So here's what happened to me on Thursday........

......laying in bed Thursday morning contemplating my next move since I haven't been able to find a cdl job since graduating in May (applied EVERYWHERE). Thought it would have been way easier since everyone needs drivers but I just don't have the experience and I understand the process, no hard feelings. My wife (a teacher) was on her way to a district meeting as her first day back to work from summer vacation and hears on the radio that Halliburton is having a hiring fair that afternoon. Now, I know that this is more than likely a frac job so I ponder it and think why not? I was tired of looking for a job at this point and I remembered from previous 'research' that Sanjel was also having similar events, so I looked up their info and wouldn't you know they too are having a fair that same day but earlier.

I have been looking for work religiously to the point where it's annoying. I'm a man so I'm supposed to work, I'm not afraid of getting dirty, and I bring an excellent work ethic. I'm also smart and easy going, friendly and can talk to anyone, who wouldn't wanna hire me? As far as driving goes, I have no driving experience as in no otr or 'verifiable' experience. I have driven trucks here and there and had my cdl b from a previous job before I upgraded to the A, all myself no $6,000 school to pay for. Not knocking anyone, just didn't feel the need to enroll in one. After talking w/roadmaster and sage I got the feeling that they really didn't care about me just the business I would generate for them. Also zero reassurance of helping me get a job afterwards, and for me this mattered more than anything else. The sage lady actually talked me out of going with them. I only considered the schools after I had my cdl thinking that by actually having the diploma it might help me in landing a job. I knew this wasn't necessary but just another option. I just don't have the time or money for that. Rant over, back to Thursday.

I found Sanjel's info and pre-registered for both them and Halliburton (it was required for halli). Me being me, I called and spoke to a really nice sanjel recruiter to get a heads up beforehand and she walked me through what I needed and explained the jobs and their structure (every job requires a cdl). I'm tired of job hunting and I just wanna work at this point. I know fracing is not a lot of driving but I'm ready to start somewhere and not afraid to work to get to wher I wanna be. For today, Sanjel is at 2pm, halliburton at 6pm. Walk in to sanjel and there's 9 other guys already waiting. I wore black slacks and a nice dark polo, one guy had shorts and a cap, another had on FR clothing and looked like he just came from a job site. I'm clearly the guy who's overdressed, but it's an interview so I'm approaching it as such. Sign in and 5 min later recruiter comes out and walks us to a conference room where we watch slides for an hour, excellent benefits (cheap healthcare, 401k, everything). Then he explains what they're looking for and that you have to be accurate in your app with everything otherwise you're out ex: on the education history, if for high school you put 4 years but don't list that you have a GED or diploma, it's a flag. In other words, detail everything. We're then taken out into a break room to wait for hiring managers to interview us one at a time and long story short I'm the last guy to get called, been waiting an hour and 45 min. Get to the interview and it was going great until the guys boss walks in and throws off my flow (they share office space). Really nice guy, we shoot the sh/t but I'm there to get a job and they're ready to go home. Lasts about 20 min, manager says they'll let people know in 2-3 days if hired or not. On my way out I notice there's a guy who went in with a different manager earlier than me who's just barely walking out. I now start to think my interview may not have gone as well as I thought. Million things going through my head because I really need a job.

It's now 5:05 and I need to get to the other side of town for the Halliburton session. Gas up, grab an iced tea and fly. Walk in at 6:01 and am told I need to hurry and sign in and when I do I notice that I'm #210 on the roster. Lots of people have been here today. I'm given a pre-hire checklist (2 pages) to fill out and walked into an auditorium, about 50 people sitting. Just like sanjel, there's slides to look at but halliburton really stresses the labor part and how much you'll be away from home. It seemed as though they want to make it known this is work and if you're not ready then you shouldn't be here. Lasts about 20 min, then we're told to sit and wait and they'll call for interviews and I'm thinking here we go again. 20 min later, I get called with a group of about 10, wait in a waiting area for about 5 min and then hiring manager comes out and calls me. Now at this point, I'm gonna do whatever I need to get this job. I'm tired and it's been a long day and I really need this. We walk into a room with four tables where there's other people interviewing. While talking to my guy, I notice other people's interviews are being cut short, as in thanks but no thanks, either from them or the manager. Doesn't matter, I'm getting a job tonite. Interview went well, about 30 minutes because I made sure to ask lots of questions. When we're done I notice my guy writes a code on the top right of my sheet and says "follow me". We go to another room where there's another 50 people or so sitting around and as soon as we walk in he turns to me and says "welcome aboard, congratulations!" I'm like YES and all I can think of is the hallelujah music playing. I finally got me a job!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm feeling great, talk to some other guys, wait my turn, get and sign my offer letter, and walk out. It's 9:10 but I don't care. I'm on my way home with my head up and it feels #### good. Haven't felt like this in awhile. Now for some of the particulars:


Sanjel: cementing position I, 15/6 schedule, get a per diem, I think 15-18 to start, 70ish hours a week, driving about half the time. Believe it or not I forgot to ask the pay question. Home daily (I live about 35 min away), there are no man camps in cibolo so you have to live less than an hour away from the yard. Saw a woman with FR clothing while there, so yes women do work there in that capacity. Overall would prefer to work here because of the pay and seemed friendly to employees. Pay is the main reason though and the schedule never changes so you always know when you're off, but the hiring manager did say you can work as much as you want as long as it's legal.
Halliburton: frac position operator I, 6/3 schedule, no per diem, 13 to start. On my pre-hire sheet from earlier, it said expect 80-100 hours a week. The hiring manager told me this was a lie and to expect 100-120, driving is about 10-20%. You have to live in the man camp for your rotation which for me is about the same distance as sanjel, the comfort and food at the camp was also stressed during the interview as in they make it a point to make sure you rest. Women from Halliburton were there but dressed in polos and slacks. The Halliburton people had been there all day and had another session earlier at 1pm. I asked about the job structure and how to progress up with the hiring manager and this was explained to me in detail. I could totally see myself working here for awhile and moving up, after all it's Halliburton.

I have kept up with other people's posts about their hiring experiences and it has really helped me out. Sincerely, thank you. I hope my experience can maybe help someone else out too. For now, I have a job and I'm gonna milk that cow for all she's got. I am truly grateful. I'll keep posting follow ups as I go through. Physical this Tuesday, 10am.