Oil Rig Jobs

Oil careers are hot right now, and getting hotter with each increase in oil prices. Are you one of those trying to get a piece of the pie, but failing? Veteran job hunters know that the resume is an important part of any job application, alongside the cover letter. If your prospective boss does not read your resume, you will not get your interview. And no interview means no job. Below are 3 common mistakes which cause prospective bosses to toss your resume into the nearest waste basket.

1. Job experience listed in chronological order. This is a very common mistake which many job seekers make. They list all of their previous job experiences, starting with their earliest job and ending with their latest job. This forces the employer to flip through all their previous jobs before finding their most relevant experience, which should be the latest job. Now, do you think any boss is going to take the time and trouble to do this? Don’t you think that the employer is more likely to toss it aside and look at another person’s resume instead? It is far better to list your job experiences in reverse chronological order, placing your latest and most relevant job experience on the first page of your resume.

2. Previous job experience is not related to the job application. Do note that your cover letter and resume are a form of sales letter, meant to sell your skills and experience to your prospective employer. Unless the employer is truly desperate, he will throw your job application out. In your resume, you need to highlight your skills, achievements and attitudes which are most relevant to the job posting. While you should not lie, many job seekers fail to highlight their relevant achievements because they think it is too minor or not an official part of their previous jobs. For example, you may have been an electrician on an oil rig, now applying for the head of the electrical department. Did you ever assist or cover your head of department, perhaps when he was on his annual vacation or on extended sick leave? Perhaps you had a large number of staff, and he often delegated some of his tasks to you. Too many job seekers only describe their official main duties in their resume, failing to mention extra achievements like this in their resume, thinking that “It doesn’t count. I only covered for my boss 3 weeks when he broke his leg.”

3. Not enough details. Some job applicants list down every job they have held in the past, but provide no details. All the boss sees is a list of the job seeker’s 6 or 7 job titles, employers and dates of employment. This is another fatal mistake. Remember that your prospective boss wants to know what you have done in the past that is similar to what he wants you to do for him now. Writing “Roustabout: Alaskan pipeline; 2003-2004″ does not tell your new boss anything useful. You need to tell him what you actually did during that job that is relevant to him. For example, you were a part of the team rebuilding a damaged section of the pipeline.

These are just 3 mistakes in your resume which could derail your oil career.

RigWorker.com has been helping people start their oil careers since 1998.

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This article on oil careers was also published on EzineArticles.com.