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The Devastating Truth, Edition 2 (2020) Why YOUR Resume is not Getting you Interviews and HOW you must fix it now! - C. Bird, CEO - Resume Resort / www.rigboyz.com
So why would I tell you guys how to do this on your own when this is how I feed my own family? Because I cannot handle hearing one more story where you literally are losing everything, simply because you are not aware of these facts.
We do what we can, helping where we are able, no strings attached. We use our knowledge, power, and influence to make the lives of those around us better.
Simple. This is what we do.
We are living in desperate times, and this is where we stop thinking about just our own interests and bottom dollar and we start operating like a family.
I would be lying to say there are enough jobs for everyone – especially in oil… but I want to tell you that the majority of people coming to me who have been looking for work for a year or more are not finding work for a very different reason than they thought… the lack of jobs is not the only issue…
The biggest factor is HOW they have been applying for the jobs that they have been after. I am disheartened literally to the point of tears when on the phone with a client and they tell me for a year or more they have been exclusively sending out PDF file resumes to jobs… and they have not received one interview – and now they are literally on the verge of homelessness… especially when I know the solution is very simple and that they literally just lost EVERYTHING because they did not know the 5 things below that I am going to share with you. Many of these individuals just had their resume done by a "professional" resume writer that claimed to be proficient in ATS gas and oil resumes.
So I am going to ask you to do me a favor in a bit here. At the end of this article, from my heart to yours ... I am going to ask you to do something for every single person in your LinkedIn community that you care about.
But first, the info you need to know:
The lack of jobs is only a very SMALL part of the problem when an individual is looking for work for an extended period of time.
ATS (Applicant Tracking Software) is the real problem.
ATS systems are these evil, non-discerning programs that tell a company that you exist, that you have applied for their job and that you REALLY want it! But guess what? If you don’t speak its "language" – to that software you do not exist… and if to the ATS you are a “nobody”, to the company… you are a “nobody” too….
So here is what you need to know right now to make sure when you hit that “apply now” button and you submit your resume, it will be received and ranked appropriately by the ATS so you can get back to work!
TOP 5 ATS Rules to Live By!
1. ATS Compatibility!
ONLY submit the text file into online job applications. This includes resume databases like Rigzone, Monster, etc. NEVER EVER email your resume or attach it to a job application in any other file format other than .txt or a .doc. The .doc can ONLY be used if it literally has all formatting cleared and follows all of the other compatibility rules.
2. Say, “NO!” to PDF!
Ignore what your "professional" resume writer told you and listen to this! You must know what the various file formats are for! For example, a PDF is basically a photograph of information, it is NOT the information itself… so you would never send this into an ATS software, as they are designed to read information, not photos of information. PDF is great for printing and presentation purposes only. (Every day I talk to clients that were sending out their PDF file to literally hundreds of jobs and they never heard back from one – this is why. To that company you had not actually completed your application, as the ATS reads MS Word files, not PDF files properly.)
3. Avoid the Header and Footer!
When creating your oilfield resume, know that ATS software is not designed to read any content placed in the Header or Footer area of the resume. Sadly I speak with a handful of you every single day who have strategically placed your name and all of your contact info ONLY in the header or footer area. This means that in their ATS, you are a lovely oilfield professional, but the ATS has no name or contact info for you… so once again, your application is incomplete and on to the next candidate they go. All info must be in the BODY of the document only.
4. Know Your Skills, and Sell ALL of them!
You MUST know your top gas and oil core competencies and every single oilfield keyword that the ATS could be programmed to search for that describes it. With that info you MUST have core competency sections that cover EVERY key area of your skill-sets (technical and soft skills).
For example, let’s say you are a Rig Manager, well, your top core competencies are going to be: Safety Management, Rig Management, Talent Management, Materials & Equipment Management, etc. Each of those must be HEADINGS to a section that lists at least 5 – 10 bullets with complete sentences (explaining your proficiency in that one area).
Each bullet should have several of the top keywords that the ATS will be looking for within that competency area. Make sense? Your oil and gas resume ideally should have a professional presentation of literally 200 – 2000 oil related keywords to describe who you are and what you bring to the table (never copy and paste the job description into the resume or use white text to manipulate the software or you risk being HR blacklisted!).
5. Forget Textboxes!
NEVER send a resume in a file format that would allow your information to be hidden in a textbox of any sort. You can use textboxes when it comes to the file you use for printing purposes – but NO textboxes for the one you use in online applications. Anything inside that textbox is not read by the ATS.
So that is what you need to know. How about, go follow the above rules, resubmit your oilfield job applications and I assure you, your job search in the gas and oil industry will turn around!
OK guys – I just gave you the info they pay me the big bucks for, and all for free. So now it is time for that favor I was telling you about. I need YOU to make sure this information gets into the hands of as many people as absolutely possible, especially anyone that you know that is looking for work or has been for a while in the oil patch.
To do this you can “share” it, anywhere that you think is appropriate - such as on LinkedIn in your feed or appropriate oilfield job seeker groups, Facebook and gas and oil employment groups there - etc.
90% of the gas and oil resumes that come across my desk everyday are breaking at least one or more of the above resume writing ATS rules, and sadly, if you break ANY of them, the chances of getting ranked in that ATS as a qualified oilfield applicant are exceptionally low.
SO PLEASE, do what I just did today, do the right thing.
I got my lazy self out of bed today at 5:00 am so I could make the time in my extremely busy schedule to write this for all of you oilfield professionals, and now I am hoping you can also do the right thing and be a part of my oil community that helps out the brothers and sisters. Get this info out there please. When I say it could save a life, I am actually not being melodramatic:
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!” ~ adapted from "The Star Thrower" by Loren C. Eiseley
Now get this into the hands of those riggers who need to read it.
Make the difference to the one.
To get working with me today you can check out our professional gas and oil resume writing services and online order page here: https://www.rigboyz.com/
Be blessed and care for one another.
Carol Bird
CEO
Resume Resort / RigBoyz Employment Network
text: 306.270.3511
*Carol Bird is the CEO for the Resume Resort / RigBoyz Employment Network, a leading recruitment, international resume writing and employment consulting firm that specializes in gas and oil (online job search strategies, resume writing, LinkedIn writing and career coaching services). Although this firm specializes in the oilfield, they have served and continue to serve all industries, holding an A+ BBB rating since 1999. Their firm offers a free 15-minute initial telephone consultation and resume critique to a handful of candidates per week. They can be reached at info@resumeresort.com and you can come on board here: https://www.rigboyz.com/.