5 Procurement Career Development Tips
Congratulations! You have just graduated with a business degree in supply chain management or a related field and have landed a job within procurement. This may be as a buyer/planner, sourcing manager, or any other position within procurement. Regardless of industry and position, gaining experience within the industry/field you desire is a step in the right direction. You have completed the first step of getting a position, but now it is time to start thinking about your strategy for career development.
You may be thinking - why would I get ahead of myself? I just landed the job, I should be content here, right? That is perfectly fine if so, but it is important to start creating your career development map so you can clearly define what goals to strive for. With all of the possibilities within procurement and the supply chain industry, defining where you want to go next can be a difficult step and there is no right or wrong answer. With that being said, there are a few tips to take into account as you progress through your career.
Understanding You Control Your Career Development
Before jumping into anything else, it is essential to understand that you control your own career development - not the company you work for. Hopefully, the company you are working for will further enhance your skills and will be great for training/role visibility opportunities, but you need to take the reigns and outline where you need to be.
Obtaining Visibility into Procurement Processes
Sharpening your skills is the goal and will allow you to build an understanding of how procurement practices work at your company. You will find that procurement practices do not vary dramatically amongst companies within a particular industry. Companies do create their own procurement practices, but they tweak the processes that most (if not all) companies utilize and fine-tune it to their own organizational needs.
Ensure that you get adequate training on all procurement systems, processes, and policies. Don’t be complacent in solely “doing your job”, instead you need to understand how all of the puzzle pieces fit and even locate areas that can be improved. You don’t want to be the individual who doesn’t have any of the answers and avoids management at all costs.
Understanding Procurement Data
Being a data-centric individual will always give you a leg up among your peers. Generating reports, understanding what the data in the reports mean, and gaining a comfort level with the data your company uses will not only help you in making key decisions but enable the visibility your operation needs. Not to mention you will build credibility with your internal customers and be the “go-to-person” for any data questions.
Build a Relationship With Internal Customers
This cannot be stressed enough, as your internal customers can later become great references for the future. Knowing who your internal customers are and understanding their priorities and pain points will be critical to the success of both you and your organization. Create a culture of speaking freely while also being professional, as this will ensure maintaining solid relationships.
Getting Familiar with Upper Management
Don’t be a ghost. You want management to know who you are, what you are working on, and what your worth is to the company. If management doesn’t know who you are, then this can be a cause for much concern when potential layoffs are coming.
Set up one-on-ones with management to educate them on what you are doing and any obstacles you are running into. They will likely be impressed with your comfort level in setting up these meetings. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it, but even a brief one-on-one 15-minute check-up can be enough.
Practice Presenting and Public Speaking
Be sure to speak with management and practice getting comfortable with speaking to them. Presentations are important for your visibility. Throw yourself into situations like this and like everything else you will improve over time.
Create a Career Development Plan
Laying down the foundation for your career development is the best way to establish goals to shoot for. This will be your responsibility and not that of your manager. As you come up on reviews and meetings with management on your performance, be sure to bring up where you see yourself in a few years and see if it is obtainable within the company.
Network With Everyone and Anyone
Always network with procurement peers at other companies. You don’t want to be insular, so do share best/worst practices with your procurement peers. Of course, never share any confidential information. Just getting visibility of different procurement environments at other companies will be very beneficial. Personally, I have always had a strong allegiance to the company I am working for. However, given certain circumstances, it might be beneficial to consider other companies after a few years if you feel your career development is not being fully supported. Getting experience at different procurement organizations at more than one company could be a plus to gain additional visibility.
Taking the Next Step
It is good practice to be a dedicated and loyal employee of your organization, as they are the ones that are providing you both an opportunity and a paycheck. With that being said, if you feel opportunity is not down the road and your career is flatlining, it may be beneficial to start looking for a company that can support your development. Don’t be afraid to branch out and land another position that better suits your qualifications and future career development needs.
Mike Glass runs GPC (Glass Procurement Consulting), a procurement consulting firm focused on optimizing a company's spend. Mike has worked in senior procurement management positions at NVIDIA, Google, Meta, Fitbit, and Flextronics. Mike would enjoy getting your insight on any procurement topic, feel free to contact Mike at mike@glassprocurementconsulting.com.
