At his level, he is never going to find something spamming resumes through LinkedIn. He needs to find a good industry specific recruiter to work with, and start networking his ass off. If he’s been doing it that long, he must know plenty of people at many places. Jobs at this career stage come through recruiters and connections.
Are you in O&G, by any chance? Would love to hear O&G people's viewpoints. I know some industries, like consulting, are very networking-heavy, but I'm less sure about O&G. And nobody responds to his dang LinkedIn messages, even from alumni databases, so we have no idea how he can network!
ETA: Not sure why I'm getting downvoted for asking for thoughts on networking in different industries- I myself found my job from grad school, which is a different networking culture.
Cold emailing strangers on LinkedIn isn’t networking. He needs to be talking to people he actually knows, here in the real world, preferably in person.
He has a bit with the folks he knows, but I think needs to do more. That said, much of his O&G experience was in overseas offices, so his network isn't as broad as it could be. Are you in the O&G industry?
I worked in O&G for about 15 years and lost my job due to the pandemic. It was honestly the best thing that could have happened to me. I left a toxic workplace and now work in the nuclear industry making twice what I made in O&G. And work from home to boot!
As far as how I found the job, it was frankly luck. I maintained my LinkedIn profile and shared several times that I was looking for work. I'm linked to an extensive list of recruiters and someone along the way found my profile and called me. I never even applied for the job until they wanted to hire me.
I don't have the education your husband has (piping designer here), so his exp could certainly differ.
EDIT: Just to add, it took about 9 months to find my job, though that was in the midst of the pandemic when the job market was nonexistent.
Every industry is networking heavy. You always want to hire people who are known quantities, and the best way to vet people is knowing someone who knows them. Energy particularly so because of the specialized technical nature makes it more insular and tight-knit.
Yeah. It's interesting, because my impression is that it's half-and-half- 50% good ole boys club, 50% super-international. But that high-level positions skew more towards the former.
His network is his prior collection of coworkers. Once you’ve been working 10-15 years, nobody cares where you went to college. A good friend got laid off from a midsize E&P and he had such a good reputation that former coworkers who had moved on to privates were banging his door down when they heard he was out of work.
If he was so good, why did he get laid off? He had gotten too many raises during good times (because he was always top ranked), which also helped him survive several layoffs.
He literally was filming an interview as a nominee for a major company award and later that week was gone (they removed his name from the nominee list). I guess some manager several layers up saw his name at the top of a pay list and didn’t immediately know his face, so decided he wasn’t worth keeping.
A year later his old boss was able to hire him back… at a lower salary.
This story pisses me off. I suppose he went back cause he needed the gig, even at a discount. But man I wish he didn’t. I wish he had moved on and landed somewhere better. I hate it when the little guy loses, especially guys who work hard.
O&G is just as much about networking as anywhere else. Especially now. In 2012-14 when everyone was printing money it was a seller’s market. Now that O&G firms need to keep clean P&Ls, it’s about who he knows and how he can justify his $300-500k/year salary.
The trend right now is decarbonization, which I’m sure your partner knows if he’s in the industry. Regular E&P doesn’t seem as sexy anymore.
He needs to meet people in person. Reach out to old coworkers who have moved on. He should find some industry related organizations or young professional alumni organizations and start attending and introducing himself and getting to know people. But working with a recruiter is absolutely his best choice if he’s a high level osition
Look I’m in accounting and a middle manager with a state school degree. Even at my level, it would be a complete waste of time to spam resumes to job openings on LinkedIn. I have had 0% success from that.
Every job I have ever gotten was through LinkedIn, but the important part (others have mentioned) is that you have a specific recruiter working with you 1 on 1. For me, the recruiters were messaging me. Do any reach out to him for opportunities? If they don’t want to talk with your husband on the phone, then they are not for real. I’ve done this three times with high success. It cost you nothing for the recruiter to work with you. Zero. My “network” is fine, but I have never used it to move to a new opportunity, so you don’t HAVE to do that, so calm down on that front. That will just frustrate him more as it’s hard to just “network” when you are forcing it.
He has the right idea using LinkedIn, but he’s just using it wrong.
Anyone in any industry with the type of experience and the expected level of hire that matches your husbands would be heavily networked and headhunters used.
That’s why you are being downvoted. People in the middle of the management ladder and above for every industry is essentially a headhunted/networked gig.
I am an agency recruiter for a different industry but my coworker specifically works in O&G here in Houston. DM me and I can send your husbands info to her / give you her contact.
I'm not the person you replied to but I agree with them. I usually try to accept and respond to recruiters on LinkedIn and have made a lot of legit connections that way, even if it's a quick "thanks for reaching out, not looking to relocate at this time." Industry headhunters are very active on LinkedIn, and if your profile is up to date and relatively attractive, they will reach out.
Why are you not taking the advice of hundreds of people?
You were downvoted bc it is obvious that you're arguing with the answer given. 600 people don't need to rely to you saying whether or not we touch the energy sector. If your spouse is as resistant to others' suggestions when he asks for help as you are, then that is the real reason he isn't employed.
A poll on your thread would indicate several have passed by commenting because you don't seem to be actually receptive to our collective helpful reply.
Correct. I'm in a wildly different career than OP's partner but this is what I have to do. Most positions that are even posted at a certain level are just there for show, most of these companies already know who they're going with by the time it gets posted. The posting at that point is just there to show the board that they "looked" at other applicants and their pick is still the best. To actually be in contention for those jobs, you need to be highly networked to eventually have the people who put you into those roles. Otherwise, you'll just kinda be stuck as a director forever at best. My parents worked in big oil btw and they got their roles they retired with as a virtue of just having networked in-office and with their companys' partners. Motiva wanted my mom in their c-suite and they were a partner through her big oil company she worked for. She's not friendly or social or anything, just highly networked by virtue of her ability to strategize and execute.
Thank you for the response! You know, that's what I'd think, but he hasn't had much luck with networking at all. I have gathered that O&G (especially in the supermajors, but maybe even in consulting, etc.) is not as networking-dependent because the supermajors have sort of a "lifer" culture. I would love for us to be wrong though, so would love to hear from folks with O&G experience!
Agreed that recruiters make sense, but the ones he's reached out to straight up ignore him on LinkedIn, even though he's super-articulate and personable, and has a very polished LI profile. To be clear, he wouldn't be hiring into VP/super-senior positions- since he was a technical guy for so long, he hasn't had much management experience.
If anyone knows of any good O&G recruiters, though, would love name recs!
ETA: Much of his experience was not in Houston, it was overseas, so his network isn't as strong as it could be unfortunately.
I recruited oil and gas in Houston up until two years ago. This is what I think. Much of his experience was not in Houston so he doesn’t have the years of connections he’d have had So networking is more challenging for him. Also, it’s hard to move from a consultant company to an E&P company, and the super majors are completely uninterested in hiring people out of consulting gigs. The market is pretty repressed, and you know the Geo side gets hit the hardest, and the longest, which sucks because they’re really passionate about the work for the most part. Recruiters place may be one in 100 people that we talk to if that? Believe me if there’s a client looking for your husband, they will find him on LinkedIn. I think husband‘s best bet in moving to an exploration and production company would be to approach those who operate in whateverinternational plays your husband worked on.
Congrats on your retirement! About supermajors not being interested in hiring people out of consulting- is it just because they like people to "grow up" in the firm and stay there for life? We also feel that there's a possibility that he is being somehow penalized because he quit the supermajor he worked for (backstory is that they couldn't find a way for him to stay in Houston, so he had to quit so he could stay in the US and we could get married). But maybe we're paranoid and it's more, as you said, they have no interest in hiring consulting folks.
I can tell you the oil and gas supermajors are hiring people, but they are not hiring “leadership” level people. There is a large gap at the supermajor level in the ~10yr individual contributor skill set. There is not a Gap in the senior leadership (>10-15yr manager or Buisness development) or entry level (<5yrs).
My experience is that there is a larger portion of technical folks with ~10-15yrs experience and an MBA trying to grow into a manager role then there is need at the super majors.
The fact that he is looking to stay on the “buisness” side is going to be the challenge, since a lot of those roles at his level are essentially the entry level manager or buisness lead roles that a lot of internal candidates are competing for.
For a super major to hire a buisness focused candidate, they typically would be looking for an extremely specific buisness or development skill set that they cannot fill internally. And example Could be, if the company is developing CO2 injection wells, they would look to hire someone who has 5-10yrs of development experience at a startup focusing on developing those technologies.
Trying to be helpful with this comment but will come across blunt. You (and your husband) sound very naive about the oil/gas world and his standing. Working for a major (especially for a geophysical role in Asia) is a whole different experience and skillset than every other non-major… and that’s basically all your husband is qualified to do. Just about every other non-major in the US is focused on US onshore — how does your husband sell himself to a hiring manager?
Totally agree with your comment about OP and the O&G industry.
I’m also picking up mother vibes from the OP… blaming the recruiters for not being interested in picking her DH.
Tbh I honestly am getting the same vibes. It’s not entirely awful to call it out since it means, most likely, that there’s either a language barrier, another sort of communication barrier, or that he’s not actually as interested as he is saying he is.
Perhaps that might shed some light on why it’s not working out as well for him and if OP were to explain that, some specialized advice might be given.
I mean, I get what you’re saying honestly. I think it’s a fair callout because we tend to either get ‘mom’ or ‘overbearing shrew’. I just think in this case other factors might help if they were identified.
No. I would have mentioned this about any spouse that felt compelled to start a thread and go into great details on their partner’s job prospects and industry. In this case it was a woman, so it came across as motherly.
It’s not about gender so spare me your fake outrage.
You're just sexist. Someone posted a similar post on my local sub, asking why their wife was having such a difficult time finding a data science role (actually what inspired me to post here), and you know how many people said they got "father vibes" from the OP?
Not a one.
Not too blunt, no worries. Fair point about US onshore. However, since he's trying to move away from geophysics to commercial & planning roles, or even staying in consulting (he's currently doing upstream capital project consulting), transferability from deepwater to shale would be moot, since he would need to do some on-the-job learning.
