Personal Physical Search #1:
When I was looking for offshore work my first time, I drove to Venice, Louisiana (a 3 hour drive) because someone told me I could get an offshore job there. When I got there, I asked some people about offshore employment. These people were quite nice, but were not able to give me what I wanted, a job. I went back home, having just shot eight hours and a tank of gas. I didn't know anymore than when I started out earlier that morning.
Later, while sitting in a bar contemplating my next move, I met someone who worked offshore as a crane operator. Luck was with me that day. He gave me the phone number of a company that needed a welder. The company was located in New Orleans. I called the company and spoke with someone briefly, told them what they wanted to hear and presto, I got my first offshore job.
The next two weeks were quite hectic, as I had to get my passport, vaccinations, etc. And then I was on my way to Brazil where I worked a 28 / 28 shift as a rig welder.
If you have a couple of days and are not pressed for time and money, this could be a big adventure for you. You'll see a lot of different sights and meet some interesting people. Take enough clothes and supplies to last from one to three weeks. If you get hired your new employer will want you to go to work right away. He will not want to hear. "Just let me go back home and get my stuff..." Take your stuff with you and be prepared to go to work immediately.
One of the current hot spots for offshore / oilfield / maritime activity in the United States is Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The highway you must travel to get there (LA 1 or LA 318) has lots of billboards advertising for workers, both entry level and experienced.
Other cities you can try your luck at are Houston, Dallas, and Galveston in Texas; Morgan City, Lafayette and New Orleans in Louisiana; and Mobile in Alabama. When you are in these cities, look in the yellow pages under drilling contractors / companies, oil companies, oil field supply companies, maritime companies and anything else you can come up with concerning the offshore / oilfield / maritime jobs industry. If you live outside the United States you will have to find out where the big headquarter cities are for the industry. Go to them, look in the phone books and start making your contacts.
You can do one of two things here. You can either call and see if there are any vacancies, or you can show up in person and ask to speak to a recruiter. Me, I would show up in person. Heck, you are already in the city. Recruiters have a tendency to pay more attention to someone in person as opposed to someone on the phone.
Naturally, you will want to have a current resumé that is professionally prepared and presents you at your very best. Anything less and you will be SELLING YOURSELF SHORT.
Personal Physical Search #2:
The second time I got an offshore job, I was driving down the beach one day (I live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast) and I saw a huge structure at the dock. As I got closer, I saw it was a drillship, and boy, was I excited. Mostly what comes into the port here are banana boats, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw this gigantic vessel with a drilling derrick on it.
My mind was made up that I was going to talk to someone on that rig! I drove right through the guard shack and marched myself right up to what looked like the office, and asked the first person I saw "Where's the toolpusher?" I was directed to his office. After I had introduced myself I told him I wanted a job.
We talked briefly, then the pusher (also known as an OIM or offshore installation manager) called the Houston office, got a recruiter and gave me the phone. I then talked myself into my second offshore job. Oh, I had to fly to Houston for a personal interview and physical (they paid all expenses) but I got the job and a week later was on a helo headed offshore Galveston to work as a rig welder on a brand new, state of the art drillship.
The point I want to make here is if you live near any ocean ports, be on the lookout for rigs that dock there. They come in to ports worldwide when they are in between contracts and / or need minor repairs / supplies. If you see a rig docked like this, by all means try and get aboard.
Act like you know what you are doing, get on board and ask where the boss's office is. Heck, at least they will know you want a job and mean business! It is quite possible you could get hired on that very vessel. Shorthanded crews are common place these days.
BEWARE: If there are a bunch of soldiers standing around with AK-47's or M-16's looking like they are on guard, you might want to get someone's permission before you board the vessel, eh?
Back in the old days, long before personal computers were common household items and the internet was not invented yet, I used to advertise Offshore Guides in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Popular Mechanics and Mother Earth News. People who were interested in this line of work would write me for information and I would send it to them.
One day, a man I'd never seen before showed up at my front door. His wife and two children were waiting for him in a rather dilapidated old car. His family was totally worn out from traveling, the brakes in his car were just about to fail and all of them looked as if they had not had a good bath in the last two weeks. He told me he had received my literature and was wanting to work offshore. He'd driven down from somewhere up north, went to the post office where I received my mail, got my physical address from the clerk, and then came knocking on my door. He seemed surprised my office was not an oil rig!
Had he taken the time to read my letter, he would have realized I was not an employer, but provided information for those who wanted to work offshore. Sensing this man's dilemma, I gave him a copy of my Offshore Directory (with current addresses and phone numbers of companies then hiring), a small amount of cash for gas and food, and pointed him in the direction of Louisiana. As crazy as it sounds, it happened more than once, although this particular story was the most dramatic.
The point I want to make about the above story is this: Use some common sense here! Don't go off on a wild goose chase. Have some kind of a plan. Don't just drop your life and appear on a company's doorsteps with a "Here I am!" and expect them to give you a job. It does happen that way on occasion, but it is the exception and NOT THE RULE.
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