How to get hired in Williston in 3 days

Here is a quick guide to finding work in Williston in the shortest amount of time.

Step 1:  Get a CDL before you come.  This will open up innumerable more opportunities.  Almost every high-paying job here requires it, even if the job only requires driving 5% of the time.

Step 2:  Stop using drugs.  If you do, you will flunk the drug test, which is required of virtually every worthwhile job in town.

Step 3:  Be prepared to sleep in your vehicle.  There's no lodging in Williston for those not employed in Williston.  The oil companies have already rented out everything for 50 miles.

Step 4:  Go to the Jobs ND location when you get here.  This is the local jobs bank.  It is the best resource for finding both short and long-term employment.

Step 5:  Compile a list of companies and their office addresses in Williston.  It's a good idea to bring a GPS, too, so you can hit them up one-by-one expiditiously.  It's a good idea to hit up as many oil companies in town as possible, but you can get an idea of who is actively looking for workers by checking the Shopper

Step 6:  Don't just drop off a resume.  When you hit up a location, fill out the application right then and there.  After you hand it to the receptionist, ask if you can see the hiring manager.  If he is busy, sit down and wait.  This is how hiring happens in town.

That's it.  With good preparation, you can do this process over a two or three day time span.  If you already have a job in another part of the country.  Take a few days off, come to Williston, get a job, go back home (since usually you start a couple weeks after obtaining an offer), give your 14 days notice to your current job, and come back to Williston.  If you are currently out of work, you can come here, get a job, and do some temp construction work, which is plentiful, until your full-time gig starts.

List of Oil and Oil Servicing Companies in Williston

For those who are new to Williston, I'm compiling a list of major oil and oil servicing companies in town.  The list will continue to grow.  Feel free to add a name in the comments field.  To get an address in Williston for these places, just google the name with "Williston, ND" at the end.

- Baker-Hughes
- Brigham Exploration
- Calfrac Well Services
- CCS Midstream Services
- Continental Resources
- Conoco Oil
- Diamond Resources
- Frac Tech (Minot)
- Haliburton
- Hess Oil (Tioga)
- Marathon Oil
- Nabor Drilling
- NOV
- Oil States Services
- Petroleum Services
- Pioneer Drilling
- Sanjel
- Schlumberger
- Sun Well Services

Day 7

...aaaaaannnnndddd TIME!  24 hours since I got my CDL permit yesterday, and I already got my first job offer, today, from Sanjel.  They specialize in fracking and coil tubing operations.  I was offered a position in coil tubing.  The terminology for this business is a little esoteric, so I've included the following links describing some of the various processes:

1.  Fracking

2.  Coil Tubing

3.  Horizontal Drilling

All these technologies are fairly new, which means they are specialized skills that will be in high demand  as oil shale development continues to expand globally.

Day Six

Yesterday, I studied all day the 140+ page CDL manual, and then took the exam around 3 pm.  The Williston DMV only offers the exam to those who have grabbed a ticket between the hours of 8-10 am and 1-3 pm.  It turns out that the exam is actually 3 tests.  The bulk is the general knowledge test (about 50 questions), then you still have to take the Combination Vehicles test and the Air Brakes test, each of which account for about ten pages of the manual.  I ended up failing the Combination vehicles test.  If someone had told me that I had to pay closer attention to that one, I would have.  Luckily, you can come back the next day and retake it, and the cost is only $5, so I retook it this morning and passed.

I hit up a few places that had been advertised in the ShopperInc, which is the local free newspaper in town, and one of the best sources for finding a job, in addition to jobsnd.com.  You can view the newspaper online.

I applied at CalFrac, SOSStaffing (which staffs for Schlumberger), Sun Well Services, and Sanjel.  The manager at Sanjel wants me to come back tomorrow morning, where I think he might offer a job.  Their Frackers make about $80,000 the first year, working a 2/1 (14 days on, 6 off) schedule.  It seems like an upper tier company from what I have observed.  They have an attractive new building next to the Haliburton building east on Broadway in town, as opposed to a small trailer like alot of the oil well servicers here.  Sanjel also provides housing, which is a bonus, since apartment/housing prices here, if you can find vacancies, are exorbitant.  If I want to move my family out here, they also provide family housing: 3 br modular homes with internet, cable, and utilities inclusive at $1,500/mo.  That sure beats the $3,000+/mo flat rent for anything else here in town.

Day Four

So, I hit the pavement today stopping by the various oil company offices in town (there's supposed to be over 150), and every oil servicing job I have come across requries a commercial driver's license (CDL).  The written portion seems like a fairly easy exam, and can be taken at the DMV here in town.  Passage of the written portion entitles you to a driving permit (sort of like a driving permit when you're 15, in that you can drive so long as a CDL holder is in the vehicle).  The road portion of the exam, also offered at the DMV, is a little more difficult.  One has to have both their own truck and, of course, be proficient in operating it.  The good thing, though, is that if you have the permit, most of the companies here are willing to higher you with the expectation that you will obtain the full license within the following six month window allowed by the DMV.  Since a lot of companies here value having the Hazmat license certification as well, it's not a bad idea to take that test along with the general CDL test (the Hazmat test is optional).  I've been studying the ND CDL manual all this afternoon, and I'll be taking the written exam first thing in the morning.

Day Three

Went to church today.  Getting that edification is important to keeping your spirits high and staying inspired.  Also, the feeling of being amongst a family is important since I'm out here alone.  I was able to network and find out a ton of information about the area and the oil industry, as well.  Finally, I received no less than three invitations from people to stay at their homes till I find longer-term accomodations.

Videos on the way to and in Williston

Here's some videos I took on the way into Williston. If you want to get a better feel of the look in the town, check out street views on Google Earth.