Chevron Taps Into Online Recruiting Tool (15.12.2008)

When Texaco Drill Site Manager Howard Smith was offered an early retirement package in 2003, he really meant to slow down. But after 22 years working both onshore and offshore, Smith felt the call of the industry. “I’m 54 years young; and this is all I’ve ever done.”

After a brief stint with a Canadian company, Smith was recruited back to his 28/28 lifestyle and to the newly formed Chevron. “Working offshore is a busy, demanding existence.”

Chevron Hiring Manager Barton Wiley concurs that the lifestyle isn’t for everyone. “The offshore industry has its challenges and rewards. The drilling and completions community is particularly small. Keeping in touch with people after they’ve left is paramount.”

That’s why Chevron launched an online networking community at http://alumni.Chevron.com. Within this networking community, former Chevron employees and individuals from legacy companies can indicate interest in the Bridges Program. Bridges gives employees the opportunity to indicate their availability for contract assignments. In addition, the network keeps former employees abreast of company developments and links them to the Chevron careers website so that they can consider opportunities to return.

“Goodbye doesn’t have to be forever,” says Cathy Clonts, president of Alumni Web Services (AWS), the largest provider of online networking communities and management services to the oil and gas industry. “People leave a company for a variety of reasons—retirement, relocation, family issues or the chance to seek new challenges. But a move away from a company isn’t always permanent, and a company can reap rewards down the line by investing in departing employees now.”

Chevron alumni gives hiring managers like Wiley an additional recruiting tool, all from the convenience of their desktop. Hiring managers can tap into a database and sort former employees based on years of experience, education, willingness to travel, type of experience and job assignment desired.

“We currently run ads on Monster.com and Rigzone.com; recruiting back former employees is mainly done by word of mouth. This additional recruiting tool would really give us the opportunity to be very specific in recruiting experienced talent,” Wiley says.

And, with the projected knowledge gap already hitting the oil and gas industry, recruiting experienced hires has never been more important. “Chevron has recognized the need to proactively develop a technical and professional workforce prepared to achieve Chevron’s business and strategic plan objectives in the future,” says Susan Howes, manager for Chevron’s Horizons’ program, a training and mentoring program. “There is a need to fast track the careers of incoming recruits to bring them up to a point where they are trained, competent and professionally mature enough to make critical decisions earlier than they would have done under previous circumstances.”

Smith feels a part of that process. “I see myself as a mentor to a whole new set of young people entering the industry. They are eager to soak things up, to understand the know-how of drilling. These young engineers will be outstanding drilling hands.”

While Smith may one day feel the call of retirement, for now, he’s happy to stay put. “I am playing a part in the future of the drilling industry as a mentor and contributing to the operational excellence of the company. What I do makes a difference.”

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