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Volume 9 • Issue 1 • January 2009 |
Printer Friendly Version |
| Our Perspective | |
Rough Start
The New
Year was launched on some rough economic seas, but it is too early to
panic. As our country and our industry brace for a year of uncertainty,
all we can do is stay informed, prepare as needed, and always project a
positive image.
Yes, we have learned of some cutbacks in employment and capital projects, which is a new situation for many young professionals who have joined the industry in the past few years. To help you deal with the anxiety, we offer our guideline on how to face possible cutbacks and how to keep your career momentum on track.
Yes, it might be easy to let corporate morale waver in these uncertain times. But now more than ever it is important for our industry to remain optimistic and to project a positive image by developing a healthy corporate culture. We are going to take a closer look at how to do that in this and future articles.
Have a safe and healthy New Year!
Your Friends at Collarini
| Upcoming Events |  |
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North American Prospect Expo 2009 February 5-6, 2008 Houston, Texas Come stop by our booth #2745 in the George R. Brown Convention Center. |
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March 4-5, 2009 Houston, Texas
Join other industry members at this two day symposium of recent innovations and EM acquisition technology.
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| Employer Tips |
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Could Your Culture Be The Problem?
The
owner of a small company was having dinner with her manager, discussing
employee problems.
“They
don’t work!” complained the manager. “They sit around gossiping and
complaining, doing nothing, and yet they expect to collect a paycheck!”
“What
do you want to do?” asked the owner. “Fire them,” replied the
manager.
The
owner was silent for several seconds, contemplating what the manager had
said. Slowly she responded,
“We can’t just fire everybody.”
The
manager looked her squarely in the face, unfazed and unapologetic: “Yes,
we can.”
Like
the young manager in the story above, many leaders erroneously place the
blame for poor performance squarely on the shoulders of workers.
Blaming workers is an easy answer, but usually the real problem is
much deeper than that. The underlying causes of many company problems are
not in the management or staff; they are in the social structure and
culture. The culture of an
organization defines its values, its beliefs, and its behaviors. A strong
culture is empowering, promotes shared values, instills trust, focuses on
solutions and opportunities, and promotes diversity.
Culture
is defined and established from the top down; it becomes operational when
executives articulate and publish the values of their firm, and these
values then provide the pattern for how employees are expected to behave.
Experts in the study of organizational culture tend to use
different names when defining each, but there are generally four types of
organizational culture: the “macho” culture, the “work hard/play
hard” culture, the “bet your company” culture, and the “process”
culture.
1The “macho” culture is characterized by quick
feedback and high rewards. The pace can be break- neck at times, but the
reward of the action is seen very quickly. From a corporate stand point,
this type of organizational culture will be most often associated with
really fast financial activities, such as currency trading and brokerage.
This tends to be a stressful type of organizational culture that requires
a certain mentality to thrive and succeed.
The “work hard/play hard” culture usually doesn’t take a lot
of risks and when they do they receive fast feedback. This is usually
observed in very large companies which depend on strong customer service.
This type of culture is often characterized by multiple team meetings,
specialized jargon, and buzzwords. The
“bet your company culture” is characterized by huge decisions made
over high stakes endeavors. In this type of culture, the end results of
these decisions may not be seen for months or even years.
This is usually found in companies involved in experimental
projects or searches, such as prospecting for new oil fields.
The “process” culture is most often found in organizations
where there is actually no feedback. This is rarely a good culture. People
working in this environment are usually obsessed with the process of how
things are done that they lose focus on what the goal is. Process
organizational culture is a synonym for bureaucracy. These cultures can be
overly cautious and obsessed with the letter of the law rather than the
intent. The only positive argument for this culture is that the
consistency of results makes it good for public service.”
1Taken from Organizational Culture 101. www.organizationalculture101.com
Cultures in general are usually referred to as weak or
strong; weak is usually associated with “bad” and strong with
“good.” However, a weak culture in terms of a loosely knit structure
can actually benefit an organization that relies heavily on individual
thought, contributions, and innovation to grow.
The concept of culture is particularly important when trying to manage
organization-wide change. Organizational change must include not only changing
structures and processes but also changing the corporate culture.
Consequences of a non-defined culture or weak culture can include a
lack of motivation in employees, no sense of direction or mission, and a
lack of initiative for fear of blame. All of this can mistakenly be
identified as a problem with individual workers, when in reality it is a
deeper organizational culture issue. If your organization is consistently
exhibiting problems in this area, an analysis of your corporate culture is
in order. In upcoming newsletters, we will further explore how to
determine your current culture and how best to approach changing it if
necessary. The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of
talent available in our talent pool of 16,000 experts. Please call
our placement managers
if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check
out our website for more candidates. Certified
Professional Secretary with a bachelor's degree in English and more than 12 years experience
supporting Executives. Exceptional organizational, planning, and
communication skills. Responsible for managing executive schedules,
dictation, extensive travel arrangements, and appointments. Served as a
coordinator of the relocation of corporate headquarters including office
layout, furniture and equipment selection, and scheduling the move.
