Own It: Taking Control Of Your Own Procurement Destiny
There is a lot of responsibility that comes with being asked to deliver a speech at a conference. You want to bring new ideas, provide insights into your area of expertise, but most importantly connect with and be relevant to your audience.
The opportunity to present at the Women in Procurement conference in Melbourne is one that I definitely took seriously. I did put a lot of thought into what I wanted to talk about as well as how to best deliver the message. After many rehearsals late the night before and one on the morning of the presentation I felt anxious but ready to do it.
The feedback that I’ve received from the attendees has been surprising and overwhelming – not only while presenting but mostly afterwards. The two personal examples that I shared that seemed to have resonated most with the audience were when talking about my number one career advice – “own it”.
For a long time I thought it was up to my manager to decide on my career and whether or not I would grow. I always had big dreams and ambitions but I really was in the passenger seat. Clearly I was not confident in myself.
Example 1- Going For It!
When I first saw that ad for a job at Accenture I thought “Wow, this looks like a great job with a great company, but there is no way I will be good enough”. A week later I saw that job ad again on LinkedIn and I told my husband: “Look at that great job with Accenture!” He said to me straight away: “You should apply! Go and do it!” So I did. Three days later I got a phone call from HR, and a week later I got the job. Without my husband pushing be and believing in myself I would never have joined this great company and worked on incredible projects. Isn’t that crazy? I told the audience that since then a major shift happened to me – I no longer wait for anyone to tell me whether or not I can or can’t do things.
Example 2 – Taking Control
Take the plunge and apply for awards. I remember on the night of the CIPS Australasia Awards Ceremony I was sitting next to a guy who asked me, “Who nominated you for the young procurement professional of the year award?” I said “No one. I just put the application in myself.” And I remember thinking “Gosh, lucky I wasn’t waiting for anyone to nominate me, because this would have never happened!”
It is not up to your manager, your partner or whoever to decide on what your career will look like. It is up to YOU. Don’t wait to be asked. Don’t wait to be nominated, just step up and lead. This may well be the key to building a great career – taking control and believing that you can do it.
It has been such a privilege sharing these thoughts and hopefully encouraging women to “own it”. Thank you everyone for your kind feedback, it has been a terrific two days!
Pauline Rolfe is a Procurement Operations Associate Manager at Accenture Australia. This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
