How to Be Found (and Recruited!) for Top Supply Chain Positions
Are you happy with your job, but feel like it might be time to move on? Or, would you be interested in knowing if a great career growth opportunity comes up? In a competitive industry like supply chain, you need to be proactive. How?
To ensure that you’ll be considered for potential positions, you need to make yourself visible to hiring managers and supply chain headhunters. Here’s how to make sure you can be “found” if the right opportunity arises:
Build Your LinkedIn Presence
LinkedIn is one of the first places recruiters and employers will look to find experienced, skilled supply chain candidates. Read our previous posts, “Are You Taking Full Advantage of LinkedIn?” and “Looking for Your Next Supply Chain Job? Get a Leg Up By Utilizing these LinkedIn Tips and Tricks” to find out how to make yourself both visible and attractive to potential employers.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just like your favorite designer, auto manufacturer or breakfast cereal, you are a brand within the career marketplace. And just like Reebok, BMW or Kellogg’s, you need to position and promote yourself to set your brand apart from the rest of the pack.
Ask yourself: What separates me from other supply chain professionals with similar qualifications, skills and experience? What differentiates me from other candidates in terms of performance, quality and continued results? Take the answers to these questions and create an online “elevator speech”— a brief statement about you that would entice others to want to work with you/learn more about your professional background.
Tip: Make it easy for others to reach you: Include professional contact details, both online (LinkedIn, email or Twitter accounts) and offline (phone number).
Build Your Network
No matter where you are in your career, never underestimate the power of personal networking. Start with a plan:
- What is your long-term career goal?
- Who can help you reach it?
- Where can you meet up with these individuals?
Use every possible opportunity to network. If you’re not sure how to get the networking ball rolling, start with people you interact with on a day-to-day basis—colleagues and others whom you meet in business and/or social settings, and even family and friends.
And remember, networking is a two-way street. Be prepared to help others, just as you expect them to help you. At the very least, recognize that whenever networking takes place, the goal of both parties is to expand their circles of influence.
Build a Crucial Professional Relationship
If your eye is on the career prize, consider partnering with a supply chain recruiting leader. Even if he or she doesn’t have a position for you at the moment, you want to be top of mind when opportunity knocks.
For a further conversation on how to position and market yourself in your job search, contact ZDA Supply Chain Recruiting anytime.