Technical knowledge includes Microsoft Office, Peachtree, Word Perfect,
OGYSYS, and QuickBooks. Proficient typing and speedwriting. Types 65 wpm.
This candidate is available immediately. Ask for AA1471. Geoscience
Technician with
over 20 years of experience. Excellent time management skills with the
ability to work reliably and accurately with the ability to multi-task
when under pressure scheduling workloads to meet customer requirements.
Able to understand and implement data management and quality management
procedures that are essential. Excellent attitude that approaches data
quality with skepticism and attention to detail, adopting a systematic,
organized, and dedicated methodology to resolving data management
non-conformance. Proficient in the use of Microsoft products including
PowerPoint, Visio, Project, Frontpage, Outlook, and Internet Explorer)
stand-alone or in a network environment. Knowledge in SQL Server, DB2,
Visual Basic, and UNIX/Solaris as well. This candidate is available
immediately. Ask for TG501. Geoscientist
with a
degree in geophysical engineering with diverse experience in geology,
geophysics, and petrophysics. Solid technical skills using SMT, Petra,
Hampson Russell, GeoQuest, and other exploration support software for
technical prospect mapping and evaluation. Very broad experience
geographically, which includes onshore and offshore Africa, South America,
the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts, west Texas, New
Mexico, and Alaska. Expertise includes seismic AVO modeling for prospect
risk assessment, AVO analysis and synthetic well-tie analysis, quality
control of 3-D design, and seismic data processing. Ask for
GG437. Certified
Professional Landman with
a Bachelor's degree and 26 years of experience working for a small
independent in Denver. Highly proficient in contract negotiations and due
diligence, title work, and lease acquisition. Extensively experienced in
management, lease data management, title research and curative, partner
relations, producing property management, federal unit operations, and
agreement interpretation. Skilled
in coordinating, directing, and supervising the sale of multi-million
dollar properties. Geographic experience includes Wyoming, Colorado, Utah,
New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas. Computer skills
include in-house databases and contract management, MS Office, Dwights,
and P.I. Ask for L127. Petroleum
Engineer and Operations Manager with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and 38 years of
experience in the oil and gas industry working for small to large
independents and major E&P companies. Experienced in drilling
management, production operations, reservoir management, project
engineering and execution, corporate budgeting, and production reporting.
Geographic areas worked include Colorado, Texas, Wyoming, New Mexico,
Mississippi, Oklahoma, north Louisiana, Arkansas, Michigan, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the Gulf coast. Computer skills include MS Office, ARIES,
BOLO, Enertia, TOW, Field Direct, and Nodal Analysis. Ask for
P598. Drilling Engineer
with a bachelor's degree and two years of experience in the oil and gas
industry. Experience includes onshore and offshore drilling. Skills include well design, well drilling including cased and
directional drilling, well completions, data assemblage, preparing job
tickets, troubleshooting field equipment, and production systems design.
Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico, south Texas, and
Louisiana. Computer skills include Microsoft Office and Eclipse. Ask
for D450. Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and nine
years of oil and gas industry related experience working for the Chinese
National Offshore Oil Corp. Technical skills include reservoir modeling,
reservoir simulation, production forecasting, reserves evaluation, and
well test interpretation. Computer skills include ECLIPSE. Geographic
areas worked include offshore China. Possesses a master's degree in
computer science. Authorized to work in the US without restriction. Ask
for R716. Engineering
Technician with
a bachelor’s degree in business administration and over 10 years of oil
and gas industry related experience. Expansive financial, technical, and
analytical skill sets as well as strategic planning experience. Computer
skills for economic evaluation and reserves software include PEEP, ARIES,
PHDWin, and VolTS. Other petroleum application experience includes Asset
Ownership, TOW, P2000, IHS PI Dwights, DIMS, and Production Access.
Accounting software skills include PeopleSoft, Excalibur, and Enertia.
Ask for TE501. Senior
Health, Safety, and Environmental Generalist with a bachelor’s degree in environmental
science and ten years of experience with producing and service companies.
Expertise in due diligence, remediation, risk management programs, permit
preparation and maintenance, spill prevention control and countermeasures
plan, naturally occurring radioactive material assessment, and federal and
state regulations (OSHA, MMS, USCG, EPA). Experience includes
developing and implementing corporate environmental health and safety
standards, preparing compliance documentation for regulatory agencies,
developing proper waste handling guidelines, serving as liaison between
operations and government agencies, managing plant decommissioning
projects, designing and conducting environmental and safety training,
coalbed methane water disposal activities, conducting contractor
inspections and incident investigations, and assisting in environmental
litigation matters. Certifications include NORM Inspector and 24
hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard. Ask
for HS432. Project
Administrator with a master’s degree in business
administration, a bachelor’s degree in petroleum technology, and an
extensive, diverse background in the oil and gas industry. Expertise
in planning, scheduling, and drilling materials coordination with strong
organizational, interpersonal, and computer skills. Strong process
development, improvement, and optimization skills. Technical acumen
includes SAP/R3, SAP/R3 Materials Management Module, DIMS and OPEN
WELLS Drilling Database systems, MS Project, Gulf-Share, iLogistics,
and Linux. Ask for PA288. Senior
Project Manager with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and extensive
experience in design engineering, plant engineering, cost and scheduling,
procurement, contract administration, inspection, construction management,
and maintenance in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. Licensed
Professional Engineer. Ask for PM176. Senior
Supply Chain Manager
with a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing and extensive global
experience in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas
industry. Expertise in administration of all facets of procurement
programs, in both supervisory and staff positions, as well as performing
other materials management functions encompassing site shipping,
receiving, inventory supervision, logistics coordination, in-shop
expediting, and quality assurance and quality control documentation
expediting. Ask
for PU271.
