September 2021
MY JOURNEY TO HUMAN-FOCUSED MARITIME RECRUITMENT SheEO Stories
Sarah Cristobal Tangan, Founder and CEO of International Maritime Recruiters Consulting (IMRC)
When we talk about the Maritime Industry, the tendency is to look at it like a well-oiled machine. We have maritime companies, ship owners, seafarers and executives. Because the Maritime Industry does lend itself to operate in a very machine-like way, we often forget that there is a human aspect that must be prioritized. That means the first very important step is recruitment. My Humble Beginnings I am Sarah Cristobal Tangan and I am the Founder and CEO of International Maritime Recruiters Consulting (IMRC). I started working in the Maritime Industry at a very young age and have over a decade of experience in this industry. I began as a secretary and later was given more responsibilities and authority until I started IMRC. As a woman in a male-dominated industry, I was seen as just a “secretary” when in fact I have led projects and executives from different cultures early in my career. I dealt a lot with imposter syndrome because of this and as I proved myself later (to myself, especially), the feeling of being an imposter lessened and lessened. Apart from leading projects and executives, I also handled the vigorous process of scheduling, recruiting, training and
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managing seafarers in this industry. It wasn’t an easy task at all and as I moved forward to bigger responsibilities, I knew that I could establish my own business. Human-Focused Maritime Recruitment My goal is to establish a human-focused maritime recruitment process through investing in training not only seafarers but also the personnel who handle recruitment, onboarding, and training the seafarers. By investing in maritime recruiters, the first point of contact for seafarers, we are investing in higher quality seafarers onboard which not only increase the safety of the ships and that standards and protocols would be followed, but also make sure that Page 34