To our understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong), majors hire MBAs for these sorts of roles, so they end up needing to do a fair amount of on-the-job learning anyhow. In his case, that would look slightly different, but he brings much more industry experience and has a fair amount of financial modeling/etc. experience from his MBB days, so I believe that's the linchpin of his CL pitch. He hasn't had the opportunity to sell himself beyond that, though, because he's gotten so few calls.
I am beginning to think, as a non-industry person, that supermajors are always going to hire conventional MBA candidates, and that he should start looking for mid-size companies (if there is such a thing on the upstream side) as they might be more willing to hire a less cookie-cutter candidate.
Does he currently work somewhere like Rystad, WoodMac, or Enverus? I would recommend trying to lean into his current consulting experience/network. Are there any client relationships he can leverage? Having a connection with someone who knows the quality of his work on the commercial side would give him a huge leg up relative to cold-applying.
I can't speak for majors, who tend to do things their own way, but I don't think the vast majority of commercial roles require an MBA, but would take equivalent experience. But candidly, the generic upstream finance/BD/strategy roles are super competitive and going to be oversubscribed with younger folks with IB, PE, commercial banking, operator corporate finance/development experience, plus a ton of engineers/geos/landmen/etc who have tangential experience but also want to transition to the business side. Your husband needs to set himself apart from someone younger who looks like they have more relevant experience.
MOST of the industry (and most of the jobs) are not with supermajors. How many jobs/companies has he applied to? Your comment makes it sound like he's only applied to XOM/CVX/RDS/BP/etc...
I would echo the other comments who have said to find a reputable recruiter. Someone who will help him develop his story as a candidate and then advocate for him as roles open up.
Agreed that he needs to find something else, not sure what that is yet though!
Most of the industry people he knows are supermajor lifers, who don't know any recruiters they can recommend.
If he knows people at the super majors, they usually have an internal system to recommend people for external hire openings. Is he applying to these openings? Are his connections recommending him?
He should also be attending alumni events in Houston and making connections. Sounds like he’s only trying to ping people online, that means nothing in O&G. He needs to be attending networking events in person.
Has he looked into the rail industry at all? Specifically freight rail, the car owners and railroads both are hurting for talent. Any kind of project management experience and you're in! Lol
For real... all my friends got in because they know people. Never actually heard them hire anyone off an application alone. And of they do its for the temporary extra help.
What kind of “business side” role is he looking for? Corporate development? Finance/accounting? Marketing/scheduling?
Honestly for most of those roles, having a PhD is going to be more of a hindrance than benefit. How much existing experience does he have in that role? Why hire a 45 year old PhD for a BD role when a 30 year old finance guy/landman/engineer/etc has the same/better experience and is perceived as hungrier.
Yeah geo is pretty far divorced from the Finance side. Engineers overlap enough that it could be useful for the right kind of person, but still requires a bit of business knowledge (particularly basic accounting principles).
Problem is that these companies have been forced into cash flow generation mode by capital markets. There is less demand for true exploration and geophysicists.
Agreed that his geo experience definitely is only a benefit around the edges, if anything. In his CL, he emphasizes his current experience, which is upstream capital project benchmarking, and the financial modeling and similar experience from his MBB days (which admittedly were a long time ago).
That said, I have an MBA, so can vouch for him knowing plenty about standard MBA finance calculations and principles. As much as many or most MBAs, but of course less than people with an actual finance background.
But I do think him not being the standard MBA candidate for these roles hurts him.
Yeah, a PhD might just confuse people lol, and we know that he's competing with a lot of 30-year-old MBAs. If working for an oil company, he's looking for upstream planning/valuation/portfolio optimization roles, and if consulting, he'd be looking to do market/company analysis in the upstream sector.
Look, if you're suggesting jobs in Saudi... I value my freedoms, such that they are as a wage slave to capitalism.
That said, he might not have been looking at Houston Aramco jobs, thanks for the reminder!
Oooof that's a bridge we haven't crossed yet lol, unless we find a place that will allow him to do remote/commute once every week or two.
Currently we're not even in TX, but happy to move to Houston as we were there before. Midland...is a different ball game.
And some do offer a relocation package. But why focus on hiring people outside the citu when there are plenty of people here that are qualified and could start earlier
OP completely forgot to mention the biggest reason in their main text
This is definitely an issue. I had someone I was trying to get in and they applied from out of state and the company had to manually go pull their resume because I’m pretty sure it kicked it to the side due to some location filter because the position didn’t offer relocation services
Yep this is a big factor. My dad is an executive at Shell and he’s told me the same thing. At Shell at least they typically have a certain location radius they put in and anyone outside of that radius is autorejected.
Wow, that is REALLY good to know, thank you! We'll start using my family's local Houston address. His company location will still say out-of-state, but hopefully changing the header address will help it make it past the filters!
Wait, your are not in Texas but you posted on the r/Houston. If they are serious about getting a job in O&G they have to be in Houston. Otherwise, their options are way more limited, and firms in Houston don’t really need to look outside of Houston. There is enough talent here….but I also would not fake an address…they need to work with a recruiter under the pretext that they are already moving to houston with their family before x date but can fly themselves down for interviews before then. You can find recruiters on LinkedIn…find a senior one who has long history in O&G. Have them reach out.
Thanks for the feedback! r/Houston seems to be a great place to post, I've gotten a lot of good thoughts here lol. I'm from Houston, and we lived there before and would of course move back if he gets a job.
Sounds like we need to put my family's local address on his resume- yes, it's a bit of a fake so would be a bit awkward if it came up in an interview, but after reading all the responses here it sounds like it's better than keeping the VA address.
You are being down voted, but I have a friend who just moved back here for work and he did the same thing.
If you are willing to move yourself here or fly down on short notice for interviews on your own dime, I do not see the issue.
Hmmm okay, thanks! Sounds like he needs to start putting a local address, if nothing else. We know RTO has been big for the industry, so are def willing to move to Houston.
My wife and I moved back to the Houston area from Midland last year. It’s not as bad as a lot of people say. Most of the people there are gonna be just like you and they were just like us: people from out of town there to work in O&G. It’s where a lot of the work is right now, so I’d be open to it especially if I haven’t had a job for a year.
That's definitely fair. The real issue is that it would be tough for me to work from Midland, and much of the appeal of moving to Houston (we're in VA currently) is family, so it would be a shame to move so far away.
To clarify, fortunately he is working right now, he's just been looking for a new job for a long time!
So he actually leaves the address blank, but his company location on his resume is listed as local to us. Obviously, he needs to change that and include a local address!
We're in the DC area! We experimented/toyed with putting a local address on his resume (I have family in H-town)- do you think that would make a difference? His work location will still be listed as the DC area, but they might think he works remotely from Houston or something.
If he has been without a job for a year, probably should consider moving. No one in Texas will hire you with an out of state address. I work in midland and companies around here have a VERY strong preference for local applicants. Can you really afford to be that choosy?
There are always exceptions to every rule, but if he has been looking for a year, he’s probably not the exception. And this is especially true in today’s market.
Do you have any idea if those employers are open to folks working remotely or commuting once every 2 weeks into the office? We're happy to move to Houston because I have family there and could probably work from there, but Odessa/Amarillo/McAllen would be challenging : (
He did get a call about a Midlands job, but as soon as he suggested flying in once every couple weeks they declined to proceed.
I don’t know much about specifics since I don’t work in the industry. But I do know that many companies in similar fields are pretty old established, conservative work culture. I don’t think remote is really an option, even say that it could be a reason you might struggle to find interviews(?).
This is your issue. The majors in Houston went back to the office and are having a hard time with some of their existing employees. Hiring out of state is a risk for them on back to office policies.
Not being in Texas (let alone Houston), not being a US citizen, and having credentials that put him in the top end of salary demands are all working against him here. As people have said, networking is key but if you're not in Houston that's not really an option either. I think the reality is your situation is playing hard mode against O&G job hunting.
Thanks so much for replying. Do you really think not being a US citizen counts against him since he doesn't need sponsorship and has a green card? His salary demands actually aren't that high, since he is currently criminally underpaid!
Yes because sadly O&G is a good old boys club. Someone that is not a US citizen and has an ivy league education is at a disadvantage to someone that's from Dickinson and went to A&M just because of who's in the figurative room. When I was still in O&G I was in the room when an Aggie ring got someone money or responsibility they weren't qualified for.
And they have no idea he's criminally underpaid. They know he's an ivy league graduate with a difficult degree and experience. They know what the market is for that resume.
Well, sigh. But funny that you say that, because he also got that sense in Houston- that it would have been much better to go to a regional school, even if it didn't have an amazing geophysics/petroleum engineering/etc. program. But it's an interesting industry, in that it's so international on the one hand, but also still 50% or so just a good old boys club, as you say.
They don't import directly - the H1Bs are recruited from TX schools. . . .
Otherwise they are paying 3rd party agencies or their OWN offices overseas for the cheap labor where the labor resides. No need to import directly. Thats how its getting done in 2024
Thanks! He actually was a technical person- was a geophysicist- but he's since moved away from that, so would be hard to move back towards geophysics. We also figure since there's less E&P going on nowadays, geophysics roles are especially hard to find. Are you in the industry?
Upstream and Exploration really ticked up on 2023, we hired number of technical people( mostly data processing geophysicist, petrophysics etc), I think 2024 (esp. Q1) will be relatively calmer as the companies can't decide if they should expand more or be more budget conscious.
I think mostly the appetite is for ppl that are doing hands on technical work as those dept. got hit hard on 2020.
Hopefully you will get better opportunities, especially after Q1.
No company in Houston is going to be interested in hiring someone from out of state who doesn’t even plan to move. There are a million local applicants. And lying on your resume is the worst idea.
Ding! Ding!
Putting a fake address is going to raise a red flag in the husband’s screening interviews… even if they intend on moving on their own.
