INTRODUCTION
Thank you for your interest in VIP Productions. Enclosed please find a company description, job description and some information about living in the Cayman Islands. Once you have read it and have determined that you have the necessary funds to relocate and set yourself up, please email the following to vip2@candw.ky:
- A detailed and current CV/resume.
- A cover letter including your date of birth and availability.
- A recent photo of yourself.
- References with e-mail addresses. These will be checked after a successful interview.
COMPANY PROFILE
VIP Productions is a busy visual media company. Our services include wedding, corporate, broadcast, real estate and excursion videography and photography. We are a small company that provides dedicated loyal employees with a keen interest in the business, additional training and advancement opportunities. We are looking for people who want to become an integral part of our team.
JOB DETAILS: Underwater Videographer/Photographer
Applicants must posses the following skills:
- Proven sales ability
- Excellent customer service skills
- The ability to work calmly under pressure
- Attention to detail
- The ability to multi-task
- A SCUBA diving certification of at least PADI Advanced or equivalent. (No dive training is provided).
Additionally, employees are required to have:
- Car
- Mobile phone
- SCUBA gear excluding tanks
Complete training in videography and photography is available for this position. However, having experience in the following is highly desirable:
- Apple computers
- Final Cut Pro and Photoshop
- Knowledge of video cameras and underwater housings
- Knowledge of still cameras and underwater housings
- Possessing your own video/photo equipment or computer equipment
- Knowledge in other areas of business i.e. marketing/writing, IT and admin.
This position requires a confident, outgoing people person who has the ability to sell. You need to have the ability to connect with your customers so that they will want to buy your video/photos. The position is as much a sales job as it is a video/photo /dive job. Your commission is based on your individual sales. The more you sell, the more money you make. Employee’s sales levels are constantly monitored and are considered during employee evaluations.
As an underwater videographer/photographer you will go on boat trips everyday to take video or still photos of tourists and actively sell these to the customers. The majority of these excursions are snorkel trips that go to Cayman’s world famous Stingray City Sandbar and nearby shallow reefs. Customers are filmed or photographed holding, hugging and swimming with the tame southern stingrays. On the video trips, the videographer also SCUBA dives and films the snorkeling customers, fish and coral at 1 or 2 shallow reefs. On the boat ride back the videographer/photographer shows their images and signs customers up. When the boat trips are done you return to the office to make DVDs, burn photo CDs, complete paperwork and do other related work.
Some other boat excursions we film include SCUBA diving, helmet diving, SNUBA and fishing.
Employees who are successful in this position will be given an opportunity to diversify into other areas of the business thus becoming a key part of the VIP team.
SALARY
Pay scale: $64 US per day or $32 US per half day plus a monthly commission based on your individual sales volume.
Employees are expected to work 6 days/week if the schedule permits.
In addition to your daily rate you will receive a sales commission based on your individual monthly sales figure. You will receive a 5% commission on sales between $2500 US and $4000 US/month. You will receive 15% commission on all your sales exceeding $4000 US/month.
E.g. If your sales for the month are $6,000 US:
You will receive 5% commission on $1,500 US ($4,000 US minus $2,500 US).
Plus you will receive 15% commission on $2000 US ($6,000 US minus $4,000 US).
Depending on the time of year, individual employees should have sales between $4,000 and $8,500 US/month.
Keep in mind:
- $1 CI = $1.25 US.
- There is no income tax.
- During training you will naturally not have these sales figures. However, once you are fully trained we do expect these sales figures from our staff.
- This compensation is consistent with that of similar watersports and SCUBA positions in Cayman.
Health Insurance: Cayman Islands health insurance is mandatory by law. The employer is responsible for half of the basic health plan. Currently as an employee you pay $56.50 US/month.
Pension: After being employed in Cayman for 9 continuous months it is required by the Government that you pay into a Cayman pension plan. The employee’s contribution is a minimum of 5%. The employer contributes 5%. When you leave the Cayman Islands you can claim it all back from the pension plan.
FINANCES
We stress that you need to have the necessary funds to set yourself up once you get here. It is not practical to come here with loans that you need to pay at home.
Mobile phone: A cheap one here is about $50 CI.
Car: A reasonably reliable car is approximately $2500 CI. Insurance is about $450 – 650 CI/ year depending on your age and the vehicle you buy. You will pay more insurance for soft tops and sporty cars. A Cayman Islands driving license is about $80 CI for 3 years.
Housing: There are usually lots of sharing options averaging around $550 CI/month. You will need to have the funds to pay for the 1st month’s rent and a deposit, which is usually a month’s rent. You may be able to tentatively arrange housing before coming to the island but the majority of our employees arrange housing within 2 weeks of arriving on the island. Word of mouth and the local newspapers and websites provide the best housing options.
THE HIRING PROCESS
Upon submitting your CV/resume, if you are short-listed we will email you to arrange a phone interview. References from past employers will then be contacted. If all of this goes well you will be offered the position contingent on the granting of your work permit. We will email you all the necessary government work permit forms. You must complete the necessary paperwork and return it in a timely manner. It is vitally important that you complete the forms accurately and quickly. Keep in mind that this will be our first impression of you as an employee. Generally we expect to receive everything back from you within 3-4 weeks. Once we receive the forms, we will submit and pay for the work permit. You will be given a tentative starting date once we receive your forms. Government usually processes these permits in 2-3 weeks.
Generally an employee starts on a 180-day work permit. If all goes well, a 1-year work permit will be submitted. We generally ask for an initial commitment of eighteen months. Your work permit can then be renewed yearly up to a maximum of seven years.
LIVING IN CAYMAN
The cost of living in Cayman is high but it is sunny and warm, the ocean and beaches are beautiful and there is no income tax. Check out www.reefgrill.net and click the beachcam to see where you could be right now!
To find out more about Cayman and the cost of living (accommodation, cars, food etc.) you can also check:
http://www.gov.ky/ (the Cayman Islands Government’s official website)
http://www.caycompass.com/
http://www.caymannetnews.com/ (check the classifieds)
http://www.ecaytrade.com/
http://www.gocayman.ky/
Or join the Cayman Islands network on Facebook and check out their Marketplace.
We hope this gives you all of the information you need regarding the position and our company. We look forward to hearing from you.
VIP Productions
P.O. Box 31179 | Grand Cayman | KY1-1205 | Cayman Islands
tel +1 (345) 945 1561
fax +1 (345) 945 1560
http://www.vipcayman.com
http://vipcayman.blogspot.com/
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