I’ve been approached by the Geoconvention – one of Canada’s largest conferences – to give a talk next week about being an unemployed geologist. It’s nice to be asked, although I’m not sure how I feel about being an expert in unemployment…

Many of the other presentations in my session look very sensible, all about resumes and interview skills. I’ve gone a different route. From where I look, there ARE no oil jobs (as a geologist) and it will be a long time before there are any. Endlessly searching for jobs that don’t exist is a highway to depression.

Thank you for the hundreds of comments and Likes that followed my 6-month status report. Your feedback is a massive boost, and one of the reasons I write. Another is to share my experience in the hope it helps. Do pass this on.

So what if there ARE no jobs?

Panic and depression. Maybe it’s me. What if I’d worked harder? What if I hadn’t challenged the things I did? Maybe it was the wrong decision to work with that company. And who would want me now anyway? I’ve been out of work almost a year. I’ve forgotten everything. And maybe I’m not cut out for the oil industry.

On my better days I realise that being out of work is not my fault. It’s outside my control. It happens. None of my decisions have ever been mistakes. I am employable. This period is teaching me. And guess what, eventually it too will pass.

I found some writing by Theodore Roosevelt called "The Man in the Arena".

Job searching is like being a fighter in a Roman Arena in some ways. The blood, sweat and tears. The falling down and forcing yourself back up. The endless cycle of failure and rejection. But the real man in the Arena fights valiantly, does not give up, and either earns a priceless reward or fails, but fails with honour by daring greatly. Read Brene Brown for more on that.

I read well-meant advice on LinkedIn all the time that can seem patronizing. Everyone knows you need to be organised in a job search. Get your paperwork not just organised but incredibly good. Make a functional resume for the jobs you’ve never tried before and really figure out what you’re good at. Guard your time, concentrate your networking meetings together to leave time for other stuff. Get the budget organised. You know all that.

Allowing yourself “down” days is not patronizing, or failing, or losing. Job hunting sucks. It’s lonely, exhausting, uncertain and just draining. My job used to be my Main Purpose. What’s life all about now? Talk about it, scream about it, rail at the frustration and injustice of it all, and get it Out. Once a week.

So there are no Geo jobs in Calgary. It’s a fact. The single vacancy in the last month attracted 600 resumes. I wonder how they sorted them. I wonder why they needed to advertise in the first place? There are two alternatives. Wait and hope – or realize the oil business is not coming back any time soon and move on. I don’t know which is right, and I have eggs in both baskets. The longer this goes on though, the more a single choice is required. Waiting can include serving coffee, stacking shelves. I have a list of places like that I’d consider working and am starting to contact. Waiting can include learning, volunteering and working in oil companies for free. I’ve done all three. But eventually, I find myself thinking more and more that I need to recognize I may need to do something different. Proactively stepping away from the Big Oil Job Search is a brave thing to do.

So is career change real, or just a nice idea? Dipping my toes in it for the last year teaches me (so far) that transferable skills (you might have even more than me) don’t get you a job. Most recruiters need focused qualifications, skills and relevant experience. Even if you’re as amazing and real a person as I obviously am, it’s probably not enough to get you a job doing something very different. Maybe some people do meet the right person in a different industry, and the personal connection counts more than skills and experience. I’m still hoping to meet that person.

For a depressing reality check, the fastest growing jobs in Canada are looking after elderly people or children, and the IT sector. Some of these jobs will grow by 15% in the next 5 years according to CareerBuilder.ca – which is way ahead of the oil business. So why not retrain into an industry with lots of jobs? Geologists have two objections – the pay is less, and the jobs are not interesting. We became geologists for a reason. But maybe it’s time for me to leave my pre-conceptions, my pride and my comfort zone behind and go retrain into a caring industry.

There are other Geo careers out there besides the oil industry of course. None are really booming. Anglo American is reducing staff by 80,000 in the weeks ahead, so mining looks a tough choice. I know people who’ve gone back to the academic world, or started teaching, and I’m working on both of those ideas. The environmental world calls loudly to me. Not just because I’ve met some amazing people in the last few months who work in small env consultancies. But also the idea of doing something positive to my environment rather than having to be ashamed of the (often) dirty ugly science-denying oil industry is very appealing.

There’s really no short cut to networking, to deliberately going out and meeting new people who do interesting things with a great attitude. Try searching LinkedIn for words like positive, fun, focussed, enjoyable – or other words that describe people you’d like to meet, doing jobs you might like to do. Keep achieving – fighting for excellence in hobbies, relationships, volunteering – and get outdoors. Get in wild places. Get in shape. Fight to the top of mountains. Go with others and talk to them.

Thanks for reading. I don’t have many answers to my question – what if there ARE no jobs? I feel increasingly called to start making proactive decisions, and that waiting and hoping (even with networking) are not real solutions. Let me know what you think.

Thank you Terry Wasylak, Jean Dowson, David Plouffe, Dale Galbraith & Jevins Waddell and the hundreds of inspiring new contacts I've met in the last year.