On 22 October 2025, the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston became the epicenter of career advancement in the energy sector, with a dedicated event organized by the Career Advancement Network (CAN), an initiative created to support SPE members in search of a new job or career transition at any point in their careers.
“Career transition can be defined both as a category for members who are waiting to land a job and those who are employed but looking to transfer their skills to other sectors of the oil and gas industry,” according to a paper presented at SPE’s 2017 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE).
After several months of volunteer teamwork arranging logistics and invitations and conducting dedicated outreach and networking efforts, CAN hosted its 16th semiannual Energy Professionals Hiring Event with great success at the Future Talent Zone of the 2025 ATCE. The atmosphere was charged with determination and optimism as 294 participants gathered to connect with employers, explore opportunities, and seek information about job opportunities in a rapidly evolving industry.
The fall 2025 CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Event was chaired by Monique Schlanger, within the framework of the CAN Committee chaired by Jennifer Calderin. The event was embedded in ATCE 2025, a best practice that is now customary for CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Events: attaching a hiring event to large technical conferences, such as the Offshore Technology Conference and ATCE. A large conference with technical exhibitors attracts a solid number of registrants, which is enticing for employers.
The accessibility of this event was reflected in its registration mix (Fig. 1). More than half of the attendees arrived as walk‑ins, underscoring the importance of flexible access and on‑site visibility. Preregistered and prepaid participants added structure and predictability, but the walk‑in surge highlighted CAN’s ability to attract spontaneous interest from both job seekers and employers.
This distribution demonstrates that CAN’s open‑door ethos remains vital, allowing professionals to engage even on short notice.
Technical Focus Areas
The breadth of disciplines represented at the event demonstrates the energy sector’s complexity and adaptability (Fig. 2). The discipline of reservoir engineering led with 70 participants, followed by completions (55), drilling (43), and production and operations (33). Geoscience drew 30 professionals, among other disciplines of professionals who attended the event. Newer fields such as data science and sustainability also had representation in this event, showing an evolving workforce within SPE membership. Even niche areas such as geomechanics, facilities, and accounting were present, ensuring that the full spectrum of expertise was visible to employers.
This distribution confirms that CAN is not just a platform for traditional upstream roles but also a bridge to emerging disciplines critical for the energy transition.
Where to hold CAN events
The participant pool in the fall Energy Professionals Hiring Event attached to ATCE 2025 was overwhelmingly Texan, with 222 attendees from the state (Fig. 3). The event also drew professionals from Missouri (19), Oklahoma (13), and California, Colorado, Louisiana, and Virginia (4 each), as well as a notable international contingent of 10 registrants. Smaller but significant contributions came from states such as Florida, Indiana, and New York. SPE could greatly benefit from offering these kinds of events alongside major conferences held in other countries, as employment and placement in new jobs is an issue of huge importance for SPE members in the currently changing and expanding energy sector. CAN committee members have developed skills, know-how, and templates that are transferable, along with their willingness to support other events globally by mentoring those leaders who would like to engage in CAN initiatives.
Employers Participation
The credibility of the event was reinforced by the presence of leading employers. Industry giants such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Baker Hughes stood alongside agile players such as Murphy Oil, Westpaq, NDT Global, Moblyze, NDT Global, Promethean Energy, Elios Talent, Vopak, ProPetro Services, Texas Metal Works, DrillDocs, WSP, Tejas Research and Engineering, and Subsurface Consultants & Associates. Their booths were more than recruitment stations; they were hubs of dialogue, mentorship, and discovery. Recruiters emphasized adaptability, communication, and leadership alongside technical expertise, signaling the qualities most valued in today’s workforce. CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Events aim for experienced people as well as fresh graduates, and the employers participating in this event gained access to these different profiles of potential candidates for their workforce.
Historical Context and Evolution
The CAN initiative began in 2015 as Members in Transition, a grassroots response in the SPE Gulf Coast Section to industry downturns. Over the years, it has hosted 15 hiring events, 69 monthly seminars, and numerous workshops on resume enhancement, visibility and application strategies for LinkedIn, and career resilience. It has partnered with more than 50 professional associations and welcomed over 4,000 job seekers since its launch.
