Despite Challenges, Recruiters Optimistic for 2020

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Despite Challenges, Recruiters Optimistic for 2020

 

 

 

Despite Challenges, Recruiters Optimistic for 2020

 

 

The U.S. oil and gas industry has seen its fair share of ups and downs and 2019 was no exception.

Recruiters felt it, too.

“It’s really been kind of a rollercoaster,” Jeff Bush, president of CSI Recruiting, told Rigzone.

Bush explained his firm, which focuses exclusively on recruiting and placement for the upstream sector, was busy in the first quarter and “extremely slow” during the summer.

“The few things we were working on definitely took a long time to come to fruition,” he said. “I think there was a real hesitancy to make a decision. There’s an idea of, ‘if I don’t make a decision, I can’t be blamed for spending too much money in my division. So, I’ll just ask my current staff to do more.’ We saw that really start to change pretty significantly in the early part of September.”

The third quarter saw decisions being made and people getting hired. This continued through November.

“Where we’re seeing the highest demand is accounting and finance, reservoir engineering and land administration – not much in geoscience or land,” he said. “These are full-time, good-paying jobs, but the number of openings is still pretty slim.”

Bush says all of his crew is busy now, though there continues to be a general level of hesitancy among energy companies.

“Most of the folks that are in a position to hire aren’t quite sure that they want to pull the trigger, and if they are, they want to make sure they’ve seen a slew of candidates across the experience spectrum to be sure they’re making the absolute right hire.”

Summer Chancey, president of global business operations for Viking Recruiting Resources, also saw increased hiring activity in the latter part of 2019.

“In third quarter, the hiring activity increased significantly and has remained constant to date,” Chancey told Rigzone. “This year we hit a tipping point with more open jobs than individuals readily available to fill them.”

She said companies have created competitive compensation packages to attract and retain talent, as well as offer increased personal/vacation time, increased salaries and flexible hours/remote work options.

“Throughout 2019, we experienced a high demand for field technicians and operators as significant infrastructure projects were completed,” she said. “About 25 percent of our available positions were filled by contractors who transitioned into permanent, direct-hire opportunities.”

 

 

 

 

2020 Outlook

As we approach 2020, many E&P companies are tightening their budgets and looking to drum up investor confidence.

Chancey said she predicts hiring needs to increase within the technology space, with individuals who are trained to operate sophisticated software or equipment increasing in demand.

Bush said he believes 2020 will mirror a lot of what was seen so far in 2019.

“There’s going to be a lot of companies we know really well that are not going to do anything or may go out of business,” said Bush. “That said, I think there is going to be activity and there are going to be companies who are actively pursuing development programs…who those will be – that’s the big question.”

He does feel confident his firm will be busy – if not busier – next year.

“It seems there’s no consistent pattern on who’s able to execute on programs,” Bush said. “Sometimes it’s the small company, sometimes it’s the conventional company, sometimes it’s the company in the Permian, sometimes it’s the company in the Mid-Continent, sometimes it’s a company with a private-equity backing and sometimes it’s a family-owned company.”

As for which companies will be hiring in 2020 – it’s anybody’s guess.

“It’s a volatile market lately,” he said. “I think a reduction in the number of companies is inevitable. I think a lot of the smaller players will go away. I think private-equity money will continue to exit the industry. But we’re still going to see activity. There’s still going to be people drilling for oil and gas.”