I ask because someone wrote here that the external market does not value EM experience. Are there many more of you who think so?
Despite everything I think about EM and how much the company has fallen apart in the meantime, I still think that the experience here is recognized and valued elsewhere. All my colleagues got a new job without any problems.
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The best way to find out is reaching out to those who have left XOM on LinkedIn or by however other means. They will tell you the truth.
EMIT, non-technical here. If you were in a technical job, you were probably underpaid/underappreciated in the base case. The upside to this is depending on the technology you work with, you’re likely very employable at another company in the same space. IT PMs tend to be overpaid relative to market, and honestly most of the ones I’ve worked with at EM are awful.
I can tell you about what I know from direct experience - Geoscience.
20-30 years ago, Exxon Geoscience was top of the industry, in the premier oil company of the world. Many new hires would join and work for only five years to get the skills and the prestigious label “Exxon graduate” and then move on to smaller companies to make more money faster.
Today, EM Geoscience is third class in a second class company. The average geoscientists have only 5-10 ye and are starved of formal training (which has been going down since 2015) and also have minimal or zero chance of learning from much more experienced technical coworkers, who are long since gone.
When I recently retired with almost 30 ye, it was very easy to find consulting work, because everybody still values the old Exxon. You also see people in TTL positions (~15 ye) jumping ship. And that’s it - nobody wants the younger workforce, that’s why most will
stay there until they move the jobs to BTC. Some have figured it out and quit to go outside the industry - anything is better than EM.
Other fields might have their own story, but how would an employee’s technical reputation go up when the company is going down?
Global Projects person here. In my interviews with companies in other industries, the view of ExxonMobil has been mostly neutral. Some seem to assume that I am highly paid, which hopefully keeps them from lowballing me. One tech company interviewer seemed cautiously negative and made sure to point out that they treat people better than ExxonMobil, and that if hired they would expect me to treat people better as well.
Having experienced a recent departure from Exxon, I can say the market is very difficult as the competition is growing stronger and younger. Compounding this, having Exxon on your resume can actually prove a barrier due to poor perception in the market, and it’s workforce brand has diminished.
Make sure you have transferable skills, good soft skill sets and establish a credible network that can actually support as it may take time to secure a role that fits you, your family or individual circumstance.
Please do note, there is life after a Exxon career if this is what you wish.
All depends on your role.
If it's being the best at some exxon specific sh-t probably not.
It probably depends by discipline and organization. As a mechanical engineer n EMRE I was able to find a job in a different industry without much problem. The technical skills still applied. Don’t think this is the case across the board but people commented on the strength of XOM engineers during interviews. I agree with some of the other posts, the perception will likely decline with time. To much talent jumping ship and too much outsourcing.
The value of experience at XOM will continue to decline over time, along with overall perception of the company. I was able to leverage my experience into an opportunity in a different industry, but that won't be as easy to do in 5-10 years from now.
Some of the other O&G companies were interested in me because of my experience at XOM. But outside of O&G, the perception is not the same. Employers might respect the fact that you worked for a large and well known corporation, but they're not necessarily going to drool over your resume. At that point it comes down to useful and transferable skills and experience, which at XOM can vary quite a bit.
The longest you stay the less employable you become.
Run away
External value declines the longer you've been here.
More than 10 years in Technical/Science sees a severe drop in others' regard.
4 years in Management - you're toast in the outside world.
Hence the cleaving desperation among those.
Nobody wants a private prison job.
XOM experience is still valued on the market, but the value is going downward. Many recruiters are now aware of Exxodus. How does this affect their perception of the “XOM experience”? How does this affect the offers negotiations when they intend to hire people from ExxonMobil? Think about that. Your colleagues made smart moves before it’s too late.