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Volume 15 • Issue 3 • May 2015 |
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Our Perspective | |
Sometimes new information surprises us. Forbes magazine concluded from a survey that professionals who change jobs frequently during a career (the article states every two years) may earn substantially more money than the person who remains in jobs longer. There is probably some mathematical truth in it, but is this good career advice? And moreover, how should companies react to this news? Forget all we have learned about "job hopping". What else besides money will help you retain people?
And if after seeing one too many science fiction movies you are worried about being replaced by a robot at work, then according to an Oxford University study, you should probably plan for that. Well, not altogether if you follow career advice about how technology could affect your job in the future.
Hope to hear from you!
| Upcoming Events |  |
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American Association of Petroleum Landmen (AAPL) Annual Meeting
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center June 17-20, 2015 |
Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC)
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center San Antonio, TX July 20-22, 2015 |
| Employer Tips |
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Job hopping no longer a bad thing?
A few months ago an article in Forbes magazine caught our attention. The author made the point, and supported it with data, that people who switch jobs every two years will make substantially more money in their careers (potentially 50% more) than those who stay in their jobs for longer periods of time. The thought of this becoming the new norm leads to interesting challenges for HR professionals who have a tough time identifying candidates who are willing to stay for the long haul and who are willing to spend the time to learn the company culture, mechanics, and proprietary processes.
If for argument's sake this view of the world should take hold, then our industry will suffer from a lack of continuity, camaraderie, and the technological know-how that comes from a depth of experience. We think it is time to take a closer look at the factors that are essential to retaining employees and not promoting the concept of the wandering journeyman.
- Regular pay increases to the most sought after talent are essential. It is not that people stay only for the money, but salary is a scorecard of how well we are doing and how much we are appreciated. It would be a shame to lose your company's talent when you most need it because you do not acknowledge the importance of financial recognition .
- Non-monetary factors which could make your employee leave have to be addressed where possible. One of the first things candidates refer to regarding why they left a previous employer is communication problems. These come in different forms: difficulties in communicating with co-workers and/or complaints about a defective communication culture within the company as a whole. It's best to ask your key employees all the time how things are going and to get one-on-one feedback. Not all issues that arise from conversations can be fixed easily; the idea is to eliminate the issues that are trivial and which can be avoided. Listening is the art form that must be employed.
- A bored employee is almost certainly open to other offers. Watch for a decrease in productivity, coming in late or leaving early, or simply telling you when they are asked. Take time to talk and to find ways to enrich your employee's work by adding new assignments or responsibilities. People who get bored may be your brightest employees, and you can make small changes that make a big difference in their decisions to leave or to stay.
- Small logistical issues can play a role far too often in a solid employee's decision to switch jobs. Minor allowances to work hours, commuting, personal time, and tools needed on the job can sometimes make all the difference.
A key question remains: Should you begin looking at candidates with a history of many job changes? As of right now, the basic premise has not changed for us or our clients. More than three positions in a ten-year time period are a concern and would need a very good explanation for a candidate to be considered. But things around us change and who knows, the ever-increasing speed of technology may influence a company's decision to seek talent who has assimilated technologies you need regardless of their apparent past job stability. Things always change around us. We need to be open to these changes and be prepared to adjust our old world views.
| Talent Pool |
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The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of talent available in our talent pool of over 22,000 experts. Please call our placement managers if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check out our website for more candidates.
Drilling and Completions Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 14 years of experience working for mid-sized and major operators, and a major service company. Expert in drilling, completion, well intervention and operations, workflow, and project start-up. Additionally experienced in leadership, management, cost efficiency, technology utilization, directional and horizontal drilling, reservoir management, and HSE practices in offshore and onshore operations. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico shelf and deepwater, west Texas, the mid-continent, South America, and Russia. Ask for D548.
Drilling Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and six years of experience working for small to large operators. Experienced in well design, directional well planning, cost estimation, field tracking, horizontal drilling, lost circulation management, lateral drilling, completion, regulatory reporting, workovers, production monitoring, and abandonment. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Brazil. Software proficiency in DIMS, WellView, and RIMbase. Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Ask for D570.
Drilling Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 12 years of work experience working for mid-sized operators and in the military. Experienced in executing drilling programs, creating AFEs, preparing directional plans, selecting equipment, executing geosteering operations, optimizing drilling operations, preparing end of well reports and management of change reports, preparing well cost estimates, approving invoices, coordinating survey inspections, and conducting volumetric, decline curve, and material balance analysis. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Colorado, and the Gulf of Mexico. Software proficiency in ARIES, MBAL, PROSPER, IHS Petra, and PHDWin. Ask for D576.
Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and 15 years of experience working for mid-sized operators and service companies. Experienced in the design and build of production surveillance and business intelligence tools, artificial lift optimization, production surveillance, custom mapping, production allocation and accounting, CO2 floods, field development planning, field mapping and coordination, AFE preparation, workover scheduling, pattern performance evaluation, workover operations management, and cost estimation and tracking. Geographic areas worked include Texas and Oklahoma. Software proficiency in DSS, OFM, Petra, and FieldDIRECT. Certifications include H2S, Logging Supervisor, and Well Control. Ask for P774.
Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, a master's degree in project management, and 30 years of experience working for mid-sized to major E&P companies and a research facility. Experienced in monitoring production, designing and installing artificial lift, recommending recompletion, workover, and stimulation operations, supervising multi-stage stimulation operations, and well planning. Additionally experienced in drilling engineering including designing and planning HPHT wells, bidding and awarding rig contracts, and designing and planning well tests. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Russia, and Egypt. Ask for DP143.
Reservoir Engineer with a master's degree in petroleum engineering and more than 40 years of experience working for small to mid-sized operators, energy companies, and an investment company. Experienced in field development modeling, type curve analyses, decline curve analysis, acquisitions, divestitures, production forecasting, economic modeling, budgeting, well performance analysis, and well inventory design. Geographic areas worked include Kansas and Texas. Software proficiency in ARIES and Roxar Tempest. Ask for R669.
Engineering Technician with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and 14 years of experience working for a consulting firm, a major operator, and a service company. Experienced in supporting engineering and field operations staff, analyzing and manipulating operational integrity management and production surveillance data, generating production loss and financial impact reports, and updating, enhancing, and promoting facility engineering and production websites. Software proficiency in Documentum, SharePoint, QuickBooks, SAP, Desktop Inventor, AutoCAD, Workbench, and ClarisWorks. Ask for DB778.
Reservoir Engineering Manager with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and more than 30 years of experience working for major operators and large independent companies. Experienced in EOR development, unconventional reservoirs, exploitation, acquisition and development, waterfloods, reservoir management, economic analysis, and equity negotiations. Geographic experience includes California, Alaska, New Mexico, Louisiana, Norway, Japan, and Russia. Software proficiency in GeoGraphix, Petrel, Peep, OFM, DSS, HPDI, Petra, PHDWin, and ARIES. Ask for R1171.
Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and ten years of experience working for a major operator and several independent companies. Experienced in creating type-curves, implementing reservoir management strategies, characterizing reservoirs, analyzing risk, creating production and capital forecasts, performing supervisory duties, asset development planning, and acquisition analysis. Geographic areas worked include Texas, California, southern Oklahoma, and the Gulf of Mexico. Software proficiency in ARIES, PHDWin, FDR, SpotFire, FieldVision, WellCore, CSBeam, Dl-Desktop, PVTsim, GIS, FieldDIRECT , Smart View, Visual Explore, Hyperion, and AutoCAD. Ask for R1137.
Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and more than 30 years of experience working for small and large independents and a financial institution. Experienced in acquisition analysis, conventional and unconventional reservoir analysis, reserves analysis, economic analysis, and prospect generation. Additionally experienced in supervision of open hole logging, mapping, and geo-steering of horizontal wells. Geographic areas worked include Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and North Dakota. Ask for R1098.
Reservoir Engineer with a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering and four years of experience working for a small independent and an engineering consulting firm. Experienced in decline curve analysis, volumetric analysis, reserve estimating, market value appraisals, resource evaluation, risk assessment, and unconventional reservoir analysis. Geographic areas worked include Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming. Software proficiency in ARIES and @RISK. Ask for R1197.
Accountant with a bachelor's degree in accounting and more than 20 years of experience working for energy trading companies and the gas marketing division of large operators as a manager and as a trader. Experienced in strategy development, market development, business development, personnel management, and operational leadership. Additionally experienced in the purchase and sale of hydrocarbons, sales negotiation, deal management, transaction management, and market positioning. Software proficiency in OpenLink Endur. Ask for A894.
Accountant with a bachelor's degree in accounting and more than 30 years of experience in oil and gas related accounting. Experienced in gas balancing, production accounting, project management, customer service, management, revenue accounting, general ledger reconciliation, and audit negotiations. Software proficiency in Bolo, Oracle, SAP, OGsys, and the MAS90 accounting system. Ask for A1218.
Landman with a bachelor's degree in business administration and more than 20 years of experience working for small to large independents and a land services company. Experienced in performing due diligence work, drafting and negotiating operating agreements, acquiring rights-of-way, developing new business, performing title curative work, mentoring junior landmen, presenting operational concerns and successes to management, and managing operated and non-operated AFE processes. Geographic areas worked include the Bakken/Three Forks shale, the Avalon shale, the Permian Basin, and the Wind River basin. Software proficiency in Tobin, Enertia, and PI/Dwight's. Certified Professional Landman. Ask for L465.
Accountant with a bachelor's degree in accounting and six years of experience working for a small operator, a service company, and in academia. Experienced in maintaining joint interest billing records including quality control, review, and processing of data; maintaining listing of producing wells, non-producing wells, and unit facilities; creating lease operating expense reports, and producing and formulating general and administrative reports. Software proficiency in MS Office, JIBLink, BOLO, and IFRS. Ask for A1457.
