Archives for January 2016

January 26, 2016 By Jason Lavis 1 Comment

Partner up to Create a Better Future for the Energy Industry

A better future for the industry, and new generations.

Anyone who knows us knows that we are not your average recruiters. We think that the old model is broken, for many reasons. We could just collect CV’s then do a quick database search for keywords, before packaging up a list of candidates to send over to a client. Frankly, by doing this, we would be wasting a lot of time for our clients.

As new technologies and recovery methods have permeated through the industry, so too have new skills and training models. We think that the oil and gas industry is about to go through one of the biggest changes in history. $100-$200 oil might be around the corner, be we doubt it.

What is more likely to happen is that there will be a focus on cost cutting, efficiency improvements and the streamlining of processes that until now, didn’t need streamlining so much. If your cost of production is $35 per barrel, and oil is at $100, reducing your costs by $3 will give you an extra 4.6% profit. If oil is at $40, then those $3 cost savings will give you an extra 60% profit.

While this might seem obvious, the reason why we are using this as an example is that by using a technical skill pool manager, you will be able to fill positions more quickly, and increase the chances of an exact fit candidate, not a close fit. This is likely to directly affect your bottom line as a producer.

So, recruiting is evolving, as is the industry in general. We want to be part of the future of the industry, ensuring that every part of our process has been examined to allow us to operate at optimal performance.

How do we know what is needed? How do we spread the message about the innovations that we are creating through our sub-section of the business? How do we do more and better business? How do we help you to do the same?

Let’s start with a more generic question…

What is the best way of increasing business?

Advertising?
Trade Shows?
Dropping Prices?
Improving your product or service?
Working harder?

All these tactics and more will often work. But there is one thing that stands head and shoulders above the rest. This is the power of relationships.

We all know about word of mouth advertising where a great idea, product or service can “go viral” because it is remarkable, and people want to share it.

We all know about the “old boys network” where if you went to certain schools, colleges and universities you will probably get a job if your future boss also went there. That’s as long as you have the required skills and qualifications (although sadly this is not always the case).

We know that business leaders who have contacts in government or high-class social clubs will often “pull strings”.

Many multi-million pound deals have been done at the exclusive health club or on the golf course.

These are examples of the power of networks, relationships and partnerships. They are not the best types of examples, however.

The best expressions of the power of partnerships are seen where complementary technology and a group of strong-willed innovators push boundaries. A tight network that helps each other fine tune their systems to be optimised for each other.

We believe in the value of nurturing relationships with those in non-competing but complementary businesses. We can help promote you to our audience, and hope that you will do the same for us. If we can connect you with others who will benefit from your insights, this will be a win all round.

This can only happen with shared values and objectives. We need to be offering the same, or similar messages to our networks.

If you have a business in a complementary but non-competing business, then get in touch. We have technical recruiting covered, but for anything else, then please contact us. Big breaks often come from new relationships. Far more often than from price drops or old-fashioned advertising.

January 6, 2016 By Steve Hauxwell 2 Comments

New alliance with Drillers.com and Relentless Pursuit of Perfection Ltd.

We are proud to announce a new alliance with Relentless Pursuit of Perfection Limited and Drillers.com.

To all but a minority neither of these names require any introduction. Perhaps those of us so encapsulated in our day to day work routines may need a brief introduction in order to jog our memories.

Relentless Pursuit of Perfection Limited is a performance consultancy that conducts activity audits and process reviews, supplemented by individual and team coaching, both well site and town based. These services help identify and remove expensive non-productive activities that have a proven detrimental link on operating expenditure.

The company is headed up by Dave Taylor, and with Scott Carr as Lieutenant, they literally change peoples lives by promoting a healthy team spirit. This well-being is manifested in significant operating efficiencies and results in tremendous cost saving opportunities for the companies they do business with. Accidents are personal tragedies for all involved, and can have many other serious consequences. Performance and safety training go hand-in-hand and involve a gradual but steady improvement evolution.

Dave Taylor

Scott Carr

We are now sharing resources and expertise with Relentless Pursuit of Perfection as we aim to be the leaders in our respective industry niches.

Last year, Relentless Pursuit of Perfection purchased Drillers.com, which is the oldest oil and gas jobs site in the world. The forward plan is to integrate Drillers.com into their business model and have huge plans for the site.

Drillers.com first came online on the 19th of December 1996 and at that time represented an industry step-change.

While it has received improvements and tweaks over the years, the specification slowly declined in comparison to more up-to-date web designs and features.

