Offshore/Overseas? Where did you find your job?

[DuraAce]

Just starting the job search process. It's a daunting mountain after being with one employer for 15 years! CV is starting to taking shape.

I was wondering where did you find the job you have now? I'm looking for an offshore or maybe overseas position. (Ideally gas turbine based, but I'd take almost anything to get a foot in the door)

Advertised in print? Online? Via an agency? Word of mouth? What are the best internet sites to find offshore work and register my CV with? Or would you approach companies directly?

Sorry for all the Q's but a few pointers would be great. It's a different game now to when I last applied for a job back in the 90's with no internet!

[wezo]

Word of mouth would be your best bet and failing that I would try the big recruiters in your industry. Thats how I got back offshore, albeit in finance. A recruiter will help with any updates that may be necessary to really focus your CV, so update it yourself as far as possible and put in all the relevant job experience details and your brief personal history. They will want to know that you are serious about a life offshore, so show you are as mobile as possible, with as little personal baggage as possible.

Best of luck, its harder work than you may realise, there are many different pressures involved that you might not have experienced previously and the highs are high, but the lows can be quite low too. It can be lonely at times, but I think the rewards are worth it and most people offshore have a very possitive outlook on life. Check out the ex-pat forums and you will see a lot of moaning about the tough lives they have, take it with a pinch of salt, as most of them are long termers and have forgotten what the reality of life back in the UK is.

I'm on my second long term stint now, first was for 6 years and then went back to London for 4, I'm hoping I can stretch this one out until I retire, hopefully in 10 years time, coming back to the rat race in the UK and working for another 25 years has very little appeal, although I love visiting home for a holiday; and yes, weirdly the UK is "home".

[KingNothing]

Someones just finished here to go work offshore, I think he just did it by applying online, he went and payed for his own offshore survival courses and medicals before getting a job though, so that might have helped him, so that could be an option you could try, might show prospective employers that you're more than willing to do the job, and also it'll save them a few hundread quid if they hire you so is a plus point to them hiring you.

[phumy]

I started working overseas 10 years ago now and it was all initialted by a mate of a mate who had heard about a job going in Vietnam, spent three and half years there then moved on to Thailand for 18 months, again introduced by a mate. Then back to Vietnam, same story again, all my work has come by word of mouth from colleagues and work mates and i have done the same too for others if we have needed someone to fill a vacancy. It seems that word of mouth works so well, however dont be put off by that as i get loads and loads of agency vacancies come through on my email, so theres work available but i think those jobs are harder to fill as there are a lot of people applying for them.

Now working in Indonesia, once again got a call from a friend i had made 10 years ago on the Vietnam project as he needed someone quick and didnt want to go through an agency. It worked for us both as he needed someone and i was avaible at that time.

Get in with the agents and agencies, put your CV out there with them as there is plenty of overseas work, it all just depends on where you want to go...

[anonymous-user]

Try expatengineer.net oilandgascareers.com used them both, most jobs I've seen on turbines will be in commissioning, have you done any?

[GSP]

Lots of hard searching, with a bit of luck thrown in... Then once you've got that bit of experience, you get phoned every week non stop to get offered contract work all over the world if you have the balls to take it and go elf employed.

[phumy]

DuraAce what is it you do with GT`s? Erect, maintain, commission or operate or all?

[DuraAce]

Maintenance/overhaul at the moment. Lots of research done through the websites mentioned, CV is almost complete so I'll contact a few companies/agencies and see what the responses are like.

Thanks to all who have posted so far.

I haven't done my survival courses yet but I'll look to try and fund those in the new year if I can.

[phumy]

What size and make of machine are you used to working on?

[DuraAce]

Aircraft engines and APU's at the moment. Not directly related to offshore GT's I know but hopefully it might be enough to open the odd door to give me a chance.

Fingers crossed anyways!

[Ron98]

Are you PVR ing? Mech Tech.

[DuraAce]

Indeed I am. Originally a sootie but now assimilated with the riggers.

[Ron98]

my too, I start in feb time to be a small fish in a big pond, I can walk in to any Sqn and know whats going on but this is total'y new. Time to sit there and learn how people wont me to work.