Health, Safety, and Environmental Engineer with a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and 12 years of experience working for professional and technical services firms, an environmental consulting firm, and the government. Expertise in air quality. Experienced in air permitting, air dispersion modeling, Title V, NSR, and PBR permitting and compliance; plant and industrial operations, NESHAP, NSPS, and BACT analysis; and compliance assistance. Passed the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Ask for HS997.
IT Professional with a bachelor's degree and 15 years of experience working for operators, service companies, and a technical services firm. Experienced in customer service management, customer satisfaction enhancement, IT desktop support, project and vendor management, software packaging and scripting, Windows 7 deployment, and Altiris deployment solutions. Certifications include Cisco Certified Network Associate, Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician, A+ Core Service Technician, and DOS/Windows certification. Ask for DB908.
Project Manager with a master's degree and more than 30 years of experience in construction, engineering supervision, contract administration, and business development. A strong leader experienced with the supervision of diverse multicultural teams. Directly experienced with the responsibility for the execution of onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, energy and infrastructure projects, conceptual engineering and detail design, construction, integration, hook-up, commissioning, project development, budgeting and estimating, and due diligence. Fluent in English, Portuguese, French, Romanian, and Spanish. Ask for PM279.
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| Career Advice |
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Will R2-D2 get my job?
A study conducted in 2013 by Oxford University focused on the question of how susceptible particular professions will be to computerization. It ranked each of 700 professions from 0% (no chance of being computerized) to 100%, meaning it is a foregone conclusion that a profession will be taken over by R2-D2 at some point in the future. It is good to know that petroleum and geological engineers fall in the lower probability category with about only a 15 percent chance of this happening. On the other hand, accountants, auditors, and tax preparers are near the 100% computerization probability in the study. This is not a value judgment, but rather a reflection of the incredible progress we have made employing computing power; already we see software being made available to everyone to do taxes without personal help.
You may have asked yourself whether your occupation is subject to being adversely affected by technological advance in the future. Most changes will not happen overnight, and you probably have time to anticipate and respond to them. But here are some factors that experts in this field are using to estimate how stable your career will be in the future including a bit of history of the studies over the past 65 years.
- The Turing test
This is an early spark plug to the modern conversation about people being replaced by computers and could serve as a self-test to you. Made popular recently by the movie "The Imitation Game", this test was developed by the English mathematician and inventor Alan Turing, a fascinating personality responsible for too many critical developments and inventions to go into here. It is important to remember that the test named after him, developed in the early 1950s, was an early scientific procedure to understand a machine's ability to answer questions like a human would. Future developments in this field took Turing's studies into account. His original ideas opened people's minds and led to a rise in robotics, actual robots, nanotechnology, and now "humanoids" in various workplaces around the world.
So what positions would be in danger of being replaced by robots? Is yours among them? Here are some clues of what to look for.
- Taking and filling orders or direct requests
It is not that these employees don't do a good job. They may be located at a critical point in the organization with an internal or external client asking for something; the question or request is answered or filled, but no additional value, interpretation, or assistance is offered. These tasks can eventually be performed by a machine. We currently see a great deal of that already with online shopping and "help" lines.
- Shallow relationships with internal and external clients
Many employees in the oil and gas industry must have relationships with co-workers and managers. It may come as a surprise; however, how many of these relationships remain shallow or lopsided. They are transactional without volunteering sincere help or assistance. A professional in this category thinks that his co-worker will ask if he needs more help. This is not an indication of a win-win relationship where the employee is regarded as a true resource and could mean a machine can come in and fill the job!
- Bureaucrats
If a position requires an individual to move actual or virtual paper from one place to another all day, then this work, too, can be learned by a machine. There are modern versions of "paper pushers" who conduct triage. If there is no value added, then this job is in trouble at some point.
- Oil finders
It requires imagination, education, and initiative to find oil and gas. While some of the functions that geologists, geophysicists, and petroleum engineers perform can sensibly be automated, the thinking part of the job will probably not, at least in the relatively short term. We have made many technological advances in the past 20 years, and there is no reason to believe they will not continue to assist, but not to replace, the independent thinkers in the industry.
In summary, there will always be a need for people, but a successful professional employee of the future will be a multi-faceted, real person interacting in a multi-dimensional and actively engaged fashion. And this person will utilize technology to help customers, not defer to the technology. This person will be a creative thinker, will have strong relationships, and will have the ability to see similarities in different experiences to arrive at new conclusions.
Our next newsletter will cover some specific actions you could take if you see R2-D2 roll down your future office's hallway. There is definitely still time for you to adjust to the requirements of working in the future.
Let us know if you have any questions and good luck!
| 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):
| Accounting and finance
personnel Administrative and clerical personnel Business analysts Civil and architectural engineers Data Management Drilling engineers Drilling operations supervisors Energy trading professionals Executives Facilities engineers Geologists, geophysicists, and petrophysicists Health, safety, and environmental personnel Human resources personnel Instrument and electrical engineers IT professionals Land, legal, and supporting personnel Marine engineers and naval architects | Materials and corrosion engineers |
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.
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