RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

Career Connections

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the price of crude oil plummeted.  International petroleum companies responded by scaling back recruitment and implementing various ways to reduce the workforce through attrition, early retirement and layoffs. Almost immediately, some warned that when the salad days returned for the global petroleum industry, a shortage of skilled personnel was unavoidable.

More than 25 years later, no one can accuse the industry of not trying to bring new graduates into the fold, or of a reluctance to train existing employees or give skilled workers an incentive to stay. As the global recession of 2008–2009 abates and oil prices climb, a petroleum industry recruitment push is in full swing. Included here is a rundown of recruitment contact information for some majors and large independents as they strive to find, train and keep the skilled personnel necessary to compete globally.  

	Operator Chevron offers 14 summer corporate internships available in the U.S., spanning areas such as Business Development–Land, Earth Science and Global Gas Commercial Skills Development Program. The company hosts a variety of recruiting events and employment programs, including campus visits to 56 universities throughout the country. The company also partners with 14 organizations on conferences and recruiting fairs. Chevron also offers similar programs in seven other countries. Specialized programs are catered for undergraduate and graduate development. These two-year rotational programs expose recent graduates to four different disciplines within Chevron. For more information or to apply online, visit careers.chevron.com.
	Aside from intern programs and university recruiting, BP has an active Future Leaders Program (FLP), which begins accepting applications in September 2012. Over the course of three to four years, FLP will place individuals in two roles that give them real responsibilities and greater exposure to BP’s business. Participants will receive both structured training to accelerate development and a mentor who will provide further insights. FLP is for individuals who combine a post-graduate degree with a minimum of three years of professional experience and the potential to become a leader. The company is also in full swing for hiring seasoned professionals, including ex-pats and rotators with technical skills and a desire to learn from and collaborate across the company’s multi-disciplinary teams. BP currently has roles for expats within engineering, including drilling and completion engineers, and wells and engineering team leads, together with opportunities in projects, project services, HSSE, operations, and procurement & supply chain management. Roles for rotators include drilling supervisors and completion supervisors. The company has positions located in a variety of places, including Houston, North Sea, Algeria, Oman, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Trinidad, Canada, Alaska and Angola. For more information, and to learn about the application process, visit www.bp.com.
	Independent Anadarko has a strong focus on university relations and has representatives visit dozens of universities around the world to recruit for summer internship, as well as post-graduate programs. These programs cover topics from geosciences to information technology to land management. A third of the current full-time jobs offered by Anadarko are in engineering. For more information, see www.anadarko.com/careers.
	While independent Chesapeake Energy holds recruiting fairs on university campuses, it is their Chesapeake Internship Model that gives potential employees first-hand experience. The summer internship program focuses primarily in the areas of accounting/finance, energy/management, engineering, geology, law school and MIS/computer science. The program includes orientation to Chesapeake classes from CEO Aubrey McClendon, rig tours and an opportunity to learn about each aspect of the natural gas industry. For more information, visit www.chk.com/careers.
	BHP Billiton’s headquarters for petroleum internship is in Houston, and internship applications start in September 2012.  While a majority of the company’s recruits come from engineering sectors, BHP  also has graduate recruits from science & exploration, health science and business. The BHP Billiton Foundations for Graduates Program is an integrated two-year program designed to smoothly transition graduates from study to a work environment providing challenging and rewarding opportunities to develop  future leaders and technical experts. The program teaches decision-making, communication, technical and critical leadership skills, access executive coaching, as well as taking part in an intensive residential program. Participants will also gain on-the-job experience analyzing and solving real business issues, and identify key areas for an employee's future development. See jobs.bhpbilliton.com.
	Saudi Aramco is focusing on recruiting experienced, degreed professionals with about five to 10 years of experience in a variety of areas, although engineering and scientific and technical roles are especially in demand. In addition to oil and gas professions, Saudi Aramco looks for professionals in education, medical, finance and other fields. The company administers one of the most comprehensive training and development programs in the world, and professionals are supported and encouraged in their participation with professional societies and joint industry task forces. For more information, visit www.aramco.jobs.
