Oil & Gas Resume Checklist

Build a resume that highlights your energy industry experience and gets past applicant tracking systems.

1. Contact Information & Header

Include your full name, phone number, professional email, and LinkedIn URL Add your city/state and willingness to relocate if applicable Use a professional email address (avoid nicknames or outdated providers) Omit your full street address for privacy — city and state are sufficient

2. Professional Summary

Write a 2-3 sentence summary highlighting years of experience in oil and gas Include your specialization (drilling, completions, production, pipeline, refining, etc.) Mention a standout achievement with a specific metric (e.g., "reduced NPT by 30%") Match the tone to the seniority level: technical detail for engineering, leadership focus for management

3. Work Experience

List positions in reverse chronological order with company name, title, location, and dates Start each bullet point with a strong action verb (managed, optimized, designed, implemented) Quantify results: production volumes, cost savings, safety incident rates, team sizes, project budgets Include specific equipment, software, and technologies used (e.g., Landmark, Petrel, SCADA, PI System) Highlight any experience with regulatory compliance (API standards, OSHA, EPA, state agencies) Mention work in multiple basins or regions to show versatility

4. Certifications & Training

List all active industry certifications with issuing body and expiration dates Include well control certifications (IWCF, WellCAP) and safety cards (SafeGulf, BSEE, H2S) Add any project management (PMP), quality (Six Sigma), or leadership certifications Mention TWIC card, CDL, or other access/operational credentials if relevant

5. Skills & Technical Proficiencies

Create a dedicated skills section with industry-specific technical competencies Include relevant software: reservoir simulation, drilling optimization, CMMS, ERP systems List languages spoken if you've worked in international operations Add soft skills only if you can back them up with specific examples in your experience section

6. Formatting & ATS Optimization

Keep it to 1-2 pages (1 page for under 10 years experience, 2 pages for senior roles) Use a clean, single-column format that applicant tracking systems can parse easily Avoid tables, graphics, headers/footers, and text boxes that ATS software may skip Use standard section headings ("Work Experience" not "My Career Journey") Save as PDF to preserve formatting unless the application specifically requests .docx