OFFSHORE OIL RIG JOBS IN NIGERIA

1) For every oil rig job you see advertised, 100s of people have already applied for it
Is this what you want? To chase after the same job as hundreds of other people? Unless you frequently win the lottery, your chances of getting an interview, much less be hired, are downright pathetic - especially in a recession. If you have been looking for jobs in these three places:
Websites of large oil companies, e.g. Shell, Exxon, Transocean, etc.
Free online job boards, e.g. Monster, Yahoo Jobs
National and local newspaper job advertisements
Then stop wasting your time. I won’t say don’t do it, but use your time wisely. 80% of the other guys looking for offshore oil rig jobs are looking at these 3 places, so your chances of getting a job there are like buying a lottery ticket. If you seriously want to work on an oil rig, you need to look for offshore drilling jobs which have not been advertised yet. Remember - when someone leaves his job, it takes time for that fact to trigger the full response from HR. It could take months before the job vacancy is advertised in the newspaper (especially when the company is big). Here are just 4 specific ways you can use to find oil rig employment:
The Wilshire index lists the 5000 largest US companies, the smallest of which has a market value of hundreds of millions of US Dollars. Go through the list one company at a time and carefully copy down the names and details of oil companies. You should end up with a list of 200 to 300 companies.
Look up trade associations and business bureaus, concentrating on those which serve companies in the oil industry. Buy the membership directories they publish. Start with the groups nearest where you stay, and slowly broaden your research. These directories will contain some contact numbers and a variety of useful information on smaller companies. Shortlist the companies which deal in the oil industry.
Almost everyone forgets or ignores the Yellow Pages these days, but they still contain some useful information. Copy down the names and contact information of companies in the oil industry.
Tell everyone you know that you are looking for oil rig jobs. Ask your friends, family, ex-classmates, ex-teachers, your neighborhood grocer, and anyone else you have ever come into contact with. The theory of Six Degrees of Separation (proven by sociologists and other scientists through practical experiments) says that you can be connected to any other person on this planet through a chain of six people on average. In other words, the theory says that if you talk to your Uncle Adam, he talks to his golf buddy Bob, Bob speaks to his cousin Charles, Charles speaks to his barber Danny, Danny speaks to his plumber Ed, and Ed speaks to his brother-in-law Frank who may be the toolpusher (manager) who needs new workers on his oil rig. Is it easy? No, you need to talk to at least 20 or 30 people to start out with, but it gets results.
Become a regular at the bars where oil rig workers spend their time after work (at the end of their tours). Spend time during the quiet times at the counter and make friends with the bar tender. Buy the guys at the bar a drink, make friends with them, and keep your eyes and ears open. Nurse your beer carefully and don’t let yourself get drunk. Don’t shoot your mouth off or you may as well go shoot yourself for real. By hanging out with guys who already have offshore oil rig jobs, they are more likely to tell you when there is a job opening. They are also more likely to recommend you to their boss, which offers you better chances than competing with 1000 other people for the same job on Monster. You might be doing them a favor too, because if things work out their company might pay them a recruitment bonus.
2) Too many job seekers screw themselves over by jumping the gun
Don’t be impatient. Do some research before sending your resume to the oil drilling company. Once you get a good lead on a job, visit the company, stake it out, and find out where their employees spend their time away from the office. Where do they work? Where do they go to drink after work? Try to meet them socially, take a genuine interest in them and make friends with them. Don’t interrogate them, don’t force them, listen to them and they will eventually open up to you. This is exactly what top salesmen do to make their multi-million dollar sales deals. Don’t worry, you’ll fail at first. But after you fall on your face a few times, you’ll get the hang of it. You’ll know how to find out who is the best person to speak to about the job - this is usually the supervisor or department manager who needs the worker and NOT the HR Manager. In a smaller offshore drilling company this means you will end up speaking with Mr. Bob Tools, the guy in charge of the oil rig who needs 20 roustabouts now and is asking “Why hasn’t HR sent me any people yet?”
3) Don’t wait for your prospective employer to pay for your certifications and paperwork
When oil was selling for over $140/barrel in 2008, oil companies fell over themselves to pay for your training, certifications and any other necessary paperwork. In 2009, when oil is selling for $40/barrel, the situation is different. If your resume prominently states that you already have all the needed paperwork and certifications, and you have attached certified copies of your paperwork, you will be three or four steps ahead of almost everyone else applying for the same job.
Different countries, states and provinces have different requirements, but here is a list of the needed paperwork to get you started:
Passport
Vaccinations
Firefighting certification
Medical fitness certification
Trade certification/license recognized by the state where you will be working, e.g. welder, electrician, nurse/medic, etc.
First aid certification
Offshore survival training certification
Helicopter underwater escape training certification
American youths have another shortcut into the oil industry. They should check out the US Department of Labor’s JobCorps program. This program offers special training and certification to help you get jobs with oil service companies. British ex-servicemen also have a similar program to help them get the training and certifications to work in the British oil industry.
If you want to get hired for offshore oil rig jobs, you have to follow (famous Civil War cavalry general) Nathan Bedford Forrest’s winning strategy: “to git thar fust with the most men”. In other words, to get hired for offshore drilling jobs, you need to get to the vacancies before anyone else, and you need to do it fully prepared with all necessary and relevant paperwork, certifications and recommendations. This is even more important in a recession.
Tips #1 and #2 are highly targeted ways to look for offshore oil rig jobs. They are like Warren Buffet sifting through hundreds of stocks to find the winners. On the other hand, people have also been successful using the shotgun approach - they invest in index mutual funds with hundreds and thousands of stocks. RigWorker.com sends your resume/CV to more than 1200 US and international oil companies.