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The petroleum industry has been very volatile over the past several years; therefore, it is essential to maintain an up-to-date resume in case of layoffs or last-minute job opportunities. The oilfield provides a vast selection of career opportunities, ranging from introductory to executive level, local to national to global.
By keeping your oil and gas resume current, you are well-prepared for any opportunity that may present itself. This article will provide essential keywords, potential career paths, profile summary samples, and other excellent tips for getting your resume to the top of the pile.
Writing and Designing an Organized Oil and Gas Resume
There is a basic structure every great oil and gas resume writer follows to build an effective oilfield resume. This structure includes the job applicant’s contact information, a hard-hitting profile summary, work experience, education and credentials, and professional development.
By breaking your resume down into clear-cut sections, you can easily maintain an organized and easy-to-read document, thus boosting your chances of being invited for a job interview.
Additional sections you or a resume writing service might incorporate: areas of expertise, professional affiliations, computer expertise/technology integration, and community involvement/volunteer work.
Profile Summary Examples for the Oilfield
A strong profile summary or introductory paragraph is crucial for immediately capturing the reader’s attention. Your resume profile summary should highlight your years of experience, proven talents, demonstrated abilities, professional commitment, and soft skills.
Soft skills are personality traits that influence your interaction with others. Soft or intangible skills to incorporate in an oil and gas executive resume include communication, interpersonal, organization, time management, leadership, team building, critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
To secure a sales position in this oil and gas industry, you must include sales-related skills in your resume.
Your introduction can be written as either a paragraph or in point format. It should be about five to seven lines long, written in the third person (do not use “I” or “me” statements), and pack a punch!
Ensure each line is descriptive and impressive, so use your space wisely. If you have five or more years of experience in the oilfield, include that as your first line, and use a bold font to make it stand out.
Remember that your resume showcases your brand like a LinkedIn profile does. Branding is an integral part of who you are and tells your story.
Introductory Resume Examples to Impress the Reader Instantly
Drilling Engineer Resume Summary
- Goal-driven leader with ten years of hands-on expertise as a Drilling Engineer. Verifiable track record for completing large projects on time or ahead of schedule and within budget. Safety-minded driller who implements an effective safety program that ensures the well-being and security of all site personnel. Talent for developing efficient procedures to maximize productivity and quality without sacrificing safety. Collaborative supervisor with exceptional communication, interpersonal, organization, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
Offshore Oilfield Consultant Resume Profile
- Oilfield Consultant with 15+ years of offshore experience. Proficiency in performing and overseeing offshore work, specializing in deepwater completions, interventions, and control systems. Concrete track record for the successful completion of multi-million dollar projects. Skilled at coordinating staff to guarantee correct operation, maintenance, and repair of deepwater control systems. Goal-driven professional with excellent communication, interpersonal, team-building, and analytical skills to forge strong relationships with all key stakeholders.
Oil and Gas Supervisor Resume Profile
- Resourceful and collaborative leader with 12 years of direct supervisory experience in the oil and gas industry. Proven ability to establish a highly productive and efficient work environment with minimum downtime and maximum output. Skilled at delivering applicable staff training and providing individual mentoring to help colleagues reach their full potential. Outstanding communication, organization, problem-solving, and people management skills to effectively direct a diverse group of staff. Trustworthy and loyal professional committed to clean living, a healthy lifestyle, and working long hours in adverse conditions.
Production Engineer and Oilfield Consultant Resume Summary
- Versatile professional with 17 years of combined experience as a Production Engineer and Oilfield Consultant. Proven ability to effectively direct operations, ensuring a productive, stable, and safe work environment. Talent for correctly analyzing inflow and outflow performance and integrating proactive measures to ensure optimal output. Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills to foster trusting working relationships with co-workers, contractors, clients, and all other key players. Creative and trustworthy team player committed to professional development and facing challenges head-on.
Onshore Petrochemical Engineer Resume Profile
- Petrochemical Engineer with eight years of experience in onshore drilling and seven years offshore. Proficiency in designing innovative procedures that maximize output while reducing environmental impact. Proven talent for building successful completion systems, maintaining equipment, and minimizing downtime. Strong attention to detail and a commitment to a high-quality finished product. Results-oriented leader with solid interpersonal and leadership skills who can effectively liaise with government agencies and internal and external stakeholders.
Oil and Gas Safety Manager Resume Summary
- Diligent and dedicated Safety Manager with over 20 years of hands-on experience in the oil and gas industry; impeccable safety record with minimal recordable incidents. Proficient at creating and implementing effective safety policies and procedures, ensuring employee understanding and compliance. Committed to maintaining industry standards and observing government regulations to give customers peace of mind and reduce environmental impact. Highly focused and motivated leader with strong communication, time management, and analytical skills.
Derrickhand to Driller Resume Profile
- Well-rounded Derrickhand with seven years of oilfield expertise and certification as a Level III Rig Technician, seeking to transition into a full-time role as a Driller. Committed to maintaining a safe and results-oriented work environment at all times. Proven ability to accurately assess well depths and apply proactive and corrective measures to maximize efficiency and output. Collaborative leader who strives to build strong relationships with site personnel, sub-trades, and upper management. Dedicated to professional growth and development and providing the same opportunities to co-workers.
Oilfield Keywords to Use in Your Resume
Why are keywords important?
Many companies have embraced the use of technology for job candidate selections. The oilfield is no exception. With hundreds of applications coming in regularly, it is hard for companies to keep up with the screening process and manually review each resume. As such, numerous organizations have adopted and implemented applicant tracking systems (ATS). The applicant tracking system scans for keywords a hiring manager has selected.