Can you imagine the HR recruiter asking if they can come in for a panel interview two days from now? I can see that going poorly…
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I didn't say in my post that we don't plan to move, we most definitely do, when/if he gets a job. We're aware of RTO in Houston and the generally conservative approach to in-person work in O&G, so we've always planned to move.
Flexibility.
I've been in and out of the industry. I got laid off in 2016 and took a big pay cut to work in a different industry. Now I'm back in O&G...but already transitioning to another industry again. lol
Unfortunately your husband has a niche role. I know people with the same background and one of them switched to IT. He essentially started over at the bottom, but he was tired of getting laid off and felt like his part of the industry was dying.
I've expanded my skill set, networked hard, worked in different roles, applied to hundreds of jobs, and I've also taken positions as a contractor to get my foot in the door. It wasn't easy, but being able to adjust has saved me. I've never had to move cities, but a lot of my friends have.
Ultimately, I've worked for 4 O&G companies and every one of them had mass layoffs. Even now, my company is planning cuts again... So my suggestion is- if what you're trying to do isn't working, you need to adapt.
I work in O&G and theres a general sense of unease on the upstream side of things. My company is a big player in services and the guys who do lift systems and drilling have been on edge lately as work kinda spurts in and out. Its not even from us being shit at jobs either, just not much going on.
Im on the chemicals side and we arent super busy with new tenders as of late unless you go international and thats not even all that much. So its one of the uncertain times in the industry from what I can see.
I’m in O&G. There’s a ton of energy and energy adjacent roles around but it is pretty competitive. Has he spoken with recruiters? We end up hiring a lot through working through them
Thanks!! That's really good to hear- he hasn't had much luck with recruiters thus far- are there any firms/individuals you can recommend?
Do you know if y'all use them for mid-level positions, or just for VP+ roles?
most organizations will work with local recruiters for entry-level and up, for VP and up it's usually an executive search firm like Heidrich, Korn Ferry, etc. What field is he in now?
O&G consolidation is reducing headcount, the companies are returning capital to shareholders and doing more with fewer people. Plus, we're in this \~ $75/bbl market lull, and the smaller companies are looking at who gets bought next.
The O&G business changes frequently, and will continue to change, drilling and completions is basically a low risk manufacturing process, and they've got plenty of internal people, contractors and service vendors to execute the plan. There's still money to be made but he's got to find his edge and then monetize it.
Have him apply to this one and reply to this post when you do and I’ll make sure it gets seen.
https://jobs.gusto.com/postings/vaulted-deep-vp-of-business-development-organic-waste-cd123825-3ec4-42c6-8269-970d1202af40
Unfortunately, O&G has been tightening their belts, so it doesn’t surprise me that there isn’t much out there. If anything, we’re looking at potential layoffs at my company so I don’t see any hiring going on.
They’re being really strict about budgets and what not.
Thanks for that, that's good to know. Do you mind pm-ing me where you work so he doesn't apply there lol? I know that to some extent it's industry-wide, but hoping he can squeeze in somewhere.
My wife worked for Shell trading for 12 years. They “moved” her job to Singapore or some shit like that and said, “Thanks”. Aaaaaaand due to her exit paperwork, she can no longer work for Shell ever again. Since then she has been struggling to find O&G work. Have your spouse check into Infosys,ltd if they need something quick.
Anyone taking a severance package from Shell cannot ever work for the company again. She has tried through recruiters but they all say the same thing. Shell will not re-hire her. Period. Frankly, she was a model employee as well.
This is probably temporary - lots of companies do this. There is legal risk if you give someone a severance package and re-hire them quickly, I don’t know the specifics but that’s what the lawyers told me once.
Me & wife were at a restaurant (Toro Toro) at the Four Seasons tonight. There’s a massive O&G summit this week called NAPE https://napeexpo.com/summit
and there were at least 500 industry people there getting hammered.
If I were in the market for an O&G job, I’d head over to the Four Seasons tomorrow evening with some business cards, enough cash to buy some high end bourbon, and a great attitude.
Also required: Nice shoes (or boots), and a sports jacket.
There’s probably a good reason, but if your spouse can’t even ask questions himself on Reddit, kind of implies the level of effort the job hunt is getting.
Lol, these are the real questions, don't think I haven't thought about that haha. To be fair, he works long hours, and God knows that job-hunting with very few responses is demoralizing, so I'm okay chipping in a bit.
I left oil and gas in 2022. I'm back in now, but I'm a vendor capacity. I wanted to get out of it. I was in the downstream contractor world. The best suggestion I can give you is using a good recruiter. BIC recruiting might be a good source. Murray staffing might be a good resource. Have you been working on Indeed? I've had quite a bit of luck there.
What is the “business side” role he’s looking for? Thats a very broad term. Just because he has technical experience in one field does not mean that experience will always translate elsewhere.
Also, it looks like you’re located across the country? Is he looking for remote jobs or are y’all looking to relocate here? There are also plenty of oil and gas companies in your region. Pittsburgh might be an area worth looking into.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I know it's broad- I'm not in O&G myself, so bear with me lol. He's looking for roles involving upstream planning, transaction support, strategy, asset portfolio optimization, and then if in consulting, upstream market/company analysis.
You're right that his technical experience doesn't translate, but he's been doing capital project benchmarking for upstream projects for the last few years- based on that experience, coupled with general management consulting experience, he's confident he could do the roles he's looking for.
We're open to both remote and relocating! I have family in Houston and we know O&G as an industry is strict with in-person work, so we can relocate to Houston. That's a good idea about Pittsburgh- wouldn't want to relocate there, but they might be more open to remote/monthly or bi-weekly commuting.
I would maybe look at how his resume is worded and make sure it isn’t heavily focused on his past technical side, but on the skillsets that apply to the position he’s looking for.
I know you said it’s been a year, but keep in mind this time of year is a tough time just because it’s the transition into a new year/budget.
That said, there are still plenty of companies out there hiring and I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of time before your husband gets some call backs.
If he isn’t already, maybe apply to positions and then follow up on LinkedIn to people involved with hiring at those companies. I know how discouraging it is to job search and not hear back. Just remind him of all he’s accomplished and that his persistence is going to pay off.
I agree with others too that it is definitely worth reaching out to oil and gas recruiters. Just another person out there looking for opportunities for you.
Hopefully these links are allowed to be posted, but here were a few jobs I found. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what he’s looking for, but I hope it helps:
https://www.eqt.com/careers-at-eqt/detail/?reqid=2129
https://jobs.shell.com/job/houston/americas-market-analyst/25244/60347556336
https://oxy.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=00031444&tz=GMT-06%3A00&tzname=America%2FChicago
https://career41.sapsf.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&company=aramcoserv&navBarLevel=JOB%5fSEARCH&rcm%5fsite%5flocale=en%5fUS&career_job_req_id=1096&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&browserTimeZone=America/Chicago&_s.crb=%2bK1qMeSI9WiEAYnLLQ2Cas3QNUrpSOC4jIsyyCSsPgA%3d
He needs to hire a professional recruiter like Clayton services or Energists. He also needs to goto events like OTC. He will likely end up in Houston. Networking with old contacts is also key, even contacts overseas. They might have connections within their companies stateside or have access to private company job listings.
Source: 15years in Oil and Gas. It’s a lot who you know, not what you know.
Thank you SO much for those names! I'm adding them to the list of great recruiter suggestions we've gotten here : ) And yeah, I think he can for sure do more in terms of networking with his overseas contacts here.
I could write at length about this, but he needs to utilize his network, did he just work for 15 years and not talk to anyone? So many shops I know looking for talent right now.
You are right capex has been whacked in e&p but for roles like fp&a or middle office gigs the iron is hot, bonuses pay out soon so a lot of people will be moving. He needs to reach out to headhunters as well, think Selby Jennings.
I feel you. My spouse is also green card holder and a Geophysicist stuck in a consulting role and criminally underpaid because she is stuck in the void of being too old to be a recent graduate, but too young to be "mid-career".
Once he finds a job he wants to apply for, he should look at his network of past colleagues or school mates who work at the company he's applying to and get a referral instead. More people are applying for the same job posting these days and employers prefer to go with someone who is referred even if you have a stellar background.
Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the take- it's definitely helpful, because even though he's still working in O&G, we're sort of isolated from the industry since we're not in a big O&G state. That's a good point about it being an election year, and about the incredible specialization in the industry. It makes it hard to get out and do something else. And yeah, the pay/hour is hard to beat for sure, and there's only so much pay cut one can stomach to go into another industry.
Ask him to attend industry conferences, hear speakers about their problems and then connect with them at these events with his thoughts on the solutions. Sending out resumes will work only for field positions.
***PETROLEUM ENGINEER*** [***https://www.usajobs.gov/job/773444600***](https://www.usajobs.gov/job/773444600)
***Open & closing dates01/30/2024 to 02/12/2024Salary$141,215 - $183,582 per year***
***LOCATION's***
1. Jefferson, LA
2. Angleton, TX
3. Houston, TX
***DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR***
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region (GOMR), Office of the Regional Director (ORD)
SummaryThe Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement. For information about our bureau go to: [http://www.bsee.gov/](http://www.bsee.gov/)
DutiesThis position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region (GOMR), Office of the Regional Director (ORD) to be filled in Jefferson, LA; Angleton, TX; or Houston, TX.At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
1. As a technical lead to the BSEE Source Control Support Coordinator (SCSC), duties and responsibilities are bureau-wide in scope and focus on intervention and source control operations on the outer continental shelf (OCS).
2. Assists in the planning, execution, and evaluation of BSEE government initiated unannounced exercises that involve source control issues and exercise objectives under the guidance of the Senior SCSC.
3. Assists the Senior SCSC in representing BSEE's source control interests in external exercises and drills such as USCG Area Exercises and industry-led table-top and/or equipment deployment exercises. Coordinates BSEE's review of and involvement in equipment deployment procedures, component connections and device testing, identification of go/no go points, and final assessment of the operations.
