Insider Tips to Help you Ace your Initial Oil and Gas Interview

The interview is one of the most stressful aspects of the job search. Generally speaking with oil and gas companies, the interview process can be both long and intensive. We, resume federal government service, want to help alleviate some of the stress that surrounds this process with a few helpful tips and some insight into the entire hiring cycle.

When you work with a recruiting agency the process is different in comparison to trucking along in the job hunt on your own. Since we have insider knowledge into the previous, I will discuss how the interview process works if you decide to work with a recruiter. Once you send your resume to a recruiter, they will review it to assess if you would be a good match for any of their open jobs. If there is an open job that matches your professional background, the recruiter will contact you and give you more information about the job and company it's with.

After you give the go ahead, the recruiter will send your resume to their contact (usually in HR) at the company and, fingers crossed, you receive a call to have your initial interview. Some companies will opt to do a phone screen as the initial interview. Whatever method is utilized, this initial interview is when you really need to be able to qualify and quantify your skills. The impression you make in this interview will determine if you will continue in the hiring process. Therefore, it is important to prepare a few of your answers ahead of time as to not get caught off guard.

According to hiring expert Nancy Newell on The Hiring Site, “the best predictors of employee performance are behavioral interview questions—questions that begin with phrases like, ‘name a time when…’ and focus on past behavior. ‘Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.’” Be sure you can speak to how you personally solved a problem or contributed to a project that was successful. You should be prepared to talk about a mistake you’ve made in the past and how you rectified it or changed gears to fix it. Be sure to ask questions in the interview as it will demonstrate your willingness to learn and the interest you have in the company.

If you make a good impression in the initial interview, chances are you will be asked to continue through the hiring process. This could take a few weeks, so be patient! Generally speaking, most companies will have up to 3 rounds of interviews where you meet your team lead or department head and other team members. Remember, just because you aced the first interview does not mean you can slack off in the other “meet and greets.”

Following are a few questions you should know the answer to before your initial interview.

Why do you think you are right for this particular job? Can you describe a time when you made a mistake and rectified it? What are your unique strengths and weaknesses? (Being a workaholic does not count) Describe your favorite project you worked on and why. How have you increased company production/revenue/overall performance with specific examples? Can you talk about a time when you took a risk and it paid off? Can you describe how your specific skill set will relate to this job with examples? How do you think you can improve with our company? How do you work in a team? Describe a time when you were creative/innovative that lead to overall improvement?

Some extra advice...

10 Things you should absolutely not say in an interview

Yes, we have heard these before:

“What is your office dating policy?”

“How soon will I get a raise or promotion?”

“How soon will I be able to take vacation?”

“Do I really have to work with that many people?”

“If I start working with you in this job, how soon can I transfer to a different department?”

“Well, I was hoping to only work for five years then head out.”

“I really just wanted to move to the mountains so I came here.”

“I think my skill set is way too advanced for this position, so I’m sure I can do a good job.”

“I have another job offer, I just wanted to see how much you would pay me.”

“Do we get Fridays off?”