My Day as a Recruiter !

Career Fair 

Last night I drove to College Station, Texas from Dallas. It was a three hour drive, the last hour of the drive resembled something out of a horror film. It was just a really creepy small town vibe going on. Imagine seeing lots of abandoned small houses facing the country road with creepy little churches and abandoned gas stations. It seems like everything has 100 year old white paint mixed with rust. Its the type of town you really don't want to take a pit stop in. 

I arrive at college station, its finally a big bright city, relatively speaking. Its not like driving over the hoover damn and seeing the vegas lights or anything, but seeing a couple restaurants and a stop light was nice. I felt like I had found civilization. 

I stayed at the Hilton conference center, it was an awesome hotel. I stayed on the Hilton Honors level, with other business people. My suite had spa features and a beautiful study area. 

The next morning I drive to Texas A&M. The campus is massive! They have a student population of 50,000, whereas SMU has about 6,000.  I park, then walk to Reed Arena, and see a line around the stadium of students dressed in business suits ready to enjoy the career fair. I was carrying my schlumberger coveralls (the uniform I am going to wear while recruiting). Then I try to make my way past all of the students, because I have to get set up. A couple guys tried to not let me pass, I think they thought I was a student trying to cut in line, I just thought in the back of my head hope they see me inside for a mini interview, after they shoulder nudged me out of the way. 

Inside there are over 300 stands of different companies hiring engineers. It was so amazing to see all of these companies here to scope out the future talent. I run to the bathroom and change into my bright blue coveralls. At first I didn't want to wear them, because everyone else was dressed in business attire. 

These are what coveralls look like! After I put them on I was treated like royalty. Everyone made way for me, like moses spreading the water. It was great! I get to my table, and am briefed on what to ask the students. I give mini interviews, asking their major, gpa, graduation date, then I get a feel for them. The lead recruiter said she trusts my judgement and I write Yes or No on their resume, and rank them from like 1-10. This is crazy! It wasn't to long ago that I was in their position. I felt like It was so hard to write a No on a resume. Well after speaking with at least 100 people and putting my heart in every mini interview. I did have some No's :/ I still feel bad, but I mean we are an awesome company we can't just take any schmuck off the street, yah know?! 

The recruiting is finished and I had a great time, the talent at Texas A&M was amazing these Engineer students are hard workers. I ask the lead recruiter if theres anything she needs help with before I leave, she says, "yeah can you please just help me sort all of these resumes.... any that are not graded a 10 and a Yes throw away!" My mouth dropped we had 10 recruiters, at least 1,000 applicants and only like 50 were ranked with 10's. I was like flabbergasted that all that hard work and talking to all of those people only a small percentage even get an interview! And once they have an interview, they still might not get the job. 

After this day of recruiting it was a reality check, that I work for a very competitive company and need to appreciate it every day! 

I know this blog is so long but here are some cool facts and FAQs 

Schlumberger ranks 26 in the world of worlds most attractive employers! 

FAQ's about Schlumberger 

Schlumberger and its position in the industry

What does Schlumberger do?

Schlumberger is the world’s largest oilfield services company. Working globally—often in remote and challenging locations—we invent, design, engineer, and apply technology to help our customers find and produce oil and gas safely and efficiently.

Where does Schlumberger operate?

We employ over 118,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 85 countries. Schlumberger does not have a 'nationality' which describes its culture, but operates in a truly global fashion throughout the world.

We are often told that oil is running out. Why should I join an ageing industry?

Far from joining a dying industry, technology is ensuring that hydrocarbon resources will be extended, that the amounts recovered will increase and the challenges the technology represents will remain as exciting as ever.

Where does Schlumberger fit in to the oil and gas industry?

The oil and gas industry covers three main sections—upstream, midstream and downstream. We operate in the upstream section, which covers activity from the subsurface to the wellhead.

Is Schlumberger committed to equal opportunities?

One of our greatest strengths is the diversity of our workforce, with men and women of many nationalities and backgrounds working together and sharing common objectives. As a company, we encourage fair employment practices worldwide and offer equal opportunities to all our employees. We also try to take family considerations into account in any decisions about personnel matters or assignments.

