Job Search A light at the End of the Tunnel

February 10, 2022

Here I am publishing a 2nd post on Linkedin in a long time. I am writing this post to decompress from the challenging, emotional, intense, frustrating, and incredibly boring, job search. But like we say in Texas, “is not my first rodeo”. The positive thing is that this time around it has been a little different. I will explain later.

To add context to my story, back in 2015 when the oil crash blew the bottom of the barrel, I was laid off. My career in oilfield services had been progressing for more than 15 years when suddenly I found myself looking for work.  To that point, I had held good postings in upstream operations management. When the release came, I was assigned to Neuquen, Argentina. I had to relocate and move back home to Houston. It was tough, move the family, place the kids in schools, plan the move, the house...; it was depressing, and I felt helpless, as my career had gone out the window with the oil price. The feeling was that everybody was laid-off. Which it was not far from the truth, hundreds of thousands of oil jobs were lost.

Nine months later, I was embarking on a different industry (construction) in capital sales and business development; and I believed I could stay there for the rest of my professional time. I invested time, dedicated great effort to make success there. Also, invested my own funds on a Jack Welch MBA program, which I successfully completed, so many years later after graduating from U of H (go Coogs!). Little did I know, two years later, my construction gig was over. Long story short, in 2018, I went back to the oilfield as the “recovery” was showing signs of awakening and landed a good Regional Management role in offshore services, leading a different business line, a long shot from my past experiences - survey and marine construction. I learned a new discipline and gained new skills, embraced it, and enjoyed it very much. I figured “this is it, I am here for good, will make a statement, grow my career and make invaluable contributions to the organization”. Well, that did not quite happen either. Covid hits, along with a second oil crash, and when major events occur companies restructure, reorganize, and …. release a bunch of people (especially large organizations).

So, if you are still reading, you may be asking “what is wrong with you?” Believe me, I asked myself the same question. “What did I do wrong? Something I said? Made a wrong decision? What am I gonna do?” and many more questions. But, to get to the point of this post. There is nothing I can do. I have come to terms that “life” happens and my decisions affect some outcomes of our life, yes, but there are some events that are unavoidable and consequential. So, you adapt, you keep moving forward and you control your emotions. And, since, I have more time than normal I have spent time on the Linkedin platform applying to jobs and reading posts, comments from people of different backgrounds and professions. I noticed a lot of us seem to be on the same boat. So, I wanted to share my thoughts on actions that may be beneficial or not. 

What I mean by the job-search is different this time, it is my attitude. I looked at it from a different perspective. I maintain a positive view and perspective of the job market. I have been diligent on the job descriptions that I search for (dig deeper). I revamped the CV/Resume. I update or tweak the Linkedin profile constantly. I offer my two cents advice on comments to others when appropriate. I make effort to make more on-line contacts and connection via requests and with known contacts. I was able to do consulting work using the skills I gained on my last role (very fortunate here). But most important, I believe the market is in flux – and referring more to O&G – because I am getting responses that before were non-existent. My profile shows up on more searches. I am seeing more job positions that fit my profile better, as these were not posted before; I see more notices that my CV has been downloaded on applications, and I even had some interviews. These are trends that shine a small light at the end tunnel. So, I believe I am getting close to the holy grail.

Now what do you in the meantime you ask. What works for me, I go to the gym and mountain bike. I upgraded my MTB and started riding trails all over Houston. I rode trails in Houston before, but I did not know they had grown considerably along with the cycling community, a nice surprise. These two things are a great therapy to stay in shape and to be able to maintain a high level of patience, coordination, planning, dedication, and determination to the search. You don’t want to fall in despair and depression as it was the end of your world. Be thankful for you have at this moment, especially for your health, keep the hope, and thank God above everything else; we will get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Written by: Cisco Gutierrez