	Occidental Petroleum offers summer internships, typically lasting 10 to 12 weeks, in its oil and gas and chemical divisions to students with educational backgrounds in petroleum, chemical, mechanical, petrochemical, and electrical engineering; geophysics and geology; land management; and health, environment and safety (HES). The company is also hiring professionals in all areas from engineering to R&D to administrative support. Occidental provides access to many in-house and external training and development resources, via both instructor-led and e-learning opportunities for personnel development. Training solutions (including the PetroSkills program for engineers), computer skills, and specific functional skills training are offered, so that employees can learn about these training programs through their manager or function chief. For information, see www.oxy.com/careers.
	Italy’s Eni is very active in seeking student recruits, utilizing its own established relational network with the most prestigious universities, national and international.  Eni Corporate University promotes and implements training programs in the key areas of the company's business. Integrated training courses, with the skills and know-how of the oil and gas industry, include university masters courses, providing study grants for specialized courses, specialized degree courses, and ad hoc training projects for young graduates from non-European countries of strategic interest to Eni. For experienced professionals, Eni has positions available in engineering (mechanical, material, chemical, environmental, energy, naval, management, electrical and civil), geology and economics. Overall, Eni has jobs available for people working in their home country, people hired in their home country and assigned to another country, and people hired specifically to be seconded on international assignment with a high level of international mobility. Please see www.eni.com/en_IT/work-with-us/jobs-at-eni.
	Statoil has a variety of new career opportunities across the globe for students, graduates and experienced professionals. For students, the company offers internships, written theses, and a 2–4-year graduate program. Statoil even offers 80 students of geosciences and petroleum subjects a 10-day Svalex expedition to study the unique geology of the Arctic Svalbard island. There are hundreds of current openings for professionals, and once part of Statoil, all employees are offered a large portfolio of formal learning programs, both e-learning and instructor-led courses. Statoil Academy includes several schools and academies embedded in disciplinary areas in the business (project academy, conferences, seminars, workshops and other learning arenas).  For more information, see www.statoil.com/en/careers.
	France’s Total offers opportunities for applicants from all national and educational backgrounds, both beginners and experienced professionals, in a broad array of specialties. These include technical  (geology, geophysics, reservoir engineering, oil and gas installations, drilling and well operations, project management, process engineering, maintenance, electrical engineering and instrumentation); R&D and QHSE; sales, marketing and related functions; and corporate functions, such as IT, supply chain and logistics, legal affairs, finance and procurement. Nearly 4,000 internships and 700 work-study contracts are offered each year across the entire company. Whether based at headquarters or in refineries or subsidiaries, these opportunities are designed for applicants with at least two years of post-secondary education, in a very broad range of fields.  For information, visit careers.total.com.
	Devon Energy has a robust internship program, in which students are recruited for the following disciplines:  energy/land management, engineering (petroleum, mechanical & chemical), engineering construction management, general business, geology, geophysics, information technology and accounting/finance. The company is also actively hiring seasoned professionals for positions throughout the U.S. and Canada. For information, visit jobs.dvn.com.
	Shell’s student and graduate programs offer summer and full-time post-graduation opportunities, with campus recruiting and events scheduled year-round throughout the world. Professional careers span technical and commercial jobs, with career progression programs from on-the-job learning and training for recognized professional qualifications to personal development programs, ‘buddy’ schemes and regular appraisals. Please see www.shell.com/home/content/careers.
	London-based BG Group offers a comprehensive graduate training program, where each participant is assigned a mentor for the duration of the two-year program. Participants are exposed to a large number of internal courses, which support study for external qualifications or accreditation. Each business area (business analysis and commercial, contracts and procurement, energy marketing, engineering and operations, global IT, human resources, petroleum engineering, well engineering, and geology and geophysics) also has its own training and development initiatives. There is a variety of positions currently available for seasoned professionals, as well. Please visit www.bg-group.com/careers/pages/WorkWithUs.aspx.
	Global Geophysical is currently looking to hire industry experts with a broad experience base and who have extensive client relationships, as well as a younger generation of entrepreneurs who have a strong work ethic, enjoy travel, and who are looking for a rewarding vocation working among a diverse workforce in a high-pressure environment. The company also offers internship programs. For more information, see www.globalgeophysical.info/careers.aspx.
	With student internships available, Switzerland-based ABB is looking to hire recent graduates who are interested in working for the global company in the areas of finance/business control, information systems, energy futures and human resources & sustainability. Programs are currently available in Australia, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Recruiting for experienced hires is currently focused on the areas of engineering and project management, and global consulting. Please visit www.abb.com.