My Commute Home
I work a six hour shift, head to my room then pack up my stuff. I then head to the helipad. I hear people talking about how three helicopters canceled today due to severe weather. I start thinking what would be worse staying on a the rig, or flying over the ocean in severe weather......staying on the rig for sure. Prior to every flight we are required watch a safety video, the helicopter lands so its time to go. I walk up steep stairs and I can feel the air from the choppers propellers. My scarf is flying all over the place and I’m sure my hair is going crazy. Im tempted to duck but none of the guys in front of me are walking crunched over. So I just follow them. This helicopter ride was like some black hawk down s$%*. I felt like the clouds were playing soccer with us. Finally we land and its storming and thundering.  Im excited to turn my cell phone on, only to be greeted with a severe weather alert New Orleans and surrounding areas. I have an hour drive to the airport now. Once at airport, flight is delayed. FML I feel like this is the never ending commute! I have been up forever it seems like, I head to the bar take a shot of whisky and wonder why people are looking at me. I notice they are eating, eggs and stuff. OMG its like 10am. How embarrassing, even in New Orleans 10am is early for a shot of whisky. (kicking myself, why didn’t I just order a bloody mary?) Oh well it feels like midnight to me so It doesn’t matter. 

Flight was turbulent, but to tired to care. I landed, got picked up in a stylish SUV, and now I’m home GOODNIGHT! 

Morning Sunrise!

This is my view walking to the cafeteria for my lunch break.

Covered in Mud

I didn’t sleep well last night. Its not like calm water gently rocking you to sleep, its like knocking your head on the wall and hearing people on the PA system announcing safety alerts. 

Grease Monkey

I wake up head to breakfast, then walk the never ending stairs up to my unit. I am told that I have to change a part on the gas trap. This is a big piece of machinery, that catches gas from the mud flowing out of the hole. It lets us know which gas is in the mud, like methane C1, ethane C2, propane C3, butane C4, and pentane C5. Anyways, I grab a wrench, needle nose pliers, rags, grease, and head up to the flow line. The flow line is where the mud from the hole first enters the surface, and where the GZG Gas trap is located. The area I am going is up high with a rail that looks like you shouldn’t lean on it. I see red everywhere, if something on the rig is red, that means high pressure area, so be careful. I feel like red should mean STAY away, not just hey you could explode over here fyi. I have to make sure that the power is off before I work on it. 

I am taking apart the motor and putting a new “rubber” in it. I learned how to do this on a clean machine in a classroom. I now am doing this elevated, covered in mud, on thick steel floor that looks like a grid so stuff can fall through it. There is a constant vibration and loud white noise. I have to unscrew the screws and they are close together so it is difficult to use the tools I have. My hands are covered in grease and Im covered in sweat. Basically, long story short I replace the part, get the hell out of there, and come back to the unit. The guys in the unit look at me, from their facial expressions it seems like I had been through a lot more than what a normal person goes through when they do this assignment. Oh well. 

Severe Weather

I checked my email when I got back to the unit, and I see subject severe weather alert. I’m thinking PLEASE GOD DO NOT CANCEL MY HELICOPTER FLIGHT. I initially was terrified to get on a helicopter, I  now am counting the seconds till I am on a helicopter headed towards land. 

The severe weather is for Houston, I guess its like flooding and stuff. So most likely, with my luck, Ill get back to land, head to airport and then my flight will cancel. At least New Orleans isn’t  the worst place to be stuck. But for now I am optimistic that I will be going home.

Good News!

Today
So today I got to hang out with the paleo guys, and look at some cool nano fossils under the microscrope. The fossils are correlated with geologic time so we know where we are down hole. Paleo guys are really nice, they are similar to geologists with the earthy laid back personality. (Engineers, not so much sorry kelso :/) 
Heres a pic of  an example of a nano fossil under a microscope. 

Its funny because the company man (picture a mixture of Jerry Jones and Papa), will ask the paleo guys, "Did ya find the bugs you were lookin for or not" lol I guess I think its funny that he calls the nano fossils bugs.

