If you have spent weeks, months, or even years submitting applications to offshore companies and never received a single callback, you are not alone, because the vast majority of men who try to break into the offshore industry go through the exact same experience, and they go through it because they are using the wrong strategy, and they are using the wrong strategy because they have been told that the way to get hired is to submit applications online, and that advice is not just wrong, it is actively harmful, because it keeps you stuck in an application graveyard where your resume goes to die and your hopes go to wither.
The application graveyard is a real place, and it exists in the form of the online portals that every major offshore company uses to collect applications, and these portals are designed not to find the best candidates but to filter out as many candidates as possible, and they do this because the companies receive far more applications than they could ever possibly review, and the easiest way to manage the volume is to create automated filters that reject the vast majority of applicants without a human ever laying eyes on their resume.
1. The Volume Problem
The volume problem is the first and most significant barrier that you face when you submit an application online, because the major offshore companies receive thousands of applications every single week, and they have no realistic way to review them all, so they rely on automated systems to do the initial screening, and these systems are programmed to reject any application that does not meet certain criteria, and the criteria are often arbitrary and have nothing to do with your actual ability to do the job.
The volume problem is compounded by the fact that the companies are not incentivized to find the best candidates, they are incentivized to find the candidates who are easiest to process, and the easiest candidates to process are the ones who have already been through the system, who already have all of their certifications in order, and who are ready to start immediately, and if you do not meet these criteria, your application will be rejected before anyone ever reads it.
2. The Keyword Filtering System
The keyword filtering system is the primary tool that the automated screening systems use to reject applications, and it works by scanning your resume for specific keywords that the company has identified as indicators of a qualified candidate, and if your resume does not contain enough of these keywords, it is automatically rejected without a human ever seeing it.
The keyword filtering system is arbitrary and unfair, because it does not evaluate your actual experience or your potential, it evaluates your ability to include the right words in the right places, and if you do not know which keywords to include, your application will be rejected regardless of how qualified you actually are.
3. The ATS Black Hole
The ATS black hole is the term that job seekers use to describe the experience of submitting an application online and never hearing back, and it is called a black hole because your application goes in and it never comes out, and you have no way of knowing whether it was ever seen, whether it was rejected, or whether it is still sitting in a queue somewhere waiting to be reviewed.
The ATS black hole is frustrating because it gives you no feedback, and without feedback, you cannot improve your application, and without improvement, you will continue to be rejected, and the cycle will continue indefinitely.
4. Why HR Is Not Your Friend
Human resources is not your friend, and they are not there to help you get a job, they are there to protect the company from liability, and they are there to minimize the number of applicants who make it through the screening process, and they are there to make sure that the company hires candidates who are unlikely to cause problems.
HR is not incentivized to find the best candidates, they are incentivized to find the candidates who are easiest to hire, and the easiest candidates to hire are the ones who have already been through the system, who already have all of their certifications in order, and who are ready to start immediately.
5. The Direct Contact Strategy
The direct contact strategy is the only effective way to bypass the application graveyard, because it involves going around HR and going directly to the people who have the power to hire you, and the people who have the power to hire you are the crewing managers, the operations managers, and the company men who actually need workers to fill specific roles.
The direct contact strategy requires you to find the phone numbers and email addresses of these decision-makers, and it requires you to contact them directly, and it requires you to use the right language and the right approach, because if you call them without knowing what to say, you will be dismissed just as quickly as your application was.
6. The Phone Call That Gets You Hired
The phone call that gets you hired is not a cold call, it is a targeted call, and it is targeted because you have done your research, you know who you are calling, you know what they need, and you know how to present yourself as the solution to their problem.
The phone call that gets you hired is brief, it is direct, and it is focused on what you can do for the company, not on what the company can do for you, and it ends with a clear ask: a request for an interview, a request for a meeting, or a request for a chance to prove yourself.
7. The Follow-Up That Separates You from the Pack
The follow-up that separates you from the pack is the one that comes after the phone call, and it is the one that demonstrates that you are serious, that you are reliable, and that you are not going to give up at the first sign of resistance.
The follow-up should be brief, it should be professional, and it should reference the conversation that you had, and it should reiterate your interest in the position and your willingness to start immediately.
8. The Tools That Get You Through the Door
The tools that get you through the door are not complicated, but they are specific, and they include the right contact information, the right approach, and the right strategy, and these tools are available to you in the form of our intelligence packs, which are designed to give you the exact information you need to bypass the application graveyard and get on the rig.
Our Greenhat Entry Pack gives you the Gulf of Mexico direct contractor directory with over 150 direct contacts, the TWIC and medical credentialing guide, the offshore-formatted resume template, the greenhat survival field manual, and the Port Fourchon and Houma crewing map, and it gives you everything you need to break into the industry with zero previous offshore experience.
Our Offshore Commander Pack includes everything in the Greenhat Entry Pack, plus the global deepwater and rig operator vault with over 350 direct hiring contacts, the direct crewing manager phone and email roster, the HUET, STCW and MOC certification shortcut guide, the subsea, pipeline and specialized vessel access protocol, and the personal resume review and rig formatting audit, and it gives you everything you need to land a high-paying slot within 30 to 60 days.
Our Sovereign Rig Operator Pack includes everything in the Offshore Commander Pack, plus the direct international rig and FPSO contact database covering the Persian Gulf, North Sea, and West Africa, the 1-on-1 tactical strategy session for direct deployment planning, the custom rig application dispatch service where we target your credentials, and the lifetime directory updates and hiring alert bulletins, and it gives you the ultimate high-touch deployment protocol with direct line assistance and custom campaign strategy.
If you are tired of sending applications into the void and never hearing back, and you are ready to take direct action to get on a rig, check out the tiers found HERE and choose the pack that fits your needs.