity to dazzle the senior management with your abilities - you should be aiming to get promoted asap to manage the boat detailers and then see where you go from there.
And if you do not dazzle them..... ummm, well maybe you should consider doing something else..... but it sounds like you have the gift of the gab which is a good thing for sales (oops, sorry, management) bods to have, and even better if you can apply it to boats, as you obviously can.
You never know, you might clinch a sale while multi-tasking polishing the stainless work and chatting to some prospective punters looking over the boat..... :)
And then you would be well away!
 
powerskipper said:
why don't you drop an email to the company involved QUOTE]

Please Chris DO NOT drop them an email, DO by all means contact them but PLEASE send either a handwritten or printed onto descent quality paper, letter.
It may be a dated attitude but few senior managers I have worked with would give any time to an approach by e mail.
Go to the trouble of finding the sales directors name and write to him personally, if it is not on the website, phone the company switchboard, say that you are sending a letter to the sales director and you want to ensure the correct spelling of his name - easy.
regards mikej
Click to expand...
 
I will second Mike's suggestion re sending a letter, preferably hand written, to accompany a CV rather than just bashing out an email.
And if your hand writing is abysmally bad, well, there is an opportunity to improve it...... there is a thread going in the Lounge at the moment about hand writing, it is worth having a read of it!
Buy a nice fountain pen - or perhaps even a Calligraphy pen - and practise with it - you (anybody) will be surprised by how quickly you can 'get to grips' with it, and produce a beautiful letter that will blow the ink off any computer generated rival.
 
Chris,

I have no contacts in France so sorry. However I did a similar thing in my Late teens. I wanted some experience, a bit of money and to learn some Spanish. I had a contact at Sunseeker Menorca and so I contacted them. I ended up doing the manual work side. Basically I cleaned boats, refuelled them, helped move them, Jetwash them off etc. I did a little paperwork but it was mainly Invoicing which is very boring. However once you are there and show willing then you will get a wide experience. I even got to cruise over to cala D'or with a guy to look at a new boat!

I got a smattering of Spanish (most people were English), an idea of how Sunseeker worked, lots of time on Sexy boats and it improved my love life no end as many of the cleaners/hostess were girls! I also lost a bit of weight......

I would say go and be open about what jobs you do, spend 5 days cleaning, sorting, moving boats and volunteer to go in the office on a day off to get that experience. 5 days a week stuck in an office in the SoF with lots of sunnyseekers outside will be a killer. Just be open and you will get a better rounded experience. Mine was in 1989/1990 and to be fair I worked the first few weeks with Sunseeker each day then used my mates Fathers sunseeker the last few weeks! two great summers.....

Paul
 
The Princess agent for SoF is DLB yacht broker in Mandelieu, near Cannes. (http://www.dlb-yachting.com/) The sales guys I met were French, as I think most Brits tend to buy their boats from PMYS and ship them over. From my limited experience it seems the sales offices for the British builders in France are very small operations with no more than a handful of staff. Sunseeker may be bigger, as they sell more and bigger boats, and probably more to non British buyers, although I state that as a feeling rather than a fact.

You could also try some of the British brokerages with offices in France, like Ancasta, Inwards, and Berthon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

EugeneR
Help with getting sold boat data
Replies
8
Views
535
Tranona
T

Share this page

Top