A message from the future you

What should geosteerers include in their CV and cover letter?

We recently advertised a geosteering vacancy which attracted immediate attention, CVs appeared in the inbox quick and fast. The wealth of experience was vast, people with anything from 5 years – 25 years of experience applied for the role. As we sifted through each application it became apparent that these very experienced professionals often did not include anything about the successes of their role. Little measurable information was included. And if you cannot measure something, you cannot verify it.

For example, one applicant’s extensive CV detailed ?the 65 wells he had geosteered by providing ?the name of the well and the company he performed the job for, but zero information was provided about whether these drilled trajectories were on target (in the sweet-spot), whether he managed to avoid sidetracks (didn’t drill through the "roof"), whether he managed to achieve expected porosity, permeability or hydrocarbon saturations and if yes, for what length of the horizontal section. Not ?even whether the drilled trajectory reflected the plan or not.

I understand this might not be ?obvious to you but this is the type of information in your CV that will set you apart from other applicants. I understand that writing a CV is tedious and boring but how do you think a recruiter will select a candidate from 100 CVs that look the same ?if all the applicants geosteered some wells?

I am a geosteerer myself and you have no idea how much effort it took me to "translate" my skills so every person would know exactly how good a geosteerer?I am.

Believe me, I have hired many geosteerers and the?information I am looking for is not how many wells you have geosteered, but what was the effect of your work. That means I am looking for the following:

1. Plan versus actual trajectory

If you participated in the planning stage of a well, and then you geosteered it, it shows that you are not just a geosteerer but a fully developed member of the operations team and that you also understand all the requirements for a properly designed trajectory. For example:

"I participated in the planning process of the horizontal section (12,000 ft MD) of the HDA-37 well by providing geological 3-D targets, verifying the drillability of the trajectory, setting DLS limits and agreeing on the section TD criteria. "

2. Landing a well, geosteering it, calling TD

Landing a well, geosteering it and calling a section TD are actually three different things which require ?different skills from you, so why wouldn't you mention them? Please ?always be specific about what ?your responsibilities were during drilling a well. For example:

"I was responsible for landing the well in the reservoir/ target /zone and geosteered it (night shifts) till the section TD. In total (from 23,000 ft MD of the horizontal section, I was responsible for 8,000 ft MD of the well (or 35% of the total length).

This sentence really tells the recruiter that you really know ?what you are talking about and your success is measurable and clear.

Please remember that it doesn't really say much if you simply list all the wells you geosteered ?in your CV. I still wouldn't know whether you worked one day on this well or 2 weeks (some companies require from you to TD a well which you started). Pick 5 of the most memorable wells with some specific problems and describe how you overcame them. You can still mention the total number of wells you geosteered just to show off :)

3. Staying within the target

If you geosteered the entire trajectory from landing in the reservoir / zone / target to the section TD without any sidetracks why wouldn't you like to mention this? Imagine a sentence in your CV:

"For the 95% of the horizontal section (18,000 ft MD) I geosteered the well within the target without sidetracks or leaving the sweet spot (achieving targeted porosities and permeabilities or saturations). "

Can you see how impactful that sentence is and how easily it is for the recruiter to verify whether or not you are a good geosteerer? Why would you ever miss an opportunity to show how skilled you are?

Also, I always tried to mention what the thickness (in TVD) of the target was. There is a huge difference to stay within the sweet spot of 15 ft TVD and not leaving a target of 30-40 ft TVD, right?

Please remember to never lie in your CV. The geosteering world is relatively small and it is very easy to verify whether this what you wrote it is true or not.

4. Anticipated versus actual hydrocarbon production

This one requires a bit of work from you but believe me, it is worth it. If you have geosteered many wells over a substantial period of time, you can ask production team to check how the wells you geosteered are performing. Drilling a horizontal section within the target has a significant effect on the actual production rates and it is (among others) thanks to your great efforts of staying within the zone. Why would you ?miss this opportunity to show how your skills can benefit a future employer adding up to a production rates? Imagine a sentence:

"Because of placing the well within the zone of higher than anticipated hydrocarbon saturations 5 out of 6 wells exceed the anticipated production rates by 25%."

Do you see what I mean? Who wouldn’t hire a person who can operate within a team whose work results in more production ?

5. Collaboration within a team

No geosteerer can drill a well on his/her own and needs a very effective and efficient team to successfully geosteer a well. How well you communicate with directional driller, data engineer or even sample catcher makes a difference and your success would not be possible without their help. This is also their success.

Often unexpected things happen at 3:00 am on Saturday night when you are already tired, ?access to a supervisor is limited and you and your team need to make a critical decision. How well you manage this stressful situation, how well you gather all the necessary information from other team members and how well you ?communicate your decision to your team, the company man and then to your supervisor in the morning by giving a report is a skill not to be forgotten.

Many companies assign NPT (non-productive time) of the horizontal section drilling as a tools-related, drilling-related or geological-related factor and you are the one responsible for the geological one. If drilling is ceased because you have geosteered a well into an unknown zone, ?how fast you decide to drill up or drill down (based on the geological data and discussion with your team members) is essential for the overall cost of the well.

I am certain that if you include a sentence like the one below in your CV, every recruiter will remember your name.

"As a result of my and my team's work, an overall number of geology related NPTs of the horizontal section drilling for the campaign of 6 wells was decreased by 15% based on the data from the past 5 years for the campaigns with the similar number of wells."

Additionally, the overall budget spent is something that every manager will look for. Together with ?information about the project being delivered on time and meeting all the objectives which is actually the most crucial aspect of any oil & gas operation.

If you ask around and gather information about the above three factors and then show that your project was on budget, on time and met all the objectives then there is nothing else to add and you proved to be a valuable geosteerer and team member who will be a great asset in any organisation.

There is a common misconception that because you have excelled in your studies, and you have extensive professional experience it is easy to transfer that into a CV. Many people believe a CV is an opportunity to showcase all your qualifications, roles and responsibilities and your other skills and interests. And for the most part it is. But just listing your qualifications and roles do little to tell the reader whether you are suitable for a role – as difficult as that may be to imagine. Your suitability for a role is your presentation of how well you completed your qualifications and what you learnt executing your roles and responsibilities.

Having gone through rigorous CV review processes ourselves, we at GeoModes understand how difficult and frustrating it can be to create?“CV version number 10” and still be asked to make further amendments. We also understand that it is extremely demotivating to have your job application rejected with no real feedback regarding what needs to be changed or the reason for rejection.

That is why whether you need a simple CV review or assistance tailoring your CV for a specific role or rewriting your CV for career transition, we are here to help.

Contact us for an initial chat at [email protected] and let’s turn your CV into something employers will want to read to the end.

You can also have a look at our career change & transition plans which prepare you for your next big professional move:

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Each of the plans includes:

1. Skills and capabilities verification introductory session
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