Countless individuals around the world aspire to acquire a job, maintain it, and succeed in the oil and gas industry. While this field entails mental alertness, physical strength, and endurance, the upshot of walking the extra mile in this field is definitely rewarding.
There are hundreds of drilling rigs throughout the United States, and each of them offers a chance to aspiring individuals who are willing to deal with oilfield tanks, get dirty, and prove their dedication to the industry. But the question is, with the tough job competition in this field, how will you be able to get the position you so desired and succeed?
If you were a neophyte, you should be aware that there are numerous factors that will determine your luck in this field. Before going to battle, a soldier needs to train. Just like that principle, you need years of tedious preparation to be able to secure a career in the fields of oil and gas. What do you need to do?
Get The Right Degree
Set your education and career roadmap as early as possible. Having the right degree from a good school will surely give you an edge and proper training from a creditable institute is a passport to being considered for the job.
When aspiring a career in the oil drilling industry, you should consider becoming a drilling engineer. Actually a subset of Petroleum Engineering, Drilling Engineering would be a practical educational degree to take. Your years in school will surely be rewarded when you strive hard to reach your career goal.
If you have a good scholastic record and excellent training, then what you need is positive thinking and confidence of your skills. However, it is advised that aspirants who want to start a career on oil and gas industry right away would consider an associate’s degree and continue their education while working.
Boost Your Credentials
Aside from a degree in drilling engineering, you need to further your education and broaden your knowledge on this field. Having a list of significant trainings on your curriculum vitae (CV) will give a positive impression to your prospective employer. It will also make you more credible to be entrusted with a job. You can further your education by getting certifications from different trainings, like the following:
Drilling Well Control Training - This should include different levels of drilling, workover, surface or subsea, wireline, coiled tubing and snubbing, and control.
Oil and Gas Technical Training - This would cover marine licensing and stability, rig pass, drilling competency, well optimization, and many others.
Workplace Safety - This would cover hazard communication standards, behavior-based safety, injury-related safety, leadership, and other related courses.
There are public and private institutions that offer additional special short programs that would help you boost your credentials. Most of them are manned with credible experts who would want to share their knowledge and wisdom on how to succeed on this field. Enrol and do your best to excel.
Prepare For The Interview
Your credentials do not guarantee a 100 percent success of your application, but how you would handle the job interview can possibly land you the job.
While your research will give you enough information about the company and the position you are applying for, your presence and active participation during the interview is vital to the employer’s decision.
Get a good night sleep, prepare the perfect suit for the big day, and, most of all, gather your thoughts firmly to be able to respond to the interview exceptionally. Confidence and wit can get you through, so make sure you are relaxed and attentive to the interviewer.
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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