Do You Have the Transferable Skills That Employers are Looking For?

Whether you are just starting your career or have years of experience under your belt, you possess transferable skills that employers are looking for. Identifying them, and knowing how to develop and articulate those skills is imperative to the success of your career development. Here are 7 of the top transferable skills for procurement professionals.

1. Relationship Management

With access to so many suppliers, you must have the ability to build trust and mutual respect quickly. As procurement begins to play a more significant and more visible role in business overall, the ability to foster relationships across your organization will be extremely transferable and highly coveted. Strong working relationships are necessary for effective spend, stakeholder management, and supplier management.

2. Negotiation Skills

Professionals with strong negotiations skills are in high demand because these skills directly impact the bottom line in the form of competitive supplier contracts. They can also be put to use when managing stakeholders during the sourcing process, especially if there are individuals involved that have different opinions about direction or supplier. If you are a strong negotiator, you will likely be able to read people and communicate well, skills that are often needed during procurement projects. 

Tip: Want to improve or expand your negotiation skills? Sit in on a vendor call with a colleague or join an association like the Institute for Supply Management to gain insights into what other professionals are doing.

3. Growth Mindset

‘Mindset’ may not sound like a skill, but a growth mindset is something you can be taught. A growth mindset is all about believing that your talent can be developed and embracing challenges as a learning opportunity. This is more important than ever in the procurement profession because the way we work and the role we play in a business is changing at an unprecedented rate. There will be some struggles along the way, and employers need individuals with the grit and humility to make it through this time of transition.

4. Time Management

This is not your typical time management. Reducing cycle time is a substantial goal that many companies are looking to achieve — and you are a key player in ensuring this happens. As the global supply chain movement continues, companies are continuing to look for innovative ways to increase their velocity and make the best use of their time.

5. Adaptability

Top companies are tailoring their supply chains to better suit the markets they serve. In order to do that successfully, they are looking for people who can adapt just as quickly as technology and markets change.

6. Strategic Thinking

Thinking strategically about operations, as well as potential future market shifts, is very useful to companies. If you understand how supply chain and procurement fit into the broader business context, and how to operate in a diverse, global context effectively, this skill is highly transferable, and you will be in very high demand. 

7. Technology Literacy

Regardless of what industry you are in, there is no doubt that technology has impacted your role in some way in recent years, and procurement is no different. Employers are looking for candidates who understand how to implement technology and use it to make data-driven decisions.

Procurement professionals have to be creative, hard-working, and agile; characteristics that are both desirable and transferrable. As a result, professionals working in these fields tend to also have skills that can help them move up, over, or out into other positions of interest to them.Top companies look for people that can adapt, quickly. Knowing how to develop and articulate those skills demonstrates adaptability and will help any career path in procurement