If you're interested in learning more about "How to Career Change to Supply Chain," you've come to the correct place. A career in this field can be enjoyable, inventive, lucrative, and wise over the long haul. Regardless of other changes in consumer behavior or market trends, businesses will always need supply chain specialists to manage the information flow and product flow of their products.
It's natural to find oneself interested in a supply chain career even without any formal training in it given how swiftly the world is changing and how quickly career options are evolving. Nowadays, not everyone chooses to pursue a job in the field of their undergraduate or graduate studies.
You may be working in a competency such as finance, manufacturing or warehousing yet want to switch to Supply Change Management. It may seem daunting and even inconceivable to take such a leap of faith without feeling as though there must be some sort of qualification to be done in order to start a Career Change to Supply Chain.
Now let’s look at 6 Strategies to Make a Career Change to Supply Chain.
Tip 1: Learn
Learn and demonstrate the Supply Chain Competencies, skills, and behaviors you need for the Supply Chain role you choose to enter.
This can be divided into 3 demonstrable sections:
- Supply Chain Technical Skills – there are many areas within Supply Chain Management such as logistics, materials management and procurement. Research to understands what each of the roles is and entails to decide which path you wish to take.
- Soft Skills i.e. People Skills such as communication, leadership, influence, and presentation skills. This also includes your emotional intelligence and how you deal with people in your business as well as your ability to network.
- Technological Know-How – Understanding the current and emerging technologies and applications such as cloud computing, internet and RPA Robotic Process Automation – ensure you are up to date with the latest technological applications and trends. This is not limited to the area you are choosing to go into but the whole ‘picture’ of what is happening in SCM.
Tip 2: Show Supply Chain Competencies in Your Current Job
So, you have done your research, read the many blogs and articles out there, viewed some informative videos. That’s great, but it does not make up for the void that is experience. As is standard now – with the exception of graduate positions, without experience, it is very difficult to get that all-important foot in the door.
How do you gain experience when you are in a job that has nothing to do with the supply chain directly?
The key here is understanding what you have and what to do with it. Find or list the skills and competencies in a supply chain that can be molded into your current role.
Try and get involved in supply chain-related projects, improve the material planning processes on the shop floor, for example, do the Kaizen event such as introducing batch order quantity – basically, anything you can do that will open up actual experience in the supply chain.
This will get you noticed by showing you are getting involved in learning new skills and getting involved in projects of different skillset and competencies to what you are currently trained and/or qualified in, showing your desire to learn and adapt and potentially earmarking you for progression within the company in the competency of the supply chain when applying for any position that may come up.
Tip3: Demonstrate How You Can Compensate Lack of Experience in Supply Chain.
We all know, nowadays a lot of jobs and promotions are based on your level of experience or if you are applying for a graduate position. But the conundrum here is that if you are making a career change, you are not likely to have the appropriate amount of experience that is typically required for applying for a job that is different to your current business function. How can we compensate for this?
The best way is to ‘market’ yourself so you actively show interest in the field. For example, write about what you have learned and understood about Supply Chain. Post your comments and thoughts on LinkedIn and Social Media channels, get engaged in conversations within the supply chain community – build your knowledge and network of the current trends and ideas.
The more you ‘get yourself out there, the more chance you have of that employer looking for someone with a fresh and broader perspective to just a specialist in Supply chain and supply chain only.
Tip 4: Understand Roles and Responsibilities in a Supply Chain Function
There are many roles and categorizations within supply chain so it is important to understand the different categories of jobs and the roles that exist within them.
So, for procurement jobs you have commodity and category managers, buyers and supply quality engineers. There is also the category of logistics & warehousing and further specialist functions such as supply chain planning, demand planning, forecasting and supply chain analyst. Each role / functionality has a specific set of role and responsibilities.
This tip is about researching and analyzing the various roles so as to get an understanding of what you want to explore as your new career path. Once you know this, set about closing the gap in knowledge and experience between your current role and the role you wish to embark upon for your career switch by learning to demonstrate the skills required (as described above).
Tip 5. Update & Customize your CV and LinkedIn Profile so it is Tailor-Made for the Supply Chain Industry
The CV and LinkedIn profile should demonstrate the skills you require for the role that you are applying for. To start with you must avoid these 5 mistakes on your CV and watch this episode of The Supply Chain Show to rock up your Linkedin profile!
A common mistake is not updating your CV to suit the job you are applying for (this goes for any job you apply for). Your key competencies and skills must be tailor-made to demonstrate your understanding and at the very least, transferable skills you have that are relevant for the job you are applying for.
This blog is about a career switch, so of course, it is likely you do not have a great deal of previous experience, but your research and initiative to get yourself involved in groups and conversations on social media accounts– make sure you mention this along with actual experience you have gained by applying for project opportunities where possible.
All this will form part of your key competencies section and, at the very least, give the person reviewing your CV the confidence that you have given thought and effort to the job on offer, have actively worked at tailoring your CV to show this when applying for the job and are not wasting their time.
Tip 6. Continual Growth – Read & Learn About Supply Chain as Much as Possible.
This is not limited to the educational resources out there – if you have the funds, opportunity and desire to complete the APICS or CIPS certification or complete a Masters’ in SCM, that’s great but the conclusion I have come to after years in this industry and providing my expertise and knowledge on the matter, is that there are now many courses that cost as little as $200 that will provide you with all the necessary hands-on knowledge you require to get up and running and become confident with your decision to Career Change to Supply Chain.
No longer is the knowledge difficult to find without forking out huge amounts of money for expensive courses. Knowledge is power and it is no longer expensive, scarce or inaccessible.
Basically, try and get your knowledge from wherever possible – it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, the important point is your ability to demonstrate your understanding – and where possible – your application of the knowledge you are learning, don’t limit yourself.
Take your preparation to the next level with our expertly designed practice exams!
https://prepzo.com/categories/business/supply-chain
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