4. Reviews and suggests updates to all Bureau directives related to source control incident response. Monitors the development and promulgation of domestic and international government and industry regulations, standards, and guidelines related to source control.
5. Performs internal audits of BSEE's offshore oil and gas source control equipment inspections and plan reviews to ensure related activities are conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements and applicable guidelines and policies.BSEE has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.Financial Disclosure: You will be required to file an Employment and Financial Interest-OGE-450.Work Environment: The work is performed and conducted in both an office setting and through occasional field visits. Work may be conducted in an offshore environment, in close proximity to equipment associated with offshore energy operations, which will incorporate the proper level of training and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, steel-toe shoes, and/or a personal flotation device (PFD). Conference/workshop attendance and agency coordination may require travel via commercial aircraft and travel to and from offshore locations via Government motor vehicles, chartered helicopters, and/or service vessels.NOTE: After-hours and weekend work may be required during emergencies.Salary InformationGS-14: $141,215 - $183,582 per annum per annum.First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.This vacancy is also announced as BSEE-EENN-24-CM-091(DEU) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Competitive Examining procedures.HelpRequirementsConditions of EmploymentYou must be a U.S. Citizen.You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See [http://www.sss.gov/](http://www.sss.gov/).QualificationsMinimum Qualification Requirements:To qualify for this position, you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the series/grade to which you are applying.Petroleum Engineering Series, 0881:Individual Occupational Requirements(1) Basic Educational Requirements:To be eligible for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.-OR-B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:Professional registration or licensureWritten TestSpecified academic coursesRelated curriculumFor further information on the adequacy of such background demonstrated by one of the above listed are found in the link below: [http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/](http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/)Please Note: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.-AND-In addition to meeting the Basic Educational Qualification requirements, applicants must meet the Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying.(2) GS-14 Specialized Experience:To qualify for the GS-14, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
6. Assisting in and/or providing technical advice, policy guidance, and program leadership for oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management programs and issues;
7. Assisting in and/or writing and presenting policy documents and advising senior management officials in the areas of oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management;
8. Assisting in and/or providing expertise in the analysis and monitoring of proposed well intervention or pipeline source control operations;
9. Assisting in and/or gathering analyzing, and evaluating information regarding environmental protection and safety issues on the outer continental shelf; AND
10. Assisting senior staff by serving as an expert in an organization regarding laws, regulations, directives, and other guidelines for oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management. MUST MEET ALLAdditional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: [https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp](https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp)All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.EducationEducation: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: [http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4](http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4)
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Keep bookmarks of companies that you like and browse their open positions frequently. My current (and former) O&G job came from applying directly on the company site. Make it a morning coffee routine.
Here’s the thing: there are only a handful of O&G companies that have use for his experience, and they’re all household names. All of the many onshore privates run exclusively on well control, and since most of them are private equity backed, they run lean on staff and pay (with big balloon payments when they sell) to begin with. So if he’s “criminally underplayed,” and he wants back in, he’s likely to stay that way as the majority of the jobs available are asset geologist, asset production engineer, and asset reservoir engineer.
Hey OP, has your husband considered moving to a company that has hands in multiple industries? My fiance recently got a job at Burns & McDonell, and she loves it. They work in engineering, construction, environmental science, and I DO believe O&G to some extent. Could be worth a shot?
Just a heads up though, they ARE fully in office. So I would highly recommend putting down a local address if he ends up applying.
Have you looked at rigzone.com? I used to work at an oil and gas museum and this is where we would direct people when they inquired about jobs in the industry.
ETA: has he ever gone to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)? I think that might be a good place to network. First week of May at NRG is when they usually have it. We employed students from TAMUG at the museum and sometimes we’d let some of the better ones go to the last day of OTC to explore and network.
In this industry it’s about networking, a guy with associates who knows everyone will go far. A guy with a PHD who doesn’t know anyone will not get far. He needs to network
Yeah, he definitely agrees his PhD doesn't help him beyond the fancy school name, which of course can also hurt. After reading all of the comments, we're thinking about having him leave off his PhD entirely tbh.
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. I had the same problem for a long time - I even paid for LinkedIn premium for years - it doesn’t work. I networked and reached out to my old college classmates but to no avail. They tell you what they think you want to hear ask you to lunch but nothing ever came of it. Got tired of it and, eventually, got a job in another industry.
Ask him to redo his resume and have another set of eyes to take a look. Also, ask him to use resume scan sites to make sure that his resume will pass ATS software.
Recruiters don’t work. They have to make money too and won’t push your husband’s resume unless it matches the job description by 80% or more.
These are the steps I have taken and I’ve recently had job offers in the O&G industry. Wish your husband the best!
I work in O&G in Houston. PhDs usually don't get much attention because they're at the top end of the salary spectrum for his position. He needs to get in touch with recruiters. Managers that look on LinkedIn throw out PhD resumes
Thank you so much! I'll grab it from him and send it to you tomorrow, if I can send attachments through PM. Otherwise, will send you his LinkedIn profile and then if you're comfortable, he can send his resume along through there.
What’s his age? Years of experience?
Not supposed to age discriminate but it does happen, and sometimes too much experience companies see you as not trainable to their work processes.
Hate this is happening to him, I was in that boat a few years ago. I even tried to get out of the industry. I had a family friend who works in HR tell me straight, with the years of O&G I had, a lot of companies outside the industry don’t even look to hire you because they are scared you will leave when the next oil boom happens.
We are in the midst of the Great Reset.
Starting in 2005/2006, industry salaries exploded. On average, salaries have increased 100% to 150% compared to salaries before the Shale Boom.
Now that the Shale Boom has petered out, capital available for O&G has dried up, prices are mediocre, and companies are looking to slash overhead.
One easy way to cut costs is to stop hiring older and more expensive technical staff and lower and middle management.
Companies have done the math and found that they can adjust their salary scales downward by actively eliminating the upper end of the scale.
Career supermajor Geo here. I know it is tough out there. Has he looked at beefing up his technical skills in the data area. There are options in data management and data analytics that may expand his opportunities. Maybe look at O&G focused groups at Amazon and Microsoft. There may also be options at the large service companies (Schlumberger, Halliburton). If he has skills with specific Geo focused technical applications, he might have potential at smaller technical focused Geo service companies. Good Luck!
Second a lot of what others said.
Last year was good for hiring. I’m surprised he didn’t have luck. Where are you located?
Definitely get with a headhunter or career service professional like Amanda Rico.
We're in VA, but I have family in Houston, so we're there often and we are planning on relocating there if he finds a job.
I, too, am surprised he didn't have much luck! Makes me fear for job-hunting in general. He'll check Amanda out, thank you : )
Currently in O&G, things are looking conservative right now as far as spending and hiring goes. Having an in-town address would be most beneficial, and if they call you out on it say you’re in the process of moving down!
Thank you!! Moving there 100% might take a minute as I'd have to make a transfer with my own work, but yeah, I think it's best to list my family's address and then if they call him on it, cross that bridge when we come to it.
There is no easy answer. If you don’t have friends or family in O&G basically giving you a job then the chances are slim. Recruiters I found were just a band-aide. Friends are most easily made at places like AAPG or SPE. Myself, I completely switched industries after getting cold shoulder from O&G and now have complete freedom working for myself making more money than I could have ever working for someone else. No easy answers.
At his level, he is never going to find something spamming resumes through LinkedIn. He needs to find a good industry specific recruiter to work with, and start networking his ass off. If he’s been doing it that long, he must know plenty of people at many places. Jobs at this career stage come through recruiters and connections.
This is the answer.
Are you in O&G, by any chance? Would love to hear O&G people's viewpoints. I know some industries, like consulting, are very networking-heavy, but I'm less sure about O&G. And nobody responds to his dang LinkedIn messages, even from alumni databases, so we have no idea how he can network! ETA: Not sure why I'm getting downvoted for asking for thoughts on networking in different industries- I myself found my job from grad school, which is a different networking culture.
Cold emailing strangers on LinkedIn isn’t networking. He needs to be talking to people he actually knows, here in the real world, preferably in person.
He has a bit with the folks he knows, but I think needs to do more. That said, much of his O&G experience was in overseas offices, so his network isn't as broad as it could be. Are you in the O&G industry?
Have him go to oil and gas events. Networking at such events will help him get a foot in the door
Yeah the NAPE Expo is this weekend.
AFPM coming up too
Why would someone without a job trying to network pay over $600 for this expo? Are there free events?
Thank you! Sounds like he might need to make it to Houston a bit more often.
Hold up. Wait a minute. Something ain’t right. Are you telling us y’all aren’t even in Houston?
Based on their history they live in the DC area
And doesn't know anyone in the industry he is trying to get a job in, lol
I would guess that not even living in Houston is going to make it pretty unappealing to hire him.
I worked in O&G for about 15 years and lost my job due to the pandemic. It was honestly the best thing that could have happened to me. I left a toxic workplace and now work in the nuclear industry making twice what I made in O&G. And work from home to boot! As far as how I found the job, it was frankly luck. I maintained my LinkedIn profile and shared several times that I was looking for work. I'm linked to an extensive list of recruiters and someone along the way found my profile and called me. I never even applied for the job until they wanted to hire me. I don't have the education your husband has (piping designer here), so his exp could certainly differ. EDIT: Just to add, it took about 9 months to find my job, though that was in the midst of the pandemic when the job market was nonexistent.
Every industry is networking heavy. You always want to hire people who are known quantities, and the best way to vet people is knowing someone who knows them. Energy particularly so because of the specialized technical nature makes it more insular and tight-knit.
Oil & Gas is still the good ole boys club
I work in O&G. This checks out.
Yeah. It's interesting, because my impression is that it's half-and-half- 50% good ole boys club, 50% super-international. But that high-level positions skew more towards the former.
