Finding your Career in Procurement

Looking to kick-off a career in procurement? Here are 4 skills you should highlight as part of your job seeking.

Even when the number of jobs vastly outweighs the number of jobseekers, it can be difficult to find the right role. If you are looking for something in Procurement, these four skills can get your foot in the door and help you find a career that can feel meaningful.

If there’s one function that has gotten a lot of notice during the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s Supply Chain. 2020 saw people hoard toilet paper and hand sanitizer – and then wonder why all the shelves were empty. 

We have talked more about the supply chain than ever before, whether we realise it or not. Most people still don’t understand all the tasks that go into ensuring that the products we want to buy are on the shelves when we want to buy them. Procurement and Supply Chain have always been important parts of any business. Without them, nothing gets sold, made, or done. Even if people don’t quite understand them.

Now we are in a period that we like to call the Great Reprioritization – people no longer just looking for a job, but a role or career that helps provide meaning and a positive outcome in their daily lives. We’re here to say that procurement could be that specialty. For those who like to be in the thick of things, making a career move to the profession could provide the meaning that people are craving.

Skills That Thrill

If you are looking for that perfect role to boost your procurement career, remember, you don’t necessarily have to have experience to work in the profession. However, there are several key skills and areas of experience that will make you a more attractive candidate for potential employers. You need to ensure that you take time to include and highlight them in your CV, social media profiles and job applications.

1. Interpersonal Communication

Procurement interacts with every part of an organisation and with a diverse range of departments and stakeholders. The ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation, across team and departmental barriers, as well as key external stakeholders, is crucial for any successful procurement professional.

Communication will be through a variety of mediums, including emails, virtual and in-person meetings (yes, we do mean Zoom/Teams…), and presentations. Take time to highlight your experience in delivering presentations to senior leaders or diverse groups, training you have taken to sharpen your skills, and use your written statements in applications to trumpet these skills to potential employers.

2. Computer Skills

Computer hardware and software inevitably differs from organisation to organisation. You need to be able to demonstrate an ability to learn how these different systems impact processes and how to use them effectively in your day job. Ultimately, it’s about seeing the bigger picture of how everything fits together, and how technology shapes this interaction.

Good supply chain management uses technology and tools to control inputs and outputs, comings and goings for the business and suppliers, and helps pinpoint exactly where goods are at any given time. 

Emphasize your relevant computer skills. The Microsoft suite is a good place to start, though we don’t mean telling an employer you can use basic Word and Excel. If you have used other tools in previous roles that are relevant, share those as well and explain how you can bring your learning on them to a new role.

3. Know the Business

There really is no escaping procurement, it is present in all industries, sectors and organisations. But to help your organisation, you need to be able to understand the business and its place in these industries and sectors in order to make recommendations for the supply of goods and services. Providing insights on the trends and demands in an industry can make you a valuable part of the team, and help you add value when it comes to key decisions on elements like sourcing and stock holding.

Senior leaders will expect you to be able to talk about the business and how procurement fits, and adds value to, the overall strategy of the organisation. This isn’t just for leadership roles, it’s key to any role in procurement and will help you understand how and where procurement adds value when it comes to the strategic objectives.

4. Understand the Market

It’s not enough just to know your business, you need to be able to understand the entire market and industry and how your company plays into it. Knowing who the key players are on the supply side, as well as who your competitors are, will allow you to provide solid support to the rest of the organisation when it comes to making recommendations and forecasts for how procurement will support other functions in the coming years.

Highlight any research you have done, or share presentations you have given that show how you understand the overall supply chain market and your industry. Even if you are looking to transition into a different industry, if you can show you understand your current market, you will show that you are able to learn. You will want to feature any data you have used to come to your conclusions.

Grasping your Career Opportunity

This is a great time to look for new opportunities and to help boost your career. As you look at what’s important to you and where you want to spend your time, finding that match in an organisation can take some time. It’s okay to hold organisations to a high standard and walk away from those that don’t match your expectations. 

Take time to review opportunities you are interested in, research the organisations and update your resume and/or cover letter to highlight how your experience matches what they are looking for. And remember, you are also interviewing the organisation! You can ask questions about salary, benefits, and culture.

Finding a job, the right job, isn’t easy. Procurement can be a way to support the organisation with a wide variety of opportunities to move up and around within that organisation or industry. By highlighting these four areas, you too can find a rewarding career here.