Identifying promotion opportunities for a promising Career in Oil and Gas

A career in oil and gas can be extremely rewarding if you know when to tap on the right opportunity. For identifying promotion opportunities, you must understand the higher roles in your career path. There are organizations which have a clear hierarchy or defined paths. For instance, if you start as a Drilling Engineer in the oil and gas industry, your career development will be in the order Senior Drilling Engineer, Team Leader, Offshore Drilling Representative,  and then finally Drilling Manager or Technical Specialist.

However, things might take a different course when organizations do not have a clearly structured path. While working as a solopreneur, you are the only person on the job. In this case, it is not very obvious what else you could be doing or where do you belong in the professional hierarchy. Another case being in a start-up, where you might be working in a group of two to five, or may be just two – you and your boss. Here, persuading for a promotion can look like an open rebellion. Therefore, a few aspects are discussed in the article to help you identify promotion opportunities for a successful career in oil and gas.

Identifying promotion opportunities within your career in oil and gas:

Factor in your Boss’ views: Is your Boss supportive of your professional development? If yes, you must invest some time during your regular conversations to discuss your career path. It won’t be wise to assume that your Boss is aware of your interest in taking up more responsibilities.  It is also not right to assume that your Boss will bring up a promotion on the table when they feel you are ready.      

The best foot forward is to ask your boss what is the logical next step for you. Ask what the timeline is for that step and what all you must do to establish that you are ready.

Guidance from your Mentor: It is not always necessary that your Boss may know the next right step in your career, particularly when a clear promotion ladder is missing in your company. The management may not be aware of any other role for you in the company.

In this case, we suggest you seek guidance from your mentor elsewhere, someone who understands your work and career objectives. It would be great if you can take their counsel regarding how you can take up more responsibilities, a higher designation, or both. Your mentor can also ask around on your behalf in other organizations if there is an opportunity for you.

Business Developments within your company: It is important to be well informed about the ongoing developments within your organization. You may look at internal memos, press releases, and any other piece of information which can help you understand the growth prospects of the company.

You will be able to identify promotion opportunities if your company is launching a new product or opening up a new branch. In this case your background and skills can be deployed in a bigger role.

Get in touch with former colleagues: Former colleagues usually can give valuable and candid insights about your company. They can help you understand how the company works and what roles and projects fit in your promotional aspirations.

The best part about getting in touch with your former colleagues is that they are not competing with you for any job role. If they are ahead of you and have more experience, they might even talk about their efforts for getting promotions. They will also help you avoid the mistakes they made in their professional journey.

Prepare ahead of time for a promising career in oil and gas

When you are identifying promotion opportunities, the most important thing is to understand if you are ready for the next step in your career in oil and gas.

You would want to draw the attention of your management to all that you have brought to the table. It is a great measure to understand your contributions in the organization and your future potential as well. You can have a list of your accomplishments by your side while talking to your managers. Doing a great job in your current role is probably not enough to strengthen your case. You will need to show that you have walked that extra mile, gone above and beyond. And for a promising career in oil and gas, you need to walk that extra mile.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Energy Dais.)