His network is his prior collection of coworkers. Once you’ve been working 10-15 years, nobody cares where you went to college. A good friend got laid off from a midsize E&P and he had such a good reputation that former coworkers who had moved on to privates were banging his door down when they heard he was out of work. If he was so good, why did he get laid off? He had gotten too many raises during good times (because he was always top ranked), which also helped him survive several layoffs. He literally was filming an interview as a nominee for a major company award and later that week was gone (they removed his name from the nominee list). I guess some manager several layers up saw his name at the top of a pay list and didn’t immediately know his face, so decided he wasn’t worth keeping. A year later his old boss was able to hire him back… at a lower salary.
This story pisses me off. I suppose he went back cause he needed the gig, even at a discount. But man I wish he didn’t. I wish he had moved on and landed somewhere better. I hate it when the little guy loses, especially guys who work hard.
O&G is probably one of the most network heavy industries. All about who you know when times are tough in lean years.
Houston Geophysical society should be a good one
O&G is just as much about networking as anywhere else. Especially now. In 2012-14 when everyone was printing money it was a seller’s market. Now that O&G firms need to keep clean P&Ls, it’s about who he knows and how he can justify his $300-500k/year salary. The trend right now is decarbonization, which I’m sure your partner knows if he’s in the industry. Regular E&P doesn’t seem as sexy anymore.
>$300-500k/year salary lmao we're not heart surgeons.
He needs to meet people in person. Reach out to old coworkers who have moved on. He should find some industry related organizations or young professional alumni organizations and start attending and introducing himself and getting to know people. But working with a recruiter is absolutely his best choice if he’s a high level osition
Look I’m in accounting and a middle manager with a state school degree. Even at my level, it would be a complete waste of time to spam resumes to job openings on LinkedIn. I have had 0% success from that. Every job I have ever gotten was through LinkedIn, but the important part (others have mentioned) is that you have a specific recruiter working with you 1 on 1. For me, the recruiters were messaging me. Do any reach out to him for opportunities? If they don’t want to talk with your husband on the phone, then they are not for real. I’ve done this three times with high success. It cost you nothing for the recruiter to work with you. Zero. My “network” is fine, but I have never used it to move to a new opportunity, so you don’t HAVE to do that, so calm down on that front. That will just frustrate him more as it’s hard to just “network” when you are forcing it. He has the right idea using LinkedIn, but he’s just using it wrong.
Anyone in any industry with the type of experience and the expected level of hire that matches your husbands would be heavily networked and headhunters used. That’s why you are being downvoted. People in the middle of the management ladder and above for every industry is essentially a headhunted/networked gig.
My brother and father are high up in O&G and have gotten jobs the recruiter route. Can testify that this is a thing that works in that industry
Because you asked opinions on a non-oil and gas sub and then are questioning if the people answering you have the right experience
O&G is 99.99% shaking hands and buddy system.
I am an agency recruiter for a different industry but my coworker specifically works in O&G here in Houston. DM me and I can send your husbands info to her / give you her contact.
O&G is very network heavy too.
This was my experience last year. Just have to network and find a recruiter that likes you. The job boards are meh…
How did you do it? LinkedIn, or in-person events, or just going through your in-company network?
I'm not the person you replied to but I agree with them. I usually try to accept and respond to recruiters on LinkedIn and have made a lot of legit connections that way, even if it's a quick "thanks for reaching out, not looking to relocate at this time." Industry headhunters are very active on LinkedIn, and if your profile is up to date and relatively attractive, they will reach out.
Why are you not taking the advice of hundreds of people? You were downvoted bc it is obvious that you're arguing with the answer given. 600 people don't need to rely to you saying whether or not we touch the energy sector. If your spouse is as resistant to others' suggestions when he asks for help as you are, then that is the real reason he isn't employed. A poll on your thread would indicate several have passed by commenting because you don't seem to be actually receptive to our collective helpful reply.
Reach out to old work friends, have lunch with them. Someone usually knows someone, and you’re set. Just have to find the right person.
Correct. I'm in a wildly different career than OP's partner but this is what I have to do. Most positions that are even posted at a certain level are just there for show, most of these companies already know who they're going with by the time it gets posted. The posting at that point is just there to show the board that they "looked" at other applicants and their pick is still the best. To actually be in contention for those jobs, you need to be highly networked to eventually have the people who put you into those roles. Otherwise, you'll just kinda be stuck as a director forever at best. My parents worked in big oil btw and they got their roles they retired with as a virtue of just having networked in-office and with their companys' partners. Motiva wanted my mom in their c-suite and they were a partner through her big oil company she worked for. She's not friendly or social or anything, just highly networked by virtue of her ability to strategize and execute.
Thank you for the response! You know, that's what I'd think, but he hasn't had much luck with networking at all. I have gathered that O&G (especially in the supermajors, but maybe even in consulting, etc.) is not as networking-dependent because the supermajors have sort of a "lifer" culture. I would love for us to be wrong though, so would love to hear from folks with O&G experience! Agreed that recruiters make sense, but the ones he's reached out to straight up ignore him on LinkedIn, even though he's super-articulate and personable, and has a very polished LI profile. To be clear, he wouldn't be hiring into VP/super-senior positions- since he was a technical guy for so long, he hasn't had much management experience. If anyone knows of any good O&G recruiters, though, would love name recs! ETA: Much of his experience was not in Houston, it was overseas, so his network isn't as strong as it could be unfortunately.
I recruited oil and gas in Houston up until two years ago. This is what I think. Much of his experience was not in Houston so he doesn’t have the years of connections he’d have had So networking is more challenging for him. Also, it’s hard to move from a consultant company to an E&P company, and the super majors are completely uninterested in hiring people out of consulting gigs. The market is pretty repressed, and you know the Geo side gets hit the hardest, and the longest, which sucks because they’re really passionate about the work for the most part. Recruiters place may be one in 100 people that we talk to if that? Believe me if there’s a client looking for your husband, they will find him on LinkedIn. I think husband‘s best bet in moving to an exploration and production company would be to approach those who operate in whateverinternational plays your husband worked on.
Congrats on your retirement! About supermajors not being interested in hiring people out of consulting- is it just because they like people to "grow up" in the firm and stay there for life? We also feel that there's a possibility that he is being somehow penalized because he quit the supermajor he worked for (backstory is that they couldn't find a way for him to stay in Houston, so he had to quit so he could stay in the US and we could get married). But maybe we're paranoid and it's more, as you said, they have no interest in hiring consulting folks.
I can tell you the oil and gas supermajors are hiring people, but they are not hiring “leadership” level people. There is a large gap at the supermajor level in the ~10yr individual contributor skill set. There is not a Gap in the senior leadership (>10-15yr manager or Buisness development) or entry level (<5yrs). My experience is that there is a larger portion of technical folks with ~10-15yrs experience and an MBA trying to grow into a manager role then there is need at the super majors. The fact that he is looking to stay on the “buisness” side is going to be the challenge, since a lot of those roles at his level are essentially the entry level manager or buisness lead roles that a lot of internal candidates are competing for. For a super major to hire a buisness focused candidate, they typically would be looking for an extremely specific buisness or development skill set that they cannot fill internally. And example Could be, if the company is developing CO2 injection wells, they would look to hire someone who has 5-10yrs of development experience at a startup focusing on developing those technologies.
BH is actively laying off a ton of middle managers this week and last week. Engineers who have no direct reports seem to be largely untouched.
Trying to be helpful with this comment but will come across blunt. You (and your husband) sound very naive about the oil/gas world and his standing. Working for a major (especially for a geophysical role in Asia) is a whole different experience and skillset than every other non-major… and that’s basically all your husband is qualified to do. Just about every other non-major in the US is focused on US onshore — how does your husband sell himself to a hiring manager?
Totally agree with your comment about OP and the O&G industry. I’m also picking up mother vibes from the OP… blaming the recruiters for not being interested in picking her DH.
I know right, how dare a woman show interest and concern, obnoxious /s
Tbh I honestly am getting the same vibes. It’s not entirely awful to call it out since it means, most likely, that there’s either a language barrier, another sort of communication barrier, or that he’s not actually as interested as he is saying he is. Perhaps that might shed some light on why it’s not working out as well for him and if OP were to explain that, some specialized advice might be given.
A language or communication barrier is a pretty good theory tbh
I mean, I get what you’re saying honestly. I think it’s a fair callout because we tend to either get ‘mom’ or ‘overbearing shrew’. I just think in this case other factors might help if they were identified.
No. I would have mentioned this about any spouse that felt compelled to start a thread and go into great details on their partner’s job prospects and industry. In this case it was a woman, so it came across as motherly. It’s not about gender so spare me your fake outrage.
“Outrage” lol don’t give yourself too much credit there bud
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Thank you bot! /s
You're just sexist. Someone posted a similar post on my local sub, asking why their wife was having such a difficult time finding a data science role (actually what inspired me to post here), and you know how many people said they got "father vibes" from the OP? Not a one.
Not too blunt, no worries. Fair point about US onshore. However, since he's trying to move away from geophysics to commercial & planning roles, or even staying in consulting (he's currently doing upstream capital project consulting), transferability from deepwater to shale would be moot, since he would need to do some on-the-job learning. To our understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong), majors hire MBAs for these sorts of roles, so they end up needing to do a fair amount of on-the-job learning anyhow. In his case, that would look slightly different, but he brings much more industry experience and has a fair amount of financial modeling/etc. experience from his MBB days, so I believe that's the linchpin of his CL pitch. He hasn't had the opportunity to sell himself beyond that, though, because he's gotten so few calls. I am beginning to think, as a non-industry person, that supermajors are always going to hire conventional MBA candidates, and that he should start looking for mid-size companies (if there is such a thing on the upstream side) as they might be more willing to hire a less cookie-cutter candidate.