Plans to rejuvenate drillers.com are currently on the drawing board. With an improved design, It will have more features, be more user-friendly, and will be a bigger and better resource for you, the end user.

As you know, we are involved in the jobs market, but more specifically we are Skill Pool Managers, technical specialists who have served our time and therefore have a thorough industry understanding. We are pioneering a new step-change in recruiting, moving away from the volume CV collection type model and focusing on relationships through robust candidate selection based on the highest level of due diligence.

Both Dave and Scott recognised the direction that we are heading as a company. Like themselves, we’re also pursuing perfection, with our focus on bespoke, highly-interactive recruiting. Dave understands perfection; he named his company on the fine art of being the very best that we can be, in whatever pursuit we follow.

So, we are the dedicated recruitment arm for drillers.com. We couldn’t be happier about this. In the not-to-distant future, drillers.com will have multiple resource sections and featured companies who are all hand-selected and invited to join by Dave and Scott.

Their criteria? Shared values and the mutual respect for peak performance!

January 5, 2016 By Jason Lavis 1 Comment

Happy New Year Message for 2016

So, Happy New Year!

The party is certainly over… this applies both to the festive period, and to oil prices in general. We will wait for 12 months for another Christmas party, how long will we wait for $150 bbl oil prices?

$100?

What will we do while we are waiting?

January 2016 is like no other January in living memory. This opinion obviously depends on your perspective of course. For some, this year might be the same as any other, where you try to get back into the swing of work after an all-too-short holiday break.

A year ago oil was around the $50/bbl mark and bullish pundits were suggesting a $60 target in the following 12 months. Bearish predictions hinted at $40. Well, as is so often the case with punditry, they were both right but on different timescales. We saw prices of $60 in May/June/July and $40 in August and November. What very few predicted are the sub $40 prices of the past month or so.

The oil price is obviously the most important factor in the oil industry. By a mile. What are your predictions for 2016? I don’t have any about commodity prices. I have been wrong too many times and have given up such a futile endeavour.

We prefer to think and worry about things within our control and make contingencies for every possible eventuality. Of course, $80 oil will allow us all to breathe a huge sigh of relief. But what if prices stay the same? Do we go to the beach for a year or two and grow a long beard? How many of us have that career in rocket science or brain surgery to fall back on?

The fact is that if you are reading this, the chances are that you are an oil man and that the thought of going back to school to learn a new career is scarier than $20 oil… Right?

So, what do we do? As always, we keep our heads and do our best. If we have been around the industry for any length of time, then we will have experienced this kind of situation before. If this is all new, then pay attention because it will happen again.

January is a time when many people hit the ground running with resolutions to eat better, drink better, sleep better, and get a better job. Of all the months, January is job search month. The fact that you are here on a recruitment site means that you are either considering or being forced to look for a new work placement.

So, right now you have more competition, and there are far fewer jobs available.

What will you do about this?

The only sensible thing to do is maximise your chances of success. Many, or even most job searchers in the Oil and Gas industry will be dusting off their CV and adding their most recent assignment. They might also trawl some internet jobs sites and send their CV off to a few places that simply asked them for it.

The chances are that this dated, un-optimised CV will fall into the hands of a generic CV harvester who is likely to either sell it on or even worse, submit it ‘rapid-fire’ to different companies for different jobs. Many of these jobs might be unsuitable for your skill set.

After a few inappropriate job offers, or no offers at all, someone who has followed this tactic will give up, and tell their partner ‘I tried my best’.

So, you obviously don’t want to be in this category.

What can you do about it?

Well, we can help you!

You can click on any of the links in this article to get a more detailed explanation of certain points. The next step will be to join our email newsletter where you will receive a 5-day career enhancement crash course. There should be a ‘pop-up’ that appears on the side of this page. You can also sign up from our homepage.

Aside from this, the very best way of improving your position in the industry is to improve your image within it. Nowadays this is very easy; it can be done without financial cost, by simply spending time improving your image and networking on social media.

Rather than trying to access decision makers through company secretaries, personal assistants or other ‘gatekeepers’… You can simply comment on decision makers postings.

Rather than trying to sell yourself through email, on the telephone, or in person…

… You can gradually build up a more successful and professional image for yourself on LinkedIn or Oilpro. When the time comes for you to reach out to that decision maker, they will feel like they already know you. In the meantime, you can keep your finger on the pulse of the industry.

Hopefully, you will connect with us through any of these social media channels, and we can strive forward together. We wish you a healthy and prosperous 2016.