Combating Cultural Neurosis

A company without a defined culture is like an unfinished well - nothing good can come from it.  A company's culture defines its values, beliefs, goals, and behaviors.  A company without a defined culture leaves workers feeling detached, misunderstood, and overlooked, because they cannot relate to their organization and its goals.  A lack of corporate culture can produce "cultural neurosis," which includes a lack of communication, a lack of trust, a lack of respect, and a lack of understanding among employees.  This can lead to cynicism, producing job dissatisfaction and creating a high employee turnover rate.  

Conversely, having a unified culture helps a corporation in many ways. Even a weak but unified culture can be good for a corporation if it leads to individual thought, contributions, and innovation for growth. Along with motivating employees, a unified culture can stabilize the work force, reduce conflict, and introduce a more versatile and effective communication process.

Companies often lay the blame for trouble at the feet of "problem employees," but the real problem may be a lack of a defined corporate culture. An organization should analyze its culture before addressing persistent employee issues. One way to get answers is to talk to employees.  ¹Debra Lea Thorsen, an expert in developing corporate culture, has recommended 10 fundamental questions that can help managers diagnose a company's corporate culture. Those fundamental questions are:

  1. Is your work meaningful?

  2. What is the company's purpose?

  3. Are you empowered to make decisions and move into action quickly?

  4. Would you leave this company for the opportunity to start at the ground floor of another company?

  5. Do company leaders walk their talk?

  6. Can you show your emotions at work?

  7. Do you have a community of people in the company that support your efforts?

  8. Are your contributions valued?

  9. Do you trust the leaders of the company?

 10. Can you say "I don't know?"

¹ Thorsen, Debra Lea, "Diagnosing Your Corporate Culture." www.culturebuilders.com/diagnosing_culture.htm

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Talent Pool

The following biographies are just a small sampling of the kind of talent available in our talent pool of over 17,000 experts.  Please call our placement managers if you are interested in learning more about these professionals, or check out our website for more candidates.

Subsea Project Manager with a master's degree in civil engineering and 31 years of experience working for major oil and gas companies.  Expert leader of deepwater mega-projects including front-end engineering, development concept selection, risk management, and economic valuations.  Experienced in managing large multi-disciplined project teams, stakeholder management, particularly with government agencies and partners, and the training and implementation of safety management and decision quality processes.  Geographic areas worked include Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sweden, California, Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.  Registered professional engineer in California, Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.  Ask for CS357.

Marine Project Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineer and 35 years of experience working for engineering and service companies in the oil and gas industry. Experienced in the management of modification and additions to jackup drilling rigs. Also experienced in the transportation and installation of jackup drilling rigs as well as in the conceptual and front end engineering for new builds and conversion of FPSOs and FSOs. Additionally experienced in preparing preliminary engineering development packages including cost estimates, bid proposals, decision and risk analyses, and technical specifications. Geographic areas worked include Australia, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Venezuela, and Texas.   Ask for F1576.

Project Administrator with 30 years of experience working for engineering and oil and gas companies. Expert in planning and scheduling. Experienced in project controls and the management of engineering and construction processes. Skilled in value management, estimating, bidding, and procurement. Also experienced in proposal development, contracts, and change and claims management.  Software proficiency in Primavera P3, P3E, P6, and WinEst.  Ask for PA330.

Subsea Engineer with a combined master's degree in mechanical and electrical engineering and 13 years of experience working for upstream oil and gas service companies. Expert in designing deepwater subsea control systems and umbilicals and performing FEED studies of subsea drilling and production systems. Experienced in creating procedures for control system integration testing, installation and commissioning activities, and ensuring compliance with API, ASME, and ISO 9001 standards. Geographic areas worked include the United States and Ukraine.  Software proficiency in AutoCAD. Fluent in English and Ukrainian.  Ask for MD117.

Geoscience Technician with more than 25 years of experience working for major oil and gas producers, independents, and service companies. Experienced in data loading, mapping, well report inventory, log inventory, workflow development, data management, and technical writing.  Additionally experienced in geoscience software testing, installation, upgrading, and teaching.  Software proficiencies in Landmark OpenWorks, SeisWorks, SMT, PETRA, RECALL, GeoFrame, GeoQuest, Discovery, ArcView, ArcGIS, ESRI, PostStackPal, and OpenSpirit.  Geographic experience includes Texas, Louisiana, shelf and deepwater Gulf of Mexico, the Middle East, South America, and the South Caspian Sea.   Ask for TG546.