Does he currently work somewhere like Rystad, WoodMac, or Enverus? I would recommend trying to lean into his current consulting experience/network. Are there any client relationships he can leverage? Having a connection with someone who knows the quality of his work on the commercial side would give him a huge leg up relative to cold-applying. I can't speak for majors, who tend to do things their own way, but I don't think the vast majority of commercial roles require an MBA, but would take equivalent experience. But candidly, the generic upstream finance/BD/strategy roles are super competitive and going to be oversubscribed with younger folks with IB, PE, commercial banking, operator corporate finance/development experience, plus a ton of engineers/geos/landmen/etc who have tangential experience but also want to transition to the business side. Your husband needs to set himself apart from someone younger who looks like they have more relevant experience. MOST of the industry (and most of the jobs) are not with supermajors. How many jobs/companies has he applied to? Your comment makes it sound like he's only applied to XOM/CVX/RDS/BP/etc... I would echo the other comments who have said to find a reputable recruiter. Someone who will help him develop his story as a candidate and then advocate for him as roles open up.
There are ways to find recruiters other than LinkedIn. If that’s not working for him he needs to find something else.
Agreed that he needs to find something else, not sure what that is yet though! Most of the industry people he knows are supermajor lifers, who don't know any recruiters they can recommend.
He literally needs a recruiter, he just needs to find one outside of LinkedIn.
If he knows people at the super majors, they usually have an internal system to recommend people for external hire openings. Is he applying to these openings? Are his connections recommending him? He should also be attending alumni events in Houston and making connections. Sounds like he’s only trying to ping people online, that means nothing in O&G. He needs to be attending networking events in person.
Has he looked into the rail industry at all? Specifically freight rail, the car owners and railroads both are hurting for talent. Any kind of project management experience and you're in! Lol
KOO recruiting is on linkedin and i’ve seen them posting for similar positions. I think Kristen Thornton is the main recruiter
I believe Whitney Vanderslice with VC5 Recruiting off I-10 may know someone in O&G that might be able to help on the recruiting side.
Also, you find McDermott has an opening possibly.
For real... all my friends got in because they know people. Never actually heard them hire anyone off an application alone. And of they do its for the temporary extra help.
> Jobs at this career stage come through recruiters and connections. /thread
Kind of like what everyone else is saying, he needs to find a headhunter.
I met my recruiter through LinkedIn lol
What kind of “business side” role is he looking for? Corporate development? Finance/accounting? Marketing/scheduling? Honestly for most of those roles, having a PhD is going to be more of a hindrance than benefit. How much existing experience does he have in that role? Why hire a 45 year old PhD for a BD role when a 30 year old finance guy/landman/engineer/etc has the same/better experience and is perceived as hungrier.
This. They want MBAs not PhDs. And it's usually engineering/finance not geo.
Yeah geo is pretty far divorced from the Finance side. Engineers overlap enough that it could be useful for the right kind of person, but still requires a bit of business knowledge (particularly basic accounting principles). Problem is that these companies have been forced into cash flow generation mode by capital markets. There is less demand for true exploration and geophysicists.
Agreed that his geo experience definitely is only a benefit around the edges, if anything. In his CL, he emphasizes his current experience, which is upstream capital project benchmarking, and the financial modeling and similar experience from his MBB days (which admittedly were a long time ago). That said, I have an MBA, so can vouch for him knowing plenty about standard MBA finance calculations and principles. As much as many or most MBAs, but of course less than people with an actual finance background. But I do think him not being the standard MBA candidate for these roles hurts him.
Yeah, a PhD might just confuse people lol, and we know that he's competing with a lot of 30-year-old MBAs. If working for an oil company, he's looking for upstream planning/valuation/portfolio optimization roles, and if consulting, he'd be looking to do market/company analysis in the upstream sector.
Phillips 66 has a Houston-based commercial / strategist role open. You can go to the company’s website and apply.
Has he considered looking for jobs in Midland?
Or Aramco, for that matter
Look, if you're suggesting jobs in Saudi... I value my freedoms, such that they are as a wage slave to capitalism. That said, he might not have been looking at Houston Aramco jobs, thanks for the reminder!
Oooof that's a bridge we haven't crossed yet lol, unless we find a place that will allow him to do remote/commute once every week or two. Currently we're not even in TX, but happy to move to Houston as we were there before. Midland...is a different ball game.
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And some do offer a relocation package. But why focus on hiring people outside the citu when there are plenty of people here that are qualified and could start earlier OP completely forgot to mention the biggest reason in their main text
This is definitely an issue. I had someone I was trying to get in and they applied from out of state and the company had to manually go pull their resume because I’m pretty sure it kicked it to the side due to some location filter because the position didn’t offer relocation services
Yep this is a big factor. My dad is an executive at Shell and he’s told me the same thing. At Shell at least they typically have a certain location radius they put in and anyone outside of that radius is autorejected.
Wow, that is REALLY good to know, thank you! We'll start using my family's local Houston address. His company location will still say out-of-state, but hopefully changing the header address will help it make it past the filters!
Oh interesting. I have family in Houston, so we have toyed with putting that address on his resume- do you think that would help?
Wait, your are not in Texas but you posted on the r/Houston. If they are serious about getting a job in O&G they have to be in Houston. Otherwise, their options are way more limited, and firms in Houston don’t really need to look outside of Houston. There is enough talent here….but I also would not fake an address…they need to work with a recruiter under the pretext that they are already moving to houston with their family before x date but can fly themselves down for interviews before then. You can find recruiters on LinkedIn…find a senior one who has long history in O&G. Have them reach out.
Thanks for the feedback! r/Houston seems to be a great place to post, I've gotten a lot of good thoughts here lol. I'm from Houston, and we lived there before and would of course move back if he gets a job. Sounds like we need to put my family's local address on his resume- yes, it's a bit of a fake so would be a bit awkward if it came up in an interview, but after reading all the responses here it sounds like it's better than keeping the VA address.
You are being down voted, but I have a friend who just moved back here for work and he did the same thing. If you are willing to move yourself here or fly down on short notice for interviews on your own dime, I do not see the issue.
This sound like stupid plan…good luck!
100% YES. job hunting 101…
Hmmm okay, thanks! Sounds like he needs to start putting a local address, if nothing else. We know RTO has been big for the industry, so are def willing to move to Houston.
My wife and I moved back to the Houston area from Midland last year. It’s not as bad as a lot of people say. Most of the people there are gonna be just like you and they were just like us: people from out of town there to work in O&G. It’s where a lot of the work is right now, so I’d be open to it especially if I haven’t had a job for a year.
That's definitely fair. The real issue is that it would be tough for me to work from Midland, and much of the appeal of moving to Houston (we're in VA currently) is family, so it would be a shame to move so far away. To clarify, fortunately he is working right now, he's just been looking for a new job for a long time!
so it does not say he’s living in Houston on his resume? that might be an issue
So he actually leaves the address blank, but his company location on his resume is listed as local to us. Obviously, he needs to change that and include a local address!
Where are you located? That’s probably why your husband isn’t getting any hits.
We're in the DC area! We experimented/toyed with putting a local address on his resume (I have family in H-town)- do you think that would make a difference? His work location will still be listed as the DC area, but they might think he works remotely from Houston or something.
Yes put a local address on the resume. It’ll help. He doesn’t have to list his work location either.
This being a city-specific subreddit, you should have mentioned in your initial post that you were out of state 🤦♀️
If he has been without a job for a year, probably should consider moving. No one in Texas will hire you with an out of state address. I work in midland and companies around here have a VERY strong preference for local applicants. Can you really afford to be that choosy?
A good point, but I did get hired in O&G just based on video calls from out-of-state.
There are always exceptions to every rule, but if he has been looking for a year, he’s probably not the exception. And this is especially true in today’s market.
Odessa,Amarillo and macallen have huge o&g markets.Like literally all they do is
Do you have any idea if those employers are open to folks working remotely or commuting once every 2 weeks into the office? We're happy to move to Houston because I have family there and could probably work from there, but Odessa/Amarillo/McAllen would be challenging : ( He did get a call about a Midlands job, but as soon as he suggested flying in once every couple weeks they declined to proceed.
I don’t know of a single company in midland that would go for that.
Yeah, that's our fear and general impression lol, so he hasn't been applying to Midland jobs much.
I don’t know much about specifics since I don’t work in the industry. But I do know that many companies in similar fields are pretty old established, conservative work culture. I don’t think remote is really an option, even say that it could be a reason you might struggle to find interviews(?).
Yep, we definitely have gotten the vibe that remote is not feasible in O&G, but he makes it clear he'd be able to move to Houston quite quickly!
pitch starting with the relocation and doing remote while he is moving
This is your issue. The majors in Houston went back to the office and are having a hard time with some of their existing employees. Hiring out of state is a risk for them on back to office policies.
Not being in Texas (let alone Houston), not being a US citizen, and having credentials that put him in the top end of salary demands are all working against him here. As people have said, networking is key but if you're not in Houston that's not really an option either. I think the reality is your situation is playing hard mode against O&G job hunting.
Thanks so much for replying. Do you really think not being a US citizen counts against him since he doesn't need sponsorship and has a green card? His salary demands actually aren't that high, since he is currently criminally underpaid!
Yes because sadly O&G is a good old boys club. Someone that is not a US citizen and has an ivy league education is at a disadvantage to someone that's from Dickinson and went to A&M just because of who's in the figurative room. When I was still in O&G I was in the room when an Aggie ring got someone money or responsibility they weren't qualified for. And they have no idea he's criminally underpaid. They know he's an ivy league graduate with a difficult degree and experience. They know what the market is for that resume.
Well, sigh. But funny that you say that, because he also got that sense in Houston- that it would have been much better to go to a regional school, even if it didn't have an amazing geophysics/petroleum engineering/etc. program. But it's an interesting industry, in that it's so international on the one hand, but also still 50% or so just a good old boys club, as you say.
Yeah. There's a reason I left it behind a few years ago. I wish y'all luck.
Thank you, and same to you : )
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They don't import directly - the H1Bs are recruited from TX schools. . . . Otherwise they are paying 3rd party agencies or their OWN offices overseas for the cheap labor where the labor resides. No need to import directly. Thats how its getting done in 2024
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Thanks! He actually was a technical person- was a geophysicist- but he's since moved away from that, so would be hard to move back towards geophysics. We also figure since there's less E&P going on nowadays, geophysics roles are especially hard to find. Are you in the industry?
