Oil Rig Jobs

Whenever money is involved, directly or indirectly, there is a possibility of scams. This includes the field of oil recruitment. One of the most frequently seen oil employment scams involves the conman sending an email to a desperate job seeker. Unfortunately, this is also how legitimate companies operate. So how do you know whether the job offer you received is real or a fake?

One common piece of advice when faced with a possible oil employment scam is to go with your gut: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”. This may be valid if you are an oil industry veteran, but pretty useless if you are new to the oil employment field. Just one or two years ago, there was a big flame war in a major job board regarding the correct payscale for a major oil company. Some oil rig veterans claimed a certain figure, while another group of veterans claimed a figure half of that. Unfortunately, both sides produced strong evidence to support their claims.

However, using the following 10-point checklist gives you a better guide for your decision:

1. Did you attend a face-to-face interview for this job?

In most cases, employers will not hire you based on just a phone interview. The exception is when your friend who is already working in that company recommends you to his boss. But then you don’t need to read this, do you?

2. Did you apply for this job?

No oil rig companies are going to email you an unsolicited job offer.

3. Is this job offer an overseas posting?

Most scams involve overseas postings which are difficult for you to check. A conman is not going to email you a job offer within easy traveling distance.

4. Is this a job in Nigeria? Or is the recruiter based in Nigeria?

While this may be unfair to legitimate Nigerian companies, a disproportionate number of scams come from Nigeria. Unless you have a trustworthy contact who can check things out for you, it is safer to reject Nigerian job offers.

5. Are you being asked for money (directly or indirectly)?

A real job offer will pay you, not the other way around! A scam will ask you to pay various fees, e.g. paperwork fees, admin fees, visa fees, air ticket, bribes, etc.

6. Look for the company name and/or job title in google.

What do other people say? If many people (in forums, job boards, etc.) say the job is a scam, then it probably is (a scam).

7. Check the Better Business Bureau for Canadian and US oil rig companies.

Search BBB’s website for the company offering you the job. Also check the recruiting firm which sent you the email. While not all legitimate companies are listed in BBB’s database, it will give you some useful information to work with.

8. Check the company’s website.

Not all real companies have websites. But if the job offer email lists the website, you should pay it a visit.

• Is the website working?
• Is the website only one page or many pages? A real company website normally has many pages.

9. Check the company email.

You want to look at the “Reply-To” field of the emailed job offer. Ask your email provider how to do this - Yahoo Mail settings are different from MSN Mail settings which are different from Google Mail settings, etc. A real company will not use a free email address. If the “Reply-To” field says “xyz@gmail.com”, or “abc@yahoo.com”, it is certainly a scam.

You will also want to compare the “Reply-To” field with the “From” field. Both of them should show the same email host (Look at the part after the @ sign). For example, “From: HR-Director@XYZ.com” and “Reply-To: HR-Flunky@XYZ.com” might be legitimate, since both of them are from “XYZ.com”. In some companies, it is their policy to set the “From” field to the same address, while the “Reply-To” field shows the individual employee. However, “From: Managing-Director@XYZ.com” and “Reply-To: Secretary@ABC.com” is probably a scam. Note the different email hosts - XYZ.com vs ABC.com.

If the company website is listed in the job offer email, compare the website address against the email host address. They should be similar, e.g. the website is www.XYZ-OilCompany.com while the “Reply-To” field says “hr@XYZ-OilCompany.com”.

10. Are you being asked for sensitive information?

There is no reason for anyone to ask you for sensitive information like your credit card number by email. Other sensitive data include your bank account number, social security, driving license, even your birth date. These are information commonly used for identity theft.

So, should you or should you not reply to the job offer? Following the checklist will help you to make a good decision.

RigWorker.com has been helping people get oil rig jobs since 1998.

Click here to find out how we can help you get your resume/cv in front of the hiring managers for oil drilling companies.