Find new blood

By Lindsey Johnson, Trade Communications manager, NMMA

It wasn’t long ago (seven years now) I covered my very first boat show as a marine trade journalist. There I was, fresh out of college, my first “real” job, standing among the core of industry writers and editors who’d been in the game as long as I’d been alive. Surrounded by these seasoned veterans during an early morning press conference, I remember thinking, “I stick out like a sore thumb; I’m the only ‘young person’ here!”

Since then, not much has changed. As a whole, I think we need to do a better job of drawing more talented, young professionals to the marine industry — to work in every area from manufacturing and retail, to sales and marketing. New blood is essential to grow and expand business, and the marine industry is no exception. Without fresh faces coming onboard, progress stops. We can’t afford to let that happen; not with the great momentum we’ve been building the last few years.

There are many avenues through which the industry can attract younger employees—individuals that will mature and flourish within their respective companies and perhaps become “lifers.” Manufacturers and dealers can reach out to local colleges and universities, offering departmental internships. Marine companies can post available openings on popular job search engines like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and MediaBistro.com, where young professionals are trained to look. And Marine Trade Associations can target local high schools, offering college scholarships to students that plan to pursue careers in marine-related fields.

We can’t expect young people will come to us; we need to try and find them. We must call attention to ourselves and affirm the marine industry is a great place to land. If our industry hopes to benefit from the enthusiasm and drive generated by today’s youth, we should continue encouraging twenty-somethings to initiate careers with us.

This contribution is one in a series of solutions to the industry’s challenges as offered by female boating business professionals for the March 2008 issue of Boating Industry magazine. To view the article, Leading the way, including links to the entire list of solutions, click here.