I see there are a few jobs posted on the Marathon Oil website. I assume that most people on this site are Marathon employees. I see some negative comments, especially about HR. Are things really that bad? Would anyone recommend pursuing opportunities at Marathon?
29 replies (most recent on top)
Well here goes. I'm posting here again. Will an HR Troll come see me in the future?
No one seems to recall that Lee approved the dilution of MRO's share price by issuing 145 Million NEW shares at $7.65 per share. That's him selling at the bottom. See link. (Note: had he waited until now to do it, MRO would have received TWICE as much in the sake. Trumanesque that he is, the buck stopped on Lee's desk, and he acted... by taking full responsibility for this fiasco and firing the CFO!)
http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/02/29/2016/marathon-oil-becomes-latest-energy-company-issue-more-equity
Please recall that he also approved share buybacks when the share price was about $40, to the tune of about $4 Billion. That's him again, buying at the top.
Wow! What a visionary we have leading our company!
My best friend's wife works in HR and she told us that not only do those of us who are employees post to this site but that the VP of HR Closely monitors it and has her trolls plant "strategic" messages on it. For a fact, they are highly annoyed with the site and, if an employee is caught posting to it, he / she will be terminated. Their logic is that there are ways to make confidential suggestions to HR. Funny, though, that such confidential suggestions are anything but, and almost alepways lead to severance.
Please forgive the use of the word "strategic" in the same paragraph with "MRO," as the last strategic move made by MRO was on Cazalot's watch. We are led by an incompetent management team, and work in a male-unfriendly environment
I "broke out" with MRO way back in the 60's. A great bunch' Hoopman, Swales, Loose, Brannigan, Faris, Vind...etc. All of whom were very competent technically & more important, perfect gentlemen.
It appears those were the "best of times."
Yikes!
I have an interview for Wednesday. Wish me luck!
Preach!
Just look at the stock performance, where MRO constantly under performs its peers!
Succinctly, these are some of the reasons:
1) No one trusts the HR department, which uses the below referenced ExxonMobil performance management system as a means on getting rid of older employees, who take the money & run, rather than sue for age discrimination.
2) An aloof CEO around whom no one feels even remotely comfortable. He & his security guy rude alone up the elevator, not sharing with fellow employees. Contrast this with Clarence Cazalot who knew many people down the ranks by name.
3) A CEO who has yet to show an original idea or thought, with employees calling him "Me Too Lee." Why?
A) MRO bought into the Eagle Ford at top dollar. Now, Eagle Ford is out of favor, with the Permian Basin looking more promising.
B) MRO is rumored strongly to be looking to pick up the table scraps, again, and buy into the Permian basin at top dollar.
C) MRO sold out of WYO for pennies on the dollar, then bought into the STACK at the top of the recent market.
D) Note: Apache made the 75 TCF gas discovery (enough for ten world scale LNG plants) in the Permian, NOT MRO. This should not surprise anyone, as Apache, unlike MRO, still employs geologists & geophysicists to LOOK FOR hydrocarbons (which is the "E, or Exploration" arm of an E&P ).company.
E) MRO's biggest cash cow, the asset in Equatorial Guinea, will soon lose its tax exempt status and its gas floor price for gas sales, plus will soon thereafter be limited by feedstock. To date, nothing has been done about this besides talk.
F) MRO, since the inception of the Tillman era, has promoted chronies, yes men (and especially yes and obnoxious women), as manifested in its consistent under performance of its peers in the market. A strong leadership team would provide better leadership.
G) The company has become an unfriendly work environment for many, especially mid-career, non minority men. Bear this in mind if thinking of joining the team, as this may help or hurt you, depending on gender / race, etc.
H) MRO's board is inept, a rubber stamp for Lee who, rather than resign and take his disgusting HR VP with him, ran off the Eagle Ford VP & CFO instead. Lee takes no accountability for the poor performance of MRO, throwing others under the bus along the way, to keep the heat off his office.
Petrostimulate the annulus!
I wish I could get stimulated behind the curtain by a petro tech.
Oh, you must be referring to the orgasmatron room with the 3D screen up on 29. It's usually a nice, quiet, empty place. I hear there has been many a "petrostimulation" there... behind the curtain that hides the electronics.
One can never have too much petrostimulation!
I know who you are now.
Leaked too much detail.
don't be surprised when you get put into the petrosimulator!!! It's the marque of a premier establishment, believe me :D
I agree with Thumbs up, Realiy's comment is spot on. The recent email about making the review process fair, consistent and transparent is a good start, too bad they couldn't have figured out how to do that two years ago. How much have they paid "experts" to tell them what to do?
But, what is sad, is that I feel that for a lot of pepole it is too little too late. Also, they should have just had Mitch speak on the audio slide, it would have been more believable! If Deanna blue-jeans Jones really gives a crap about this company, she would take her millions and move on to her next self-induced catastrophe.
At what point will the board of directors realize that the competitive differentiator is removing Lee and Deanna?
The post by reality is correct!..
If you are desperate for a job and they hire you then take the job for what it is a temporary layover till something better comes along.