The early emphasis of CAN was on career planning, entrepreneurship, and innovation, including the Pierson Method for effective job search and the Pay‑it‑Forward Networking Tours. These concepts remain embedded in CAN’s focus, ensuring that professionals not only find jobs but also build resilience and reciprocity. CAN has also offered workshops and panels on topics pertinent to career transitions, alongside events fully dedicated to CV revisions and consulting. Results of CAN in its 8 years of existence provide a further perspective: Attendance peaked at 554 job seekers in spring 2021, with employer participation reaching 32 companies that same year. While cycles of downturn and recovery have influenced participation, the 294 attendees at the fall 2025 event reaffirmed CAN’s resilience and relevance.
The rebranding in 2023 to Career Advancement Network marked a turning point, removing stigma and broadening the mission to empower professionals at every stage of their careers. The unveiling of CAN’s new logo in November 2025 symbolized this evolution (Fig. 4). Its design reflects connection, growth, and opportunity, values that have defined the initiative since its inception.
Volunteers and Leadership
The success of CAN is built on the dedication of its volunteers. From founding chairs such as Susan Howes and Yetunde Okediji to current leaders such as Jamie Marzonie and Jennifer Calderin, CAN’s leadership has been marked by vision, empathy, and tireless coordination. Each hiring event is a logistical feat, requiring outreach to employers, alignment with conference schedules, and the orchestration of workshops, panels, and networking suites, delivered by leaders in their fields of expertise.
The CAN committee is led by a chair and hosted by the SPE Gulf Coast Section in Houston. Each Energy Professionals Hiring Event has its own chair. CAN is composed of volunteers who manage:
- Monthly or weekly meetings
- Website updates
- Energy Professionals Hiring Events:
- Logistics
- Registration workflows
- Contacts with potential employers, sponsors, and endorsers
- Communication and marketing, including production of media
- Organization of workshops, panels, and other activities besides the Energy Professionals Hiring Events
- Coordination with over 40 collaborating professional societies
Invitation to volunteers is an open call posted on SPE-GCS newsletters, SPE Connect, and the SPE Group on LinkedIn and replicated by CAN committee members on social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram).
Looking Ahead
The fall 2025 Energy Professionals Hiring Event was more than a recruitment fair. It was a celebration of resilience, adaptability, and community. With nearly 300 participants, top‑tier employers, more than 40 collaborating professional societies, and a refreshed identity, CAN continues to deliver on its promise: to empower energy professionals and strengthen the industry’s future. Plans for expansion include deeper integration with global conferences, broader outreach to international professionals, and enhanced digital engagement.
With the experience gained from more than 15 CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Events, the initiative has reached a level of maturity that positions it for expansion beyond Texas and beyond SPE. CAN has consistently proven value in assisting energy professionals, particularly during periods marked by the dual pressures of the energy transition and economic downturns in the regional energy sector, underscoring the usefulness of targeted programs to support job seekers. Looking ahead, the Energy Professionals Hiring Event is expected to continue delivering benefits to endorsing organizations, employers, and candidates alike. The next edition will be held in conjunction with the Offshore Technology Conference in May 2025. Employer Registration is open.
Authors
Maria Angela Capello, SPE, is president of Red Tree Consulting, a globally published geoscientist and strategic adviser on energy transition, resource stewardship, and geosciences visibility. She has been a member of CAN leadership since its inception.
Jennifer Calderin, SPE, is an assistant vice president of petroleum engineering at WSP USA and a dedicated volunteer leader within SPE‑GCS. She is the current CAN Chair and has cochaired multiple CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Events, bringing a multidisciplinary lens to career development, sustainability, and professional mentoring.
C. Susan Howes, SPE, is president at Subsurface Consultants and Associates, leading the firm’s consulting, recruitment, and training services with a commitment to technical excellence. She is the 2027 SPE President and was the founding chair of the Members in Transition (now CAN) initiative in the SPE Gulf Coast Section.
Jamie Marzonie, SPE, is a senior project leader working for both owners and contractors across multiple industries to deliver more predictable results through higher decision quality. A longtime volunteer for SPE, he has chaired several CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Events and has been CAN chair.
Monique Schlanger, SPE, is a multilingual human resources generalist with extensive international experience in all aspects of the human resources life cycle. In early 2025, she created Harmoniq Resources to provide coaching, human resources consulting, and fractional human resources services to companies and individuals. She was the chair of the CAN Energy Professionals Hiring Event Fall 2025.