Industries such as the Petrochem and Refining have added this year in response to the lower prices. Other industries have also responded with an increase in hiring this year such as retail, entertainment, healthcare and certain sectors in the manufacturing industry.
But in Houston, the Energy Capital of the world, many are affected negatively by the price per barrel drop. We’ve heard from way too many of our clients and candidates about layoffs this year and many of these talented individuals are still in a career transition heading into the end of the year.
However, we’ve seen a few glimmers in recent months that are worth sharing.
Our hiring activity in our upstream oil and gas division has seen a steady increase in hiring activity for the last 3 months. In fact, our placement activity (offers extended and accepted) in the last three months has been considerably more than the entire first 6 months of this year. The second half of 2015 is on track to double the first half of the year in overall Oil and Gas hiring for our team.
The positions in the last three months have been the better paying “game changer” candidate searches. This shows us that our clients are starting to look for strategic hires to be in place for their 2016 plans. Most of our sources are telling us that they think the prices have started to stabilize and that we will see a steady but perhaps gradual increase in the price per barrel.
So, if you have been affected by the price per barrel this year-here are just a few tips for job searching in the 4th quarter:
• Don’t listen to those who tell you that the 4th quarter is not the time to look for a job. In all my years of recruiting often the 4th quarter is the busiest. This year is definitely trending in this direction.
Remember, the market ebbs and flows. We have been able to see signs of improvement already, and hopefully those continue to increase into the next few months. So keep your head up, work hard in your job search and prepare for exciting new opportunities.