How to Apply for Offshore Jobs With No Experience
You have the tickets, or you are about to book them. This is exactly what to send, who to send it to, and what to do in the four weeks after you hit send.
To apply offshore with no experience you send a two-page single-column CV with your OGUK medical, BOSIET and MIST dates in the top third, a five-line cover email naming the role and your availability, and scanned certificates attached. Register directly with eight to twelve offshore agencies rather than only answering adverts, then follow up on day seven.
The four-part application pack
1. A two-page, single-column CV
Tickets and expiry dates in the top third, then work history in reverse order. No tables, no columns, no logos — those break the parser and your CV is scored as blank.
2. A five-line cover email
Name the role, your tickets, your availability date and your preferred rotation. Anything longer does not get read by a consultant working through 200 applications.
3. Scanned certificates
OGUK/OEUK medical, BOSIET with CA-EBS, MIST, plus any trade tickets. Attach them on the first email so nobody has to ask.
4. A follow-up schedule
Day 7 after registering, then every fortnight. Short, polite, always restating your availability.
The cover email that gets opened
Copy this, change the details, keep it this short. Consultants read the first three lines and the attachment list, nothing else.
Who to register with
Offshore hiring is agency-led. Register directly rather than only answering adverts — most vacancies are filled from the agency's existing pool before they are ever posted.
| Agency / employer | Best for |
|---|---|
| Petroplan | Drilling and production, UKCS wide |
| Orion Group | Aberdeen based, strong on entry-level deck roles |
| NES Fircroft | Large volume, register online and phone the branch |
| Airswift | Operator contracts, wants tickets attached upfront |
| Cammach Bryant | Aberdeen, good for stores and materials roles |
| Atlas Professionals | Marine, wind and survey crews |
| Sodexo / ESS / Entier | Catering and steward, fastest green-hat entry |
| Stork / Bilfinger | Maintenance and scaffolding contractors |
| KCA Deutag | Drilling contractor, direct applications |
| Ørsted / RWE / SSE Renewables | Offshore wind, GWO BST route |
| Maersk Drilling / Noble | Rig crews, roustabout intakes |
| Global Marine / Briggs Marine | CTV and vessel deck ratings |
Not sure which certificates you need first? Read the offshore certifications guide and the BOSIET training guide.
Six reasons green-hat applications get binned
- Sending a design-heavy CV with a photo, a sidebar or a skills bar chart
- Listing tickets without the awarding body or expiry date
- No availability date, so the consultant cannot place you against a start
- Applying only to job adverts and never registering directly with the agency
- Using one generic CV for roustabout, steward and scaffolder applications
- Giving up after four weeks — the average green hat needs eight to sixteen
Five of the six are CV and process problems, not experience problems. Compare yours against the offshore CV example before you send anything.
Your first four weeks, week by week
- Week 1 — CV rewritten in offshore language, certificates scanned into one folder, cover email drafted.
- Week 2 — register with eight to twelve agencies, phone the Aberdeen branch of each after you register online.
- Week 3 — apply direct to operator and contractor careers pages, plus every catering provider.
- Week 4 — first follow-up round, then fortnightly. Keep a spreadsheet of who you contacted and when.
Want the CV written for you?
A specialist with 25+ years in offshore recruitment writes an entry-level offshore CV around your tickets and transferable experience, built to pass agency parsing. 48-hour turnaround.
Applying offshore with no experience, answered
What do you actually send when applying offshore with no experience?
Three things every time: a two-page single-column CV with your tickets and expiry dates in the top third, a short cover email naming the role and your availability, and scanned copies of your OGUK medical, BOSIET and MIST certificates. Agencies discard applications that make them chase for ticket evidence.
How many offshore agencies should I register with?
Register with at least eight to twelve. Offshore hiring is agency-led and most green hats who fail to get offshore applied to three or fewer. Registering is free and takes about fifteen minutes each once your CV is written.
Why do offshore applications get rejected with no experience?
The four common reasons are missing or expired tickets, a CV the applicant tracking system cannot read, no named availability or rotation preference, and applying only to adverts rather than registering directly with agencies. None of them are about experience.
Should I follow up on an offshore application?
Yes. One short email or call to the agency consultant seven days after registering, then once a fortnight after that. Consultants fill jobs from the candidates they remember, and green hats who stay visible get put forward first.
How long before I get a callback?
Most people who register with eight or more agencies with valid tickets and a readable CV get a first conversation within four to eight weeks, and a first trip within eight to sixteen weeks. Applying with tickets not yet booked adds months.