A Good Resume Makes All The Difference

If you are serious about landing work in the oil industry, having a professional resume is critical.  We cannot emphasize this fact enough.

So many simply slap their past history onto paper or web forms and wonder why they don't hear back from the employer. The reason is simple. You may be the best employee and worker in the world, but unless that point stands out to the employer on your resume, you are just another piece of paper to them.  You are competing with thousands of others, many with more experience, and to stand out as a professional, you need to present yourself as one. 

To land a high-paying job in the oil industry, whether onshore or offshore, one needs a decent resume.  Not only should your resume inform your future employers your job history, education and skills, it should promote you as an individual - in other words, it should market you to potential employers and recruiters.  

The oil and gas industry is multi-billion dollar business; the largest industry on the planet. Your resume needs to stand out, whether entry-level or experienced. Especially in this economy, with over 17% unemployment and underemployment, and you are competing with legions of people who are out of work. 

There are a great many people with relevant experience and education who are also applying for available oil jobs, and if you want to get hired, having an edge is essential. Having a rock-solid resume is your edge, and the first thing the companies and recruiters will see of you - making a good first impression is paramount; there are no second chances.

Creating a Professional Oil Industry Resume

You have two options when it comes to creating a professional quality resume - writing it yourself, or paying to have it done for you.  Most people opt for the first option, and in some cases, this is fine. If you have 10+ years of experience, you will usually get past the screener as long as there are no glaring mistakes.

For entry to mid-level positions, however, in times like these, unless your resume really speaks to the employer, it will often see the bottom of the pile - in favor of the resume that does stand out.

Resume Posting and Forwarding Services

Rigworker will forward your resume to every energy company in the Western world of any significance - over 1200 as of last count. Additionally, they will generate a web page for your resume that you can point potential employers too when engaged in manual resume submissions, and their partner employers, who search Rigworker's resume bank, will be able to find your resume as well.

Writing Your Own Resume

If you are going to create your own resume, make sure you do it correctly.  There are several some good resources to help you create a professional resume on your own, with The Oil and Gas Jobs Resource Kit being among the best we've seen. Once you have written a resume using the guidelines and tools available, you will practically be a professional resume writer yourself. 

Hiring A Professional Resume Firm

One important factor is creating a resume that is keyword-rich and specific to the job you are hoping to get hired for.  Many companies screen resume submissions through a computer program, and unless your resume has the words they are looking for, it will be ignored. This is one of the advantages of hiring a professional resume firm to create your resume; they will ensure your resume gets past the screening programs to be read by a human being.

If you have decided to invest in allowing a professional to create a resume that will get seen and land interviews, it is important to choose the right company. Don't go with fly-by-night individuals advertising in the newspaper; more often they are not very effective.

If you are planning on forwarding your resume to select companies manually, whether selected yourself or through the industry hiring contact information you can obtain through Rigworker or The Oil and Gas Jobs Resource Kit, this step can be skipped. However, if you wish to broaden the number of eyeballs that see your resume to a national or even global level, it is worth your while to utilize the services of a resume forwarding company.

Enhancing Your Resume With Additional Training

If Petroleum Engineering or other oil industry career options interest you, but will require more education, you can get most if not all of your certificate or degree online these days. Free info on programs in Petroleum Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and so on are available from multiple online resources; there are literally thousands of programs to choose from, and they are free to join. 

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