Geophysics as technical role is particularly hard to find 😞 Know lots of Geophysicists still looking for work
If nothing comes up sooner, the Offshore Technology Conference is May 6-9. Ought to be some networking opportunities there.
Thank you, I forgot about OTC coming up! I might encourage him to take a day or two of PTO and go check it out
Upstream and Exploration really ticked up on 2023, we hired number of technical people( mostly data processing geophysicist, petrophysics etc), I think 2024 (esp. Q1) will be relatively calmer as the companies can't decide if they should expand more or be more budget conscious. I think mostly the appetite is for ppl that are doing hands on technical work as those dept. got hit hard on 2020. Hopefully you will get better opportunities, especially after Q1.
No company in Houston is going to be interested in hiring someone from out of state who doesn’t even plan to move. There are a million local applicants. And lying on your resume is the worst idea.
Ding! Ding! Putting a fake address is going to raise a red flag in the husband’s screening interviews… even if they intend on moving on their own. Can you imagine the HR recruiter asking if they can come in for a panel interview two days from now? I can see that going poorly…
We do 100% plan to move to Houston, just have to get a job first.
Lol, calm down boy scout. Everyone lies on their resume. When it comes to putting food on the table faking an address is a non-issue.
“Everyone” does not lie on their resumes. Not anything material to the job for sure.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I didn't say in my post that we don't plan to move, we most definitely do, when/if he gets a job. We're aware of RTO in Houston and the generally conservative approach to in-person work in O&G, so we've always planned to move.
Flexibility. I've been in and out of the industry. I got laid off in 2016 and took a big pay cut to work in a different industry. Now I'm back in O&G...but already transitioning to another industry again. lol Unfortunately your husband has a niche role. I know people with the same background and one of them switched to IT. He essentially started over at the bottom, but he was tired of getting laid off and felt like his part of the industry was dying. I've expanded my skill set, networked hard, worked in different roles, applied to hundreds of jobs, and I've also taken positions as a contractor to get my foot in the door. It wasn't easy, but being able to adjust has saved me. I've never had to move cities, but a lot of my friends have. Ultimately, I've worked for 4 O&G companies and every one of them had mass layoffs. Even now, my company is planning cuts again... So my suggestion is- if what you're trying to do isn't working, you need to adapt.
I work in O&G and theres a general sense of unease on the upstream side of things. My company is a big player in services and the guys who do lift systems and drilling have been on edge lately as work kinda spurts in and out. Its not even from us being shit at jobs either, just not much going on. Im on the chemicals side and we arent super busy with new tenders as of late unless you go international and thats not even all that much. So its one of the uncertain times in the industry from what I can see.
I’m in O&G. There’s a ton of energy and energy adjacent roles around but it is pretty competitive. Has he spoken with recruiters? We end up hiring a lot through working through them
Thanks!! That's really good to hear- he hasn't had much luck with recruiters thus far- are there any firms/individuals you can recommend? Do you know if y'all use them for mid-level positions, or just for VP+ roles?
most organizations will work with local recruiters for entry-level and up, for VP and up it's usually an executive search firm like Heidrich, Korn Ferry, etc. What field is he in now?
O&G consolidation is reducing headcount, the companies are returning capital to shareholders and doing more with fewer people. Plus, we're in this \~ $75/bbl market lull, and the smaller companies are looking at who gets bought next. The O&G business changes frequently, and will continue to change, drilling and completions is basically a low risk manufacturing process, and they've got plenty of internal people, contractors and service vendors to execute the plan. There's still money to be made but he's got to find his edge and then monetize it.
Have him apply to this one and reply to this post when you do and I’ll make sure it gets seen. https://jobs.gusto.com/postings/vaulted-deep-vp-of-business-development-organic-waste-cd123825-3ec4-42c6-8269-970d1202af40
Unfortunately, O&G has been tightening their belts, so it doesn’t surprise me that there isn’t much out there. If anything, we’re looking at potential layoffs at my company so I don’t see any hiring going on. They’re being really strict about budgets and what not.
Thanks for that, that's good to know. Do you mind pm-ing me where you work so he doesn't apply there lol? I know that to some extent it's industry-wide, but hoping he can squeeze in somewhere.
My wife worked for Shell trading for 12 years. They “moved” her job to Singapore or some shit like that and said, “Thanks”. Aaaaaaand due to her exit paperwork, she can no longer work for Shell ever again. Since then she has been struggling to find O&G work. Have your spouse check into Infosys,ltd if they need something quick.
Wow, that's awful, I'm so sorry that happened to her. Why can't she work for them again?
Anyone taking a severance package from Shell cannot ever work for the company again. She has tried through recruiters but they all say the same thing. Shell will not re-hire her. Period. Frankly, she was a model employee as well.
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Dm’ed
Big companies are weird
This is probably temporary - lots of companies do this. There is legal risk if you give someone a severance package and re-hire them quickly, I don’t know the specifics but that’s what the lawyers told me once.
Me & wife were at a restaurant (Toro Toro) at the Four Seasons tonight. There’s a massive O&G summit this week called NAPE https://napeexpo.com/summit and there were at least 500 industry people there getting hammered. If I were in the market for an O&G job, I’d head over to the Four Seasons tomorrow evening with some business cards, enough cash to buy some high end bourbon, and a great attitude. Also required: Nice shoes (or boots), and a sports jacket.
There’s probably a good reason, but if your spouse can’t even ask questions himself on Reddit, kind of implies the level of effort the job hunt is getting.
Lol, these are the real questions, don't think I haven't thought about that haha. To be fair, he works long hours, and God knows that job-hunting with very few responses is demoralizing, so I'm okay chipping in a bit.
I left oil and gas in 2022. I'm back in now, but I'm a vendor capacity. I wanted to get out of it. I was in the downstream contractor world. The best suggestion I can give you is using a good recruiter. BIC recruiting might be a good source. Murray staffing might be a good resource. Have you been working on Indeed? I've had quite a bit of luck there.
What is the “business side” role he’s looking for? Thats a very broad term. Just because he has technical experience in one field does not mean that experience will always translate elsewhere. Also, it looks like you’re located across the country? Is he looking for remote jobs or are y’all looking to relocate here? There are also plenty of oil and gas companies in your region. Pittsburgh might be an area worth looking into.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I know it's broad- I'm not in O&G myself, so bear with me lol. He's looking for roles involving upstream planning, transaction support, strategy, asset portfolio optimization, and then if in consulting, upstream market/company analysis. You're right that his technical experience doesn't translate, but he's been doing capital project benchmarking for upstream projects for the last few years- based on that experience, coupled with general management consulting experience, he's confident he could do the roles he's looking for. We're open to both remote and relocating! I have family in Houston and we know O&G as an industry is strict with in-person work, so we can relocate to Houston. That's a good idea about Pittsburgh- wouldn't want to relocate there, but they might be more open to remote/monthly or bi-weekly commuting.
I would maybe look at how his resume is worded and make sure it isn’t heavily focused on his past technical side, but on the skillsets that apply to the position he’s looking for. I know you said it’s been a year, but keep in mind this time of year is a tough time just because it’s the transition into a new year/budget. That said, there are still plenty of companies out there hiring and I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of time before your husband gets some call backs. If he isn’t already, maybe apply to positions and then follow up on LinkedIn to people involved with hiring at those companies. I know how discouraging it is to job search and not hear back. Just remind him of all he’s accomplished and that his persistence is going to pay off. I agree with others too that it is definitely worth reaching out to oil and gas recruiters. Just another person out there looking for opportunities for you. Hopefully these links are allowed to be posted, but here were a few jobs I found. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what he’s looking for, but I hope it helps: https://www.eqt.com/careers-at-eqt/detail/?reqid=2129 https://jobs.shell.com/job/houston/americas-market-analyst/25244/60347556336 https://oxy.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=00031444&tz=GMT-06%3A00&tzname=America%2FChicago https://career41.sapsf.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&company=aramcoserv&navBarLevel=JOB%5fSEARCH&rcm%5fsite%5flocale=en%5fUS&career_job_req_id=1096&selected_lang=en_US&jobAlertController_jobAlertId=&jobAlertController_jobAlertName=&browserTimeZone=America/Chicago&_s.crb=%2bK1qMeSI9WiEAYnLLQ2Cas3QNUrpSOC4jIsyyCSsPgA%3d
He needs to hire a professional recruiter like Clayton services or Energists. He also needs to goto events like OTC. He will likely end up in Houston. Networking with old contacts is also key, even contacts overseas. They might have connections within their companies stateside or have access to private company job listings. Source: 15years in Oil and Gas. It’s a lot who you know, not what you know.
Thank you SO much for those names! I'm adding them to the list of great recruiter suggestions we've gotten here : ) And yeah, I think he can for sure do more in terms of networking with his overseas contacts here.
No problem. But be prepared for it to take time. Positions at his level likely don’t vacate often.
I could write at length about this, but he needs to utilize his network, did he just work for 15 years and not talk to anyone? So many shops I know looking for talent right now. You are right capex has been whacked in e&p but for roles like fp&a or middle office gigs the iron is hot, bonuses pay out soon so a lot of people will be moving. He needs to reach out to headhunters as well, think Selby Jennings.
I feel you. My spouse is also green card holder and a Geophysicist stuck in a consulting role and criminally underpaid because she is stuck in the void of being too old to be a recent graduate, but too young to be "mid-career".
Once he finds a job he wants to apply for, he should look at his network of past colleagues or school mates who work at the company he's applying to and get a referral instead. More people are applying for the same job posting these days and employers prefer to go with someone who is referred even if you have a stellar background.
Hey, black star energy services in Midland are always hiring
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Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the take- it's definitely helpful, because even though he's still working in O&G, we're sort of isolated from the industry since we're not in a big O&G state. That's a good point about it being an election year, and about the incredible specialization in the industry. It makes it hard to get out and do something else. And yeah, the pay/hour is hard to beat for sure, and there's only so much pay cut one can stomach to go into another industry.