If you do not include the correct keywords, your resume may not get read by a human being. Even if a company hasn’t employed an ATS, human resources personnel will visually scan the document for select words or phrases.
Where do you incorporate keywords?
Oil and gas keywords should appear throughout your resume and cover letter. Integrate them tactfully so they meld well with your job duties and achievements. Keywords should be incorporated in your profile summary/introduction or a separate section, “Areas of Expertise.”
How do you select keywords?
The best method for picking out precise words or phrases is analyzing the job posting. The hiring manager will clearly state what they seek in a potential candidate. Look for details concerning specific education, years of experience, and required skills, knowledge, and training. The mission statement on the company’s website (sometimes found under “About Us”) is a great place to pick out qualities they look for in their employees.
Below is a list of keywords frequently used in the petroleum industry. You do not need to incorporate every single one in your job application documents, but pick out the most appropriate for you and your desired position.
Examples of oilfield keywords
- Oil and gas
- Operations
- Drilling
- Production
- Safety
- Leadership
- Analysis/Analyze
- Problem-Solving
- Technology
- Environmental Impact
Areas of Expertise Section in Resume
You will see the term “Areas of Expertise” in this article. This section of your resume comes right after the introductory paragraph. You can choose to include it or omit it. Areas of expertise are exactly as they sound – areas you are very familiar with or are highly skilled in. As mentioned above, soft skills are essential to incorporate in your oilfield resume (and cover letter). However, there are hard skills you must demonstrate as well. Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that are easier to quantify. These can be integrated into your Areas of Expertise.
Examples of Areas of Expertise include:
- Safety Management
- Safety Compliance
- Site Supervision
- Engineering
- Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S)
- Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S)
- Equipment Operation and Maintenance
- Contract Negotiations
- Construction Coordination
- Project Coordination
- Budget Management
- Budget Forecasting
- Quality Control
- Emergency Response
- Procedure Development
- Technology Integration
- Creative Problem Solving
- Data Analysis
- Strategic Decision Making
- Teambuilding and Leadership
- Staff Training and Mentoring
- Client Relations
- Regulation Compliance
Potential Jobs in the Oilfield (non-exhaustive list)
- Roustabout – performs unskilled/manual laborer
- Roughneck – performs hard manual labor
- Derrickhand/Derrickman – stacks and guides pipe; maintains mud systems
- Assistant Driller/Driller – coordinates the crew and runs the rig
- Tool Push – manages all rig operations
- Petroleum Engineer – develops and implements techniques for recovering, processing, and producing oil and gas.
- Drilling Engineer – a subset of petroleum engineering; creates and introduces procedures to drill wells safely and economically.
- Oilfield Consultant – contracted to supervise activities and site personnel.
- Safety Manager – implements the safety program and ensures proper personnel training.
- Pipeline Engineer – responsible for the design, construction, operation, quality control, and maintenance of pipelines
- Construction Manager – oversees oilfield service operations, leads crews, and manages business development.
- Wellsite Supervisor – supervises production work and completion
- Equipment Operator – operates various equipment used at well sites
Additional Tips for Developing an Outstanding Oil and Gas Resume
- Highlight job achievements within your professional experience. Professional achievements are an effective method for concretely demonstrating your competencies. You may include as few or as many accomplishments as you like, but try to list at least three under your most recent or most relevant positions. If you are stuck coming up with achievements, use the CAR acronym:
- Challenge – What was the challenge?
- Action – What was the action you took?
- The result – What was the result of your action?
- Within your job responsibilities, highlight where you worked to show employers you are familiar with the terrain and climate. For instance:
- “Effectively managed oil rig operations in the sub-zero temperatures of the Northwest Territories.“
- “Maintained an exceptional safety record in the adverse conditions of Northern Alberta.”
- “Oversaw lease agreements in Alberta and British Columbia.”
- Develop a well-written cover letter to match your resume. Nowadays, almost all businesses require a cover letter. Write yours along with your resume so they match and complement one another. A cover letter is an excellent way to show your personality and demonstrate more of the soft skills that make you a leader who is easy to get along with and willing to help others.
- Give your resume a second and third read-through to ensure there are no spelling errors and that all information is correct and up to date.
- Maintain an organized and easy-to-read format. As stated above, by breaking your resume down into sections, you provide readers with a flowing document they can dissect and interpret.
- Leave white space on your resume. Do not jam-pack every detail into your resume. White space can help break up the information and make it visually appealing.
- Keep your resume to a maximum of two pages. Since companies receive thousands of applications yearly, you will want to keep your document concise. By sticking to two pages, you will not overwhelm the reader.
- If you are a seasoned oil and gas worker, there is no need to incorporate your earliest work or lowest positions on the oilfield totem pole (i.e., Roustabout, Roughneck, etc.) Focus on your most recent and most relevant job experience. You can review a resume sample here for an oilfield consultant.
- Cut out redundancies. If your jobs have been almost identical, regardless of the company you worked for, do not simply cut and paste your job duties. Find a way to re-word the positions without using the exact phrases or descriptors.
Wrapping it up!
If you don’t want to write your oilfield resume or a resume in any other sector, I can help. I am a certified resume writer from Canada who works with clients worldwide. For 16 years, I have provided a top-notch resume writing service to elevate stress and ensure clients get the results they want. Connect with me (Candace) via email or call 1 877 738 8052.