Talent Pool
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Review thousands of talented people in
more than 30 upstream disciplines at |
| Career Advice |
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A New Job Market – Tips for
Uncertain Times
Our nation’s economic anemia has reached the oil and gas
industry’s employment market. Last
week, Schlumberger announced that it will eliminate up to 1,000 jobs in
North America. Oil companies
are forecasting lower earnings and are hinting at cost reduction measures.
Many capital projects will be delayed across the industry until we have
some sense of where the economy and commodity prices are going and what
that will mean for energy demand. Because of the market volatility, all of
us need to be prepared for uncertainty for most of 2009.
The slowdown affects our industry at a time when many of
our young workers have no experience dealing with potential job loss. Many
young professionals joined the oil and gas industry with high promise and
high expectations of ever-increasing promotions and salary increases. To
these employees, uncertainty is a new experience.
For all of them, as well as for anyone who is experiencing anxiety
in these uncertain times, here are some tips on how to react:
1. Don’t Panic
The fundamentals of our industry are strong.
While the world is abuzz about new energy sources, the largest
source of energy still comes from hydrocarbons and will continue to do so
for years to come. While our
current situation is real, this industry is still a good place to work.
You will find it helpful to be aware of employment trends in your area of
expertise and align yourself where you see future needs to assure your
career path no matter where you work.
2.
Talk
to your employer
It is important to have an open communication with your
supervisor and employee representative.
You will be able to assess your situation more knowledgeably to
help you avoid frustration and remain positive and focused regarding your
career outlook.
3. Stay informed
The Internet is full of information about our industry’s
activity, about who is doing what in which areas. Read the information carefully and objectively; do not fall
prey to biases or opinions, rather seek out factual information.
Find company Web sites that interest you and see what they are
saying.
4. Keep your resume up to date
This is always good advice, but even more so now.
Make sure to include all your project work details to give the
resume a little meat.
5.
Network
We have talked often about the importance of developing a
professional network elsewhere
in our newsletters. This is
the right time to come out of your shell if you have worked nose-down for
the past few years. There are
plenty of networking opportunities both on the Internet and in the real
world. The professional
organizations related to your field of expertise (SPE, ASME, MTS etc.) are
good places to start.
6. Relationship with a recruiter
Start the relationship before you
need it. Recruiters
are great sources of market information, sometimes about your own company.
No recruiter has access to the entire market and it is important to
understand exactly how a recruiter can help you. We
found this
article in the Wall
Street Journal very helpful in explaining a layoff to a recruiter if you
have no experience in this area.
All of this is good advice even
if you are not affected by these difficult times. And if you are affected,
these tips should give you some comfort and guidance.
| About Us | |
Connecting the Industry's Experts...
Collarini
Energy Staffing Inc. is a full-service agency specializing
in the placement of energy and EPC personnel and including the disciplines
listed below (other supporting personnel are managed upon request):
| Accountants and finance
personnel Administrative and clerical personnel Business analysts Civil and architectural engineers Drilling engineers Drilling operations supervisors Executives Geologists, geophysicists, and petrophysicists Health, safety, and environmental personnel Human resources personnel Instrument and electrical engineers IT professionals Land, legal, and supporting personnel Materials and corrosion engineers |
Naval architects Operations supervisors Pipeline, riser, and subsea engineers Process engineers Procurement engineers Production engineers Project managers and support personnel Quality control and inspection personnel Reservoir engineers Sales and marketing professionals Technical writers Technicians, drafting and graphic Technicians, engineering and geoscience |
Reservoir Solutions the Industry Trusts...
Collarini Associates are petroleum engineers and geoscientists that specialize in evaluating oil and gas reservoirs. Specific projects include integrated field studies, acquisition evaluations, independent reserve appraisals, and exploration and exploitation prospect generation and assessment. Our full divestment services include creation and hosting of electronic and physical data rooms in addition to the technical evaluation. Our teams in Houston and New Orleans are very experienced and stand ready to help you on projects of any size. Try us!
Guiding Careers to the Next Level...
Collarini Career Management applies its deep understanding of the career paths of technical professionals in the E&P and EPC communities to help companies and professionals build successful organizations and careers. We leverage Collarini's unique combination of industry knowledge and technical expertise to guide companies and individuals during transition, training existing employees for high performance, and designing customized technical training plans for companies and individuals.
| Contact Us |
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Avenue, Suite 126 Houston, Texas 77082 832.251.0553 |
4200 South I-10
Service Road, Suite 230 Metairie, Louisiana 70001 504.887.7127 | |
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