The Geologist said that we are not finding oil at this well, and that we are a few million years late in drilling. He then looked at me shrugged and said, "well if you snooze you lose". I thought this was also funny. 

Bottoms Up! 

After working 8 hours out of my 12 hour shift today, our unit gets the call. TD! TD stands for Total Depth, as in thats as far as we will drill. Bottoms up is the term used for the time it takes the last sample/cuttings to come up the hole for me to take. When I hear this I start packing my bag and getting ready to go, but apparently there is a lot of work left. This work includes; packaging samples, labeling, cleaning, loading boxes, getting the unit ready for the next hitch ect. So I will be doing that today, tomorrow, and half of Thursday. Thursday I will work from midnight to 6am, (when I hear this I’m thinking are you serrriiouuuusssss, LET ME SLEEPPPP) then I’m heliported back to Houma, La, then shuttled to New Orleans Airport. Im am pretty sure there is a bar at New Orleans airport, that I will be stopping at for sure! 

Things can always change, I am learning that well! However, as of now I will be in my wonderful tub full of bubbles, drinking wine, with a green face mask on, cucumbers on my eyes by Thursday night! 

I really can’t wait to see my little maltipoo angels, play dominoes, cook dinner and play dance central with Rachel. 

The Process

My Part in the Hunt For Oil
I am on a drill ship, that looks similar to this. The part I am currently involved in, is when the cuttings are returned to the ship. I also watch 5 basic parameters, the rate of penetration (drilling speed), the mud pit volume variation (basically if we are gaining more fluid/mud than we are putting in or losing some of what we are putting in), the flow rate change increase or decrease (this is related to the pressure), the mud density variation (also related to pressure), and of course the indication of gas or oil.

The well site geologist said 1 out of 10 exploration wells ends up with oil. That should give you an idea of how much money they make from that 10%! Especially when it costs around a million dollars a day to run a drilling operation, and one well can take months.

Oil Reservoir

A typical oil reservoir looks something like this below, you have an organic rich rock like shale deposited, then you have a porous sandstone on top, then you have a cap rock (an impermeable layer to trap the oil) this can then be folded like below to an anticlinal formation (bending straight beds to an arch) its buried and undergoes some chemical processes then the oil rises up to the sandstone and gets trapped. Then we find it,  drill, get it out, and it gets produced to the oil that runs the world we live in. 

As of now...

So far we are not getting any of the signs we should be getting if this was a big oil find. It is looking like its most likely going to be what they call a dry hole, which means just that. Dry, as in there is nothing in it. So once we get to our target zone if there is no oil we pack up and move on, or sometimes they just give up because if there aren't good indications of oil at this point, why continue wasting money. It all depends on the client. So basically I have another 9 hours of work today in the rain and wind, then I might go play Dominoes with the roughnecks or I might just go to bed. 

How long have I Been Here?

What day is it? What time is it? 

I have not been on the rig for that long,  but It feels like its been forever. My first couple days were terrible. The rig was not what I expected and the weather has been really bad causing me to unfortunately be sea sick. Working 12 hours a day takes a toll on you, especially if you are working the night shift. 

I was sitting down and staring at the wall, and a picture came in to my head. My grandmother has the lords prayer on the wall of her bathroom, vividly I see the words......  "accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. Whether you believe god said this or not does not matter because this is good advice!

Right now I cannot change the fact that I am on a drill ship, I cannot change the weather, and I unfortunately cannot change the food in the cafeteria. I need to have the courage to bring my own laundry detergent next time and tell them to use the hypoallergenic kind. I need to have the courage to speak with my manager about transferring to land so I can bring my own food, do my own laundry,  and not get sea sick. 

I also need to change my attitude, because by being miserable I am not getting the best out of the situation. Today I spoke with a Mud Engineer,  a Directional Driller, The MWD (measurement while drilling) engineer, and I eat lunch with the well site geologist every day. These people have a lot of knowledge, and I need to absorb as much as I can. 

As for now It is 3:20 pm I need to go to bed because I have to be up at 10:30pm...