Know that you will be going into a hostile environment where the majority of employees are burned out and tired of a leadership team who doesn't have a clue. Your new peers have been to Hell and back and have been treated like disposable napkins. Most of them feel like they are still in hell and haven't quite made it to the other side yet. So be patient with their frustration they will wonder why you chose to come to such a horrible place. Just keep your nose down and get your paycheck for what it is. Don't expect to move up unless you brown nose. If you enjoy what you do and have no desire to move up then this is probably a fine place to be.
If people are reading these comments and think it is just tier 3 unhappy employees, you couldn't be farther from wrong. These are people who have worked their a-- off and competed with their fellow employees and friends to try to get a higher ranking because that's what this company pushes you to. It's up or out and they don't care who goes out. Those higher-value employees that they think they are molding are simply leaving rather than staying in this hostile environment.
If you were here before the new regime comma you would have felt like you were in a normal marriage where there was given tank nothing was perfect but you didn't feel used you felt like you were part of something bigger. The marathon we loved has changed for the worse. Are used to feel like I was in it For Better or For Worse through sickness and in health. But clearly that was just my interpretation of the relationship the new regime is only in it for themselves.
As we've seen in the worst of times, the partnership has dissolved. It was never an equal relationship and never will be an equal relationship. The company has the power and will use it to their advantage. I think what you see on these boards is not just frustration but the realization that it's probably time to move on.
And it's okay to move on, i can't say the grass is greener on the other side but no amount of fertilizer is going to make this grass greener. I hope the new people who do come to the company can make the grass greener With a Little Help of someone removing those invasive weeds in the executive team so that the company has a shot at surviving and thriving.
You seeing this negativity on most oil and gas boards, half is true, other half is people venting. Do what's best for you and your family.
DON'T DO IT! Marathon is full of pre-madonna's! They are way behind the power curve when it comes to comparing them to other companies in the eagle ford. Management says we are a premiere independent....lmao. That's hilarious!
How many companies have had so many key people voluntarily resign and move on to competitors? These were people who were highly regarded and respected within Intl the company and by leadership. People are walking away from big salaries and a lot stock- and why would that be? Because it's so great at Marathon, I think not. Trust me talk to people who work there. At one point the HR VP kicked off her staff meeting with the comment to make sure your resumes are up to date. The very experienced mid-career HR employees took her seriously and have all left other than the expats who are good with the exception of DBJJ sidekick. Very high level people in key positions have chosen to leave and vut the losses now so they can go somewhere else to have enough years to retire. Who lays off the CFO and VP Production without any explanation? It's an ongoing soap opera. Glad someone likes it, maybe you work in one of the departments where people only put in 20 hours per week.
It's a great place to work. This site is where the tier 3 tranche posts when they should be working.
This is a crippled company and they will struggle and sell off assets till they are absorbed by a company that was a triviality when MRO IPOed a few years back.
If you are into 3rd world style work environments Welcome Aboard!
The company''s objective is to have a handful of SME and Staff with low level technicians. I work in a group with very talented individuals and everyone of us are working with recruiters. We make no bones about it. We have an entire career in front of us and why waste time at Marathon. Marathon throws people away like a tissue without a second thought. They need to find a buyer but they have such poor assets that selling the company is unlikely.
Marathon is a good company to work for, but don't bank on retiring here. The pay and benefits are very good, but no stability. The management is the "good ol boy" system which means you need to laugh at their jokes, accept that their family will be hired before qualified people, and the younger the employee, the better off you will be. Leadership is poor and the fear of having a future here is high. Expect no home life and be at their disposal 24-7-365.
It's a very down place to be and the leadership have an elitist attitude. Tillman's style is a throwback to the 60's or maybe that's the Exxon way. It is does not work in a company that's as small as Marathon. Absolutely no one has respect for the HR VP. I have never seen any one person in an organization that is so strongly disliked by so many. She has to go before the Exec team will gain any respect or morale can improve.
Hey JqIEMUr-nfb,
That would be subject "matter" and "cheap". Stop helping DBJJ make the case.
If you are in HR or Senior management then this is the place and knowledge of the subject manner or skills of any kind are not necessary nor preferre. You can ad-lib your days away. Stock up on blue jeans and cheep excuses.
My suggestion is that its a stop along the road if you want to go there.. Don't get your hopes up for long term prospects.. This company is thin on future prospects.. You can name in literally 1 hand what assets they are generating money from... which is pretty much all they have..
Unconventional: Eagleford, Bakken, Oklahoma, and maybe some other minor stuff..
Conventional: Alba, Gabon (unless someone wants to buy it)..
Then they have this big noose around their neck called Brae.. somehow they gotta pay for this SUPER expensive decommissioning of their platform..
HR runs an exxon style forced ranking style system that is inefficient with such a small company.. They have laid off people under the guise of the bottom 10%.. (and not saying they are laying people off)..
Many people have left recently on their own accord for better future opportunities.. even despite this downturn..
Marathon should not be considered unless you currently are unemployed and need a paycheck. It's as bad as portrayed on the website.