New Candidate Needs for Asian Companies

The past two years were a roller-coaster for the oil and gas sector with oil prices peaking at highs of more than US$140 per barrel in 2008 to less than US$40 per barrel in 2009. The drop in crude prices was primarily due to a decrease in global demand which was a consequence of the economic crisis as well as increasing global crude production capacity and large spare production capacity. Unstable demand, volatile commodity prices and larger stocking of oil made Companies wary with their investment plans a year ago.

Fast forward a few months and things have become brighter. Major economies have showed signs of recovery in the second half of 2009 and global economic conditions are improving in 2010. Global oil demand is expected to increase in emerging economies such as India and China as they rise up as major growth drivers for the global resurgence.

This anticipation of future growth is an important factor in driving many Asian national oil Companies in stepping up on global upstream activity which will feed through into the oilfield equipments and services sector. This has become quite evident in the recruitment activities of such companies in Singapore, in particular the marine and offshore sub-sectors.

In recent months, close to a third of the roles we have worked on have been Business Development or Sales related. Companies are seeing the huge potential in the expansion of new markets and existing customer accounts. Most of these roles are newly created positions at executive and senior levels for both local and regional markets.

For the executive level, they are generally for service or equipment companies and tend to be more inclined to the local market, occasionally accompanied with an additional focus in the South East Asian region. The years of experience looked for by potential employers is not as important as the knowledge of their related products and the level of drive and motivation behind a candidate.

As for the regional roles, vast years of relevant experience in the industry and an existing network of contacts seem to be mandatory requirements. This is logical because companies do not have the luxury of time to start things from scratch in a highly competitive market. The region of work that these successful candidates will oversee is more often than not in China. Although the ability to speak Chinese is not a must for these positions, a demonstrated appreciation and understanding of the Chinese culture is favourable.

On the other side, we have also been receiving a lot of unsolicited CVs with relevant experience in Business Development and Sales. They are professionals with relevant oil and gas industry experience looking for their next opportunity in a bigger role. There is also a handful without such industry understanding but are in fairly senior positions and open to making a move to this industry. Despite their motivation and experience, only a minority with outstanding skill sets get a chance to move.

As a recruitment entity, the present scenario has been encouraging as it enhances the profile of the business. Looking ahead, such roles may continue to arise as more companies expand into the Asia Pacific region. 

Written by Jouchae Chan, Recruitment Services Coordinator, Energy Resourcing Singapore.

Jouchae leads Energy Resourcing’s Singapore Recruitment team. Her responsibilities include networking and relationship building with candidates through search, matching, screening, and candidate care and clients through liaising about open and potential roles.