Geologist with a bachelor's degree in geology with a minor in petroleum engineering and more than 30 years of upstream oil and gas experience in exploration and exploitation in multiple geological trends.  Experienced in prospect generation, mapping, acquisition and evaluation, development drilling and completions, workover recommendations, open and cased-hole log analysis, and 3-D seismic survey interpretation.  Experienced in the geology of salt domes, and gas shales.  Software proficiencies in SMT, KINGDOM 2D/3D PAK, EarthPAK, and Prizm.  Geographic areas of expertise include the Texas and Louisiana  Gulf coast, south Texas, east Texas, offshore Gulf of Mexico, north Texas, and the mid-continent area.  Certified Petroleum Geologist.  Ask for G1018.

Geologist with a master's degree in geology and 25 years of industry experience with the last eight working as a consultant.  Experienced in field development, petrophysics, reservoir analysis, and economic evaluation.  Additionally experienced in identifying drilling, recompletion, and workover opportunities for client-operated properties.   Cross-trained in production engineering, reservoir engineering and workovers and completions.  Domestic geographic areas worked include Texas, Colorado, California, and New Mexico.  International geographic areas worked include Burma, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, and Guatemala.  Licensed professional geologist.  Ask for G810.

Geophysicist with a master's degree in geophysics and 30 years of upstream oil and gas experience working for mid-sized upstream petroleum companies. Experienced in field development, prospecting, mapping, seismic processing, and seismic interpretation. Additionally experienced in domestic geologic formations including the Frio, Het Lime, Hackberry, Yegua, Wilcox, Austin Chalk, and Queen City.  Software and programming proficiencies in Petrel, SMT, GeoQuest, GeoFrame, GeoDepth, Promax, VBNET, ASP NET, Java, Visual Basic, and Perl.  Ask for GP478.

Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 12 years of experience working for a state oil company and a large service company. Experienced in production simulation, field studies, portfolio and project economics, field development, electric submersible pump design and operations, and production log analysis.  Additionally experienced in waterflood, and gas injection projects. Geographic areas worked include Venezuela and Alaska. Software proficiency in PROSPER, GAP, PIPESIM, and SubPUMP.  Ask for P546.

Production Engineer with a bachelor's degree in natural gas engineering and 13 years of experience working for major and independent oil and gas companies and service companies. Experienced in completions, workovers, production optimization, field development, and reservoir management. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, and Texas.  Sofrtware proficiency in MBAL, PROSPER, OFM, and PERFORM.  Ask for PR242.

Reservoir Engineer with a PhD in mechanical engineering and 30 years of experience working for major oil and gas companies and service companies. Experienced in reservoir simulation, reservoir modeling, reservoir characterization, and mentoring and training of engineering professionals. Geographic areas worked include the Gulf of Mexico (onshore and deepwater), California, Alaska, Mexico, Russia, Trinidad, Venezuela, Western Siberia, the Caspian Sea, and the North Sea. Software proficiency in ECLIPSE, Landmark VIP, PEEP, WellTest, and SAPHIR.  Ask for R534.

Drilling Engineer with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and 30 years of experience working for independent oil and gas companies and as a consultant. Experienced in deepwater design and operations, workovers, HPHT drilling, ERD, and high angle directional drilling. Geographic areas worked include California, Texas, Louisiana, the Rocky Mountains, the Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela, West Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the Gulf of Thailand.  Ask for D449.

Review thousands of talented people in more than 30 upstream disciplines at www.collarini.com

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Career Advice

Networking in a Tougher Environment  

For many professionals looking for work, turning to an online job board has been often the first resource. However, employers are progressively looking for new ways to find prospective hires such as their own company websites and employee referrals.

Job-seeking professionals are having success by networking with employees at companies via social and industry professional events, community and neighborhood organizations, and the use of industry-focused staffing agencies.  Human-resource experts say job hunters should not give up on job boards, but also should use every other tool available to them.    

Statistics say that jobs are landed at a rate of 70% through networking.  This should be the most productive aspect of your job search.

Tips on Networking

• Join professional organizations, networking groups, sign up with an industry-focused staffing agency, attend professional conferences, and volunteer in the community. Volunteer work was cited as the second best way to make network contacts. 
• Maintain and expand your knowledge base through industry journals, magazines, newspapers, and books.
• Research companies that meet your requirements for a desirable employer and seek out people you know at these companies.
• Take a course in your field. You will not only take away valuable knowledge, but you will meet other professionals who may work for a company in which you are interested or be able to introduce you to someone at the company.

Pitfalls to avoid 

• Avoid transferring the responsibility for your search to those with whom you are networking.

• Do not pass out your resume too quickly.  Have a business card available and if you are asked for your resume, offer to email it so that it can be forwarded to a hiring manager.  Be sure to exchange business cards. 

• Do not forget to thank those in your network that has been helpful to you, preferably with a personal thank-you note.

As a professional, you should incorporate networking in your everyday practice, whether you are looking for a job, looking for a candidate, or just staying abreast of industry trends.  You never know if that next person you meet will be your future employer (or employee).

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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.

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Contact Us
11111 Richmond 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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