Resume Content for Oil and Gas Professionals - What Makes the Cut?

This is the second of a series on effective resume preparation by SCA's upstream oil and gas recruiter, Mark Connor. This and other timely articles pertinent to upstream professionals may be found in the latest issue of SCA's 4th Qtr GeoLOGIC newsletter. 

Mark Connor

Resumes have evolved significantly over the past 20 years, due in large part to the arrival of the Computer Age and, more recently, the social media revolution. Gone are the days when a resume would be printed on parchment quality paper and “snail mailed” to a prospective employer. In today’s job market, a resume is a digital document, formatted as a Word or .pdf file and attached to a “cover letter” email. In all probability, the resume itself will soon be a thing of the past as companies begin to explore the potential of “Profile Pages” offered by websites such as Linkedin, and even video resumes, giving applicants a chance to sell themselves and their backgrounds in a short video clip.

But, for the time being, the resume still has its place in the hiring process and the information it contains needs to be more concise and accessible than ever before. As discussed in our previous article, it is important to keep in mind that your resume is likely to be screened by several people before any interview is arranged, so information should a resume include?

Traditionally, a resume can contain information that is unnecessary and even detrimental to your chances of being selected for interview. Information such as marital status, names and ages of your children, religious or political groups, your hobbies or even the current status of your health are facts that you may feel proud to disclose, but are of little interest to a Recruiter trying to determine your technical abilities. Personal statements can also be a minefield – your own opinion regarding your work ethic, mentioning the fact you always give 110% and that you are “equally capable of working alone or as part of a team” does little to separate you from other applicants making the same claims. For consulting positions in the Geology, Geophysics and Reservoir Engineering community, there are only three key pieces of information that Recruiters are looking for:

•  What are your areas of specialization with your technical discipline?
• What areas of the world have you worked?
• What software are you capable of operating

When companies request a consultant, they typically have a specific problem that needs to be resolved. It is likely to be project specific and have defined technical deliverables with the tasks performed on whichever software the company uses. No learning curves, no training - Hiring Managers need a fully qualified and uniquely experienced expert to “hit the ground running." Managers approach specialist consulting companies to identify the right person because they know that the Consultant will be screened, vetted, interviewed, and referenced before a resume even reaches the hiring managers desk.

A good resume containing the right information will allow a Recruiter (and, later, a Hiring Manager) to identify your suitability for a specific assignment almost immediately, so focus as much of your resume as you can on the three key areas above. Keep it factual, objective and detailed enough to supply sufficient evidence that you can provide the solution to the company's problem.  Recruiters want to place consultants just as much as consultants want to be placed, so make sure the information is easy to access and Recruiters and Hiring Managers will be able to match you to your next consulting assignment time and time again. 

The Ten Habits of Highly Successful Oil Finders

by Dan Tearpock and Bob Shoup

SCA's CEO Dan Tearpock is fond of saying that it is highly trained people, not workstations, who find oil and gas. But what specific knowledge and habits do those successful oil finders possess?  Bob Shoup, who recently joined SCA's Consulting Division, has put together a list of the Ten Habits of Highly Successful Oil Finders.  We'll be going into more in-depth discussions of the "Habits" over the next few months, but in the meantime, here is the full list to start your wheels turning. After you have a look, please return to the following questions:

If you had to choose one as being more important, which would it be and why?

Can you recall a real life situation where any of these habits informed a business-critical decision?

The Ten Habits of Highly Successful Oil Finders 

Successful Oil Finders: 

1. Ensure that their interpretations are geologically and geometrically valid in three dimensions. 

2. Have a strong background in geology, and a thorough knowledge of the tectonic setting and depositional environments for the area in which they are working. 

3. Plan their time and work in order to ensure accurate interpretations and maps. 

4. Use all of the data to ensure that they have a reasonable and accurate subsurface interpretation. 

5. Ensure that their seismic and well correlations are accurate and loop-tied. 

6. Know which methods, tools, and techniques are needed to define and understand the subsurface.

7. Map all relevant geological surfaces. 

8. Map multiple horizons to develop reasonably correct, three-dimensional interpretations.

9. Document their work. 

10. Seek out mentors and experienced individuals with knowledge and expertise; and serve as mentors to those seeking experience. 

Update 3/8/13 - for more thoughts on the Ten Habits, see our recent follow-up blog post. 

The Great Crew Change in the Oil and Gas Industry

The following post is taken from an article by Subsurface Consultants & Associates' Senior V.P. of Operations, Hal Miller. It was originally published in The Correlator, a publication of the Division of Professional Affairs of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and later in SCA's GeoLOGIC Q3 2011 newsletter.