Hopefully we reach our total depth soon and I can come home :) 

Living Area

Living Area
The living arrangements are similar to that of a military ship. There are two cots in a small room with a small bathroom. Small meaning you can walk in a straight line in the room and step into the bathroom. The beds are like a yellow foam mattress, and an old comforter has threaded cotton breaking on the bottom then you have a plane sheet. You have one small pillow. Under the cots is an area to put your stuff, you also have a locker. Laundry is done everyday. There is a constant smell of TIDE detergent and Fabric Softener. The smell is so strong that you can actually taste the chemicals.

Extra Curricular Activities
There is a ping pong table and a TV on EPSN non stop. There is a phone booth that usually has a line, but If i get up a little early like 9pm there usually is not a line. There also is an exercise room, initially I wanted to start working out there but I'm so exhausted that I haven't been able to yet.

Mess Hall/ Cafeteria 
The cafeteria serves food that maybe a low income elementary school serves there kids. Everything was canned, or previously frozen and most of it fried. How people eat canned spinach I will never under stand. It makes me think that this what the food would be like  if an apocalyptic event like zombies attacking or nuclear winter happened. I think about going home and making a fresh salad, slicing an avocado, topping it with balsamic and olive oil, serving it with a fresh piece of bread.

Tuna Fishing

My Daily Schedule 

It is my second day, my actual job is non stop gathering samples from the shaker room. Which is kind of like a huge shaking room with mud. I gather the samples wash them and place them in many different bags for all the clients. I then assist the well site geologist at looking at the rock samples. I am learning a lot from him. 

12 Hour shifts do not go by fast and are no fun at all. Its like a never ending day. Its cold outside but in the unit its very stuffy. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) we have to wear makes it hotter. So the highlight of my day is taking a shower in a tiny bathroom swaying from wall to wall because of the waves. I'm not sure how shaving is gonna turn out. The first thing I will do when I get home is take a bubble bath in my beautiful garden tub! and poor myself a glass (bottle of wine). 

Today at breakfast, at 10:30 pm I kind of felt like I was in a prison cafeteria. Or one of those juvenile scared straight programs. Breakfast consisted of pizza with breakfast bacon cooked in the cheese. So if you know me you know I HATE BACON !!!! I would compare the food here to that of golden coral. 

Anyways I wish I was writing about a glorious experience but then I would not be blogging, I would be delusional. 

Tuna Fishing 

After my shift today, I am going to go tuna fishing. The ship has all the materials needed and the fishing rods and reels are HUGE! There is a station to clean your fish and package them, freeze them, then you take it on the helicopter back with you. Its pretty cool. 

I am officially in the Middle of the Gulf of Mexico!

I made it ....

Through the window of the helicopter I see a massive Oil Derrick on top of the ship. I also see a very small helipad, that luckily appears larger as we get closer to it. I am now on the Drill Ship, finally. Except I am not feeling at ease. There is a lot to take in. It seems like everyone knows where to go and what to do. I just have to ask for help constantly. On top of the overwhelming first day experience it is a really rough day at sea. The waves are crashing against the side of the boat and It feels like I am drunk because of the heave. 

We arrive at 11:30am. My back to back is going to be working the day shift. 12:00pm- 12:00am whereas I will be working the night shift. He shows me quickly how to do my job, and actually makes me try it. He then sends me back to the living quarters because I need to find a way to go to bed so I’m not miserable for my shift. I look at him, wanting/ expecting him to walk me back to safety (the living quarters).  He tells me the directions and says walk with attitude so nobody thinks your nervous. 

The walk back from where I will be working to where I will be sleeping, seemed like forever. I would say probably two football fields worth of slippery steep stairs and creepy doors that you have to turn a wheel to open, they remind me of a military ship in the movies. I am having trouble figuring out where I am in relation to everything, I did not get a guide book or a pocket map. 

Communication seems tricky, my wifi in my room does not work. However, during off time I can make 15 minute calls to whomever. I hear though that the unit has internet so hopefully I will be able to get on. 

I love you all and miss you very much!