Moshtak Ahmmed wandered the halls of the Offshore Technology Conference this week, introducing himself to other attendees sporting badges emblazoned with some of the biggest names in energy: Exxon Mobil, Schlumberger, BP, Baker Hughes. But even among this pantheon, his name tag stood out.

His affiliation: "None."

Ahmmed, a chemical engineer in his 60s, has been out of work for much of the past two years, competing with a growing pool of laid-off energy professionals. He has sent more than 400 résumés without even landing a promising interview, let alone a job offer, he said, and now is revising his CV to disguise the gap in his employment. Meanwhile, he's had to take Social Security early and nearly deplete his retirement savings to get by.

"Nothing is working," he said.

Ahmmed is among the many unemployed workers who came to OTC hoping to land a job, or at least make connections that might lead to one, only to find a reception far different than those of past years. With energy companies slashing jobs by the thousands, gone are the giant touch screen boards with long lists of open positions and the special hiring seminars that companies sponsored to lure job seekers. Gone, too, are the armies of recruiters who roamed the exhibit halls trolling for talent.

Instead, it's job seekers walking the floors, some using "consultant" on their name tags while others just say "unemployed." One jobless worker still had his former company's name on his badge. It was printed before he lost his job last week.

"It's tough," said Ibrahim Massoud, a petroleum engineer who has been out of work for more than year. "It's really tough out there."

Energy companies have slashed one in five U.S. jobs, laying off nearly 120,000 workers since oil prices peaked in the June 2014, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. That figure is only expected to grow as crude prices hover between $40 and $45 a barrel and oil company profits continue to suffer.

In Houston, the nation's energy capital, exploration, engineering, oil field service and energy-related manufacturing firms cut more than 56,000 jobs between December 2014 and March 2016, said Patrick Jankowski, senior vice president for research at the Greater Houston Partnership, the city's main business group.

Energy workers can expect a difficult job market over the next few years, Jankowski said. When prices and profits rebound, companies will pay down debt they incurred during the boom, restore dividends for investors and spend on new drilling projects before doing any substantial hiring. Companies also have found during the downturn that they can operate with many fewer employees and will be reluctant to boost their payrolls, Jankowski said.

Many companies already are automating processes that were once done by humans. Some offshore workers, for example, may be replaced by computer technology that can drill wells on autopilot.

"Even if oil prices go up, it will not result in a hiring binge," he said. "It will take at least a year or two to see improvements in hiring."

At OTC, the booth of FMC Technologies illustrates the changes in the job market over the past few years. When oil prices were high, the Houston equipment manufacturer installed touch screens so candidates could immediately see available jobs; applications were forwarded to their email. Today the screens are used for product demonstrations.

Ali Karimi, 31, earned his doctorate in petroleum engineering in 2013 and hoped to work in the industry after completing his post-doctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin. He began looking for work at an oil or gas company more than six months ago, sending out about 10 résumés a week.

When he finally landed an interview, the position quickly vanished as the company began layoffs.

"It's pretty bad," he said.

Thuy Geraci, global manager of recruiting and human resources at the Houston engineering firm Wood Group Mustang, said she was surprised to see so many top-tier candidates, including an unemployed CEO, looking for jobs at OTC.

"It's very telling of the market," Geraci said.