With recent reports that the economy is back on the upswing, how do you see that affecting both the availability of experienced, senior-level geoscientists and the demand for their consulting services?

How is your business preparing for the Great Crew Change?

Changing Crews in the Middle of the Global Recession
By Hal Miller

The oil and gas industry has been fretting about the imminent loss of oil finding and producing talent for years now. The generally acknowledged passage of the baby boom demographic bubble, those of us born from 1945 to 1964, into the retirement window is impacting all industries but is especially exaggerated in the oil and gas business due to slow hiring in the 1990s. The resulting dearth of mid-career, up-and-comers available to replace the retiring management teams and to ease the loss of oil finding experience is a continuing source of conversation and concern. Geoscience and engineering consulting service providers are well positioned to be a “finger-on-the-pulse” of the demand for and supply of these skills. Indications are that the current environment has softened the blow that could have occurred had the mass exodus of experience actually occurred as predicted.

Many geoscientists who have recently taken advantage of retirement opportunities remain in the workforce, some entering the consulting ranks for the first time. One could argue that in some respects the global recession came at a good time, as the dramatic shrinkage of retirement accounts has caused many geoscientists to alter or postpone their retirement plans. The reality of full or even semi-retirement at age 55 or 60 does not seem like such a good idea for many when there is a reasonable probability that their suddenly diminished retirement nest-egg will need to last for another 25 years or more. Perhaps those of us now facing the prospect of having to work a little longer should have saved (or lived) a little harder, but from an industry perspective this appears to be a good thing. Beyond the revised retirement plan factor, most geoscientists with oil finding in their blood are not happy sitting on the sidelines for long, especially when the demand for their skills and experience remains reasonably strong. Not as strong as it was in 2006 perhaps but companies are still hiring more than firing. Even the demand for entry level staff appears to continue at a moderate pace; hopefully a sign that the industry and academia are finally approaching the steady state equilibrium that allows geoscience departments to provide an optimal pool of new grads to supply the industry’s needs. At the very least it appears that employment prospects for oil and gas geoscientists are more optimistic than for the US national workforce in general.

In the consulting business, demand for senior geoscientists with specific skills and geographic experience to supplement in-house teams and mentor new employees has remained steady. The positive oil price environment is attracting large amounts of investment funding from within and outside the US, stimulating development of many new start ups and expansion of existing players, all in need of experienced staff. Seasoned consultants who have seen the globe and know where and where not to find hydrocarbons fit nicely into roles with these companies. Many of the majors and large independents significantly reduced or eliminated their consulting staff during 2009-2010 while attempting to preserve and reallocate their internal geoscience resources. The continuing regulatory uncertainties surrounding deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in many deepwater exploration teams being sidelined or redirected. But indications are surfacing of resurgence in 2011 as even large companies find the need to plug gaps in their skill base, caused in many cases buy ongoing retirements and repatriations. Additionally, there are clear indications of growth in many non-US companies trying to build their national staff organizations as governments around the world encourage the search for and securing of energy resources for their growing economies (a novel concept!). These companies often have experienced staff concentrated in the management ranks, and an abundance of bright and capable geoscientists in the earlier stages of their careers needing senior, hands-on geoscience consultants for technical guidance and mentoring.

It also appears that the unconventional revolution is having a significant impact on geoscience careers. As advances in horizontal drilling and multi-stage frac technology enhance our ability to make reservoirs out of what were once seals, virtually every source rock in basins around the world is now a candidate for exploration and development. Success has impacted the supply and suppressed the price on the gas side, but the hunt for these plays continues to be aggressive with an emphasis on finding the “sweet spots” and reducing costs to enhance the economics.

All of these factors—heavy investment funding, new company growth, expansion of international players outside the US, bottoming out of large company hiring slumps, and growth of the unconventional resource plays—have steadied the demand for late career geoscientists. The good news for companies large and small is that the supply of well qualified and experienced geoscientists is relatively high. The opportunity to work for a more diverse spectrum of companies, in an expanding array of plays and geographic areas, and under more flexible working arrangements (plus the need to reinforce retirement portfolios) is motivating many to work longer. A large pool of broadly experienced consultants means that companies can find specific skills and knowledge of plays or even specific fields to supplement their internal knowledge bases. There is increasing flexibility in the working relationships between individuals and companies, ranging from short term “quick hit” assignments to long term consulting relationships with the potential to evolve into full time employment. This model is well suited to the handoff from the baby boomers to subsequent generations of oil finders with less likelihood of any significant fumbles. The great crew change is developing into a more traditional transition from one generation to the next.