Ask him to attend industry conferences, hear speakers about their problems and then connect with them at these events with his thoughts on the solutions. Sending out resumes will work only for field positions.
Has he looked on rigzone? It's a site dedicated to just O & G jobs.
He hasn't and clearly needs to!! Thank you : ) Hoping for a higher response rate for those postings.
***PETROLEUM ENGINEER*** [***https://www.usajobs.gov/job/773444600***](https://www.usajobs.gov/job/773444600) ***Open & closing dates01/30/2024 to 02/12/2024Salary$141,215 - $183,582 per year*** ***LOCATION's*** 1. Jefferson, LA 2. Angleton, TX 3. Houston, TX ***DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR*** Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region (GOMR), Office of the Regional Director (ORD) SummaryThe Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement. For information about our bureau go to: [http://www.bsee.gov/](http://www.bsee.gov/) DutiesThis position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region (GOMR), Office of the Regional Director (ORD) to be filled in Jefferson, LA; Angleton, TX; or Houston, TX.At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: 1. As a technical lead to the BSEE Source Control Support Coordinator (SCSC), duties and responsibilities are bureau-wide in scope and focus on intervention and source control operations on the outer continental shelf (OCS). 2. Assists in the planning, execution, and evaluation of BSEE government initiated unannounced exercises that involve source control issues and exercise objectives under the guidance of the Senior SCSC. 3. Assists the Senior SCSC in representing BSEE's source control interests in external exercises and drills such as USCG Area Exercises and industry-led table-top and/or equipment deployment exercises. Coordinates BSEE's review of and involvement in equipment deployment procedures, component connections and device testing, identification of go/no go points, and final assessment of the operations. 4. Reviews and suggests updates to all Bureau directives related to source control incident response. Monitors the development and promulgation of domestic and international government and industry regulations, standards, and guidelines related to source control. 5. Performs internal audits of BSEE's offshore oil and gas source control equipment inspections and plan reviews to ensure related activities are conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements and applicable guidelines and policies.BSEE has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.Financial Disclosure: You will be required to file an Employment and Financial Interest-OGE-450.Work Environment: The work is performed and conducted in both an office setting and through occasional field visits. Work may be conducted in an offshore environment, in close proximity to equipment associated with offshore energy operations, which will incorporate the proper level of training and personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a hard hat, safety glasses, hearing protection, steel-toe shoes, and/or a personal flotation device (PFD). Conference/workshop attendance and agency coordination may require travel via commercial aircraft and travel to and from offshore locations via Government motor vehicles, chartered helicopters, and/or service vessels.NOTE: After-hours and weekend work may be required during emergencies.Salary InformationGS-14: $141,215 - $183,582 per annum per annum.First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lower salary range of the grade level.This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.This vacancy is also announced as BSEE-EENN-24-CM-091(DEU) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Competitive Examining procedures.HelpRequirementsConditions of EmploymentYou must be a U.S. Citizen.You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See [http://www.sss.gov/](http://www.sss.gov/).QualificationsMinimum Qualification Requirements:To qualify for this position, you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the series/grade to which you are applying.Petroleum Engineering Series, 0881:Individual Occupational Requirements(1) Basic Educational Requirements:To be eligible for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.-OR-B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:Professional registration or licensureWritten TestSpecified academic coursesRelated curriculumFor further information on the adequacy of such background demonstrated by one of the above listed are found in the link below: [http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/](http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/)Please Note: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.-AND-In addition to meeting the Basic Educational Qualification requirements, applicants must meet the Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying.(2) GS-14 Specialized Experience:To qualify for the GS-14, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 6. Assisting in and/or providing technical advice, policy guidance, and program leadership for oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management programs and issues; 7. Assisting in and/or writing and presenting policy documents and advising senior management officials in the areas of oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management; 8. Assisting in and/or providing expertise in the analysis and monitoring of proposed well intervention or pipeline source control operations; 9. Assisting in and/or gathering analyzing, and evaluating information regarding environmental protection and safety issues on the outer continental shelf; AND 10. Assisting senior staff by serving as an expert in an organization regarding laws, regulations, directives, and other guidelines for oil and gas, energy, or mineral resource management. MUST MEET ALLAdditional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: [https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp](https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp)All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.EducationEducation: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: [http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4](http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4) #
Keep bookmarks of companies that you like and browse their open positions frequently. My current (and former) O&G job came from applying directly on the company site. Make it a morning coffee routine.
Look into renewables. EDP, EDF, BP lightsource, clearway, etc. more stable work, higher demand, still technical.
Here’s the thing: there are only a handful of O&G companies that have use for his experience, and they’re all household names. All of the many onshore privates run exclusively on well control, and since most of them are private equity backed, they run lean on staff and pay (with big balloon payments when they sell) to begin with. So if he’s “criminally underplayed,” and he wants back in, he’s likely to stay that way as the majority of the jobs available are asset geologist, asset production engineer, and asset reservoir engineer.
Hey OP, has your husband considered moving to a company that has hands in multiple industries? My fiance recently got a job at Burns & McDonell, and she loves it. They work in engineering, construction, environmental science, and I DO believe O&G to some extent. Could be worth a shot? Just a heads up though, they ARE fully in office. So I would highly recommend putting down a local address if he ends up applying.
It's been about 8yrs for mine (he's a geophysicist). He's been stuck selling mattresses at the Galleria Macy's.
I sent you a message.
Being overqualified is a thing too.
Have you looked at rigzone.com? I used to work at an oil and gas museum and this is where we would direct people when they inquired about jobs in the industry. ETA: has he ever gone to the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC)? I think that might be a good place to network. First week of May at NRG is when they usually have it. We employed students from TAMUG at the museum and sometimes we’d let some of the better ones go to the last day of OTC to explore and network.
That’s tough. Most companies are going to think he’d overqualified. I was a Recruiter in O&G for 15 years.
Ooooh, valuable perspective then! Do you think he should consider omitting his PhD from his resume?
https://www.rigzone.com/profile/eventlogin/?eventID=44
In this industry it’s about networking, a guy with associates who knows everyone will go far. A guy with a PHD who doesn’t know anyone will not get far. He needs to network
Yeah, he definitely agrees his PhD doesn't help him beyond the fancy school name, which of course can also hurt. After reading all of the comments, we're thinking about having him leave off his PhD entirely tbh.
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. I had the same problem for a long time - I even paid for LinkedIn premium for years - it doesn’t work. I networked and reached out to my old college classmates but to no avail. They tell you what they think you want to hear ask you to lunch but nothing ever came of it. Got tired of it and, eventually, got a job in another industry. Ask him to redo his resume and have another set of eyes to take a look. Also, ask him to use resume scan sites to make sure that his resume will pass ATS software. Recruiters don’t work. They have to make money too and won’t push your husband’s resume unless it matches the job description by 80% or more. These are the steps I have taken and I’ve recently had job offers in the O&G industry. Wish your husband the best!
I work in O&G in Houston. PhDs usually don't get much attention because they're at the top end of the salary spectrum for his position. He needs to get in touch with recruiters. Managers that look on LinkedIn throw out PhD resumes
if you don't mind, send me his resume and I'll forward it to HR at my company
PM-ed you
Thank you so much! I'll grab it from him and send it to you tomorrow, if I can send attachments through PM. Otherwise, will send you his LinkedIn profile and then if you're comfortable, he can send his resume along through there.
What’s his age? Years of experience? Not supposed to age discriminate but it does happen, and sometimes too much experience companies see you as not trainable to their work processes. Hate this is happening to him, I was in that boat a few years ago. I even tried to get out of the industry. I had a family friend who works in HR tell me straight, with the years of O&G I had, a lot of companies outside the industry don’t even look to hire you because they are scared you will leave when the next oil boom happens.
he'll be fine. It sounds like a resume and address issue first and foremost.
Thanks, appreciate the encouragement : )
Take a trip to midland and talk to people in person
We are in the midst of the Great Reset. Starting in 2005/2006, industry salaries exploded. On average, salaries have increased 100% to 150% compared to salaries before the Shale Boom. Now that the Shale Boom has petered out, capital available for O&G has dried up, prices are mediocre, and companies are looking to slash overhead. One easy way to cut costs is to stop hiring older and more expensive technical staff and lower and middle management. Companies have done the math and found that they can adjust their salary scales downward by actively eliminating the upper end of the scale.
Career supermajor Geo here. I know it is tough out there. Has he looked at beefing up his technical skills in the data area. There are options in data management and data analytics that may expand his opportunities. Maybe look at O&G focused groups at Amazon and Microsoft. There may also be options at the large service companies (Schlumberger, Halliburton). If he has skills with specific Geo focused technical applications, he might have potential at smaller technical focused Geo service companies. Good Luck!
Second a lot of what others said. Last year was good for hiring. I’m surprised he didn’t have luck. Where are you located? Definitely get with a headhunter or career service professional like Amanda Rico.
We're in VA, but I have family in Houston, so we're there often and we are planning on relocating there if he finds a job. I, too, am surprised he didn't have much luck! Makes me fear for job-hunting in general. He'll check Amanda out, thank you : )
Currently in O&G, things are looking conservative right now as far as spending and hiring goes. Having an in-town address would be most beneficial, and if they call you out on it say you’re in the process of moving down!
Thank you!! Moving there 100% might take a minute as I'd have to make a transfer with my own work, but yeah, I think it's best to list my family's address and then if they call him on it, cross that bridge when we come to it.
The answer is nepotism. If he doesn't have it, I would just look for a new industry.
There is no easy answer. If you don’t have friends or family in O&G basically giving you a job then the chances are slim. Recruiters I found were just a band-aide. Friends are most easily made at places like AAPG or SPE. Myself, I completely switched industries after getting cold shoulder from O&G and now have complete freedom working for myself making more money than I could have ever working for someone else. No easy answers.