Preparation Pointers to Land That Procurement Position
You secured an interview with your dream company, and you’re positive you have the talent, the skills, and the experience needed to land that next job opportunity. However, much like doing your homework before an exam, or practicing before a recital, preparing for an interview is essential to success, and ultimately securing your next step up the corporate ladder.
Let's get you there.
Do Your Research
Don’t get complacent, no matter your success to date. The higher the position, the more research you will need to do. In this day and age, it should go without mention, but mention it we shall. Review the company’s website thoroughly, as well as its social media presence and any media mentions.
You'll be looking for:
Company culture
Mission statement and values
Customer base, products, and services
Company size, locations, number of employees
Management structure
Ownership and any recent buyout details
News and current events
Brand awareness and reputation
If you're eyeing a more senior role, you'll need to go beyond the basics and dig a little deeper for some essential information.
Take a look at your network for anyone in the same industry, reach out and ask for anything they feel is a "must-know" as well as current activities or trends
If it's a publicly-traded company, look for performance numbers such as sales volumes and EBITDA, share price, or earning graphs
Look for information on company goals and targets, if they are, for instance, investing in growth, or looking to cut costs, as well as any sustainability strategies that may have an impact on procurement
If the categories you would be overseeing are new to you, do some market research to understand the competitive dynamics, seasonalities, as well as price drivers or indexes used
On both the sales and the procurement side, look for recent merges or buyouts in the industry that may affect the market
Preparing Your Answers
Practice makes perfect. Sure, everyone knows that. More specifically though, the level of performance you are aiming for is something called ‘automaticity,” and reaching it depends on what psychologists call “over-learning”.
Spending time preparing answers will obviously help you develop polished, succinct responses, backed up with meaningful metrics, to showcase your accomplishments. However, that repetition, or training, will also actually help your unconscious mind perform the skill automatically, leaving your conscious mind free to focus on other things. I promise this will help you relax, listen to the interviewer more attentively and tailor your responses as needed, rather than simply providing canned answers.
Further, keep in mind that interviewers aren't only looking to see if you are capable, but to see if you are a good fit. They want to know your values, experience, and capabilities, as well as your vendor, stakeholder and employee management style.
Although they aren't necessarily looking for perfection, they are looking for self-awareness and an authentic want for continuous personal improvement. Of course, the higher you are on the ladder, the more is expected. However, even top executives should be self-aware enough to be able to speak to their challenges. So don't be scared to show where you went wrong, the key is to highlight how you self corrected and grew from the experience. Remember, “To err is human.”
You are showcasing your experience as well as your knowledge, so spend some time reflecting on some of your career's biggest stories and get ready to weave your tales. And like all good fairytales, the pivotal point is the lesson behind the story. Ensure to explain not only what happened, but what your decision factors were, the outcome of those decisions, what you gathered from the experience and how you used it moving forward.
Below are examples of topics you should be ready to discuss, and questions you should be ready to answer.
General Topics:
Your biggest success story
Your biggest challenge or failure
Your strengths and weaknesses
Your long term career goals
Why you feel you are a good fit for the company and the position
How you measure success
Procurement Questions:
What was your total yearly spend, cost savings achieved, and the number of SKUs and vendors managed?
What sort of risk management strategies have you successfully implemented?
How do you ensure you are getting fair pricing when you're in a "seller's market?"
How did you assist in setting or advancing the procurement agenda?
How did you secure procurement a seat at the table with an internal stakeholder?
Walk us through a quality or service issue, how you dealt with it, and how you prevented it from happening again.
Do you believe in single sourcing, and if you do, how do you ensure sharp pricing and optimal service?
Have you had any challenges within the procure to pay process, and if so, how did you manage them?
Management Questions:
How do you handle conflicts within your department, as well as with internal stakeholders?
Tell us about your management style and how you ensure you are getting the most out of your employees?
How do you manage your procurement initiatives to ensure timely completion of tasks, and that the project remains on track?
How would you secure top-level buy-in on a company-wide cost-savings initiative?
How do you handle a major market shift that may affect your ability to achieve your KPI's?
Preparing Your Questions
Although you want to ensure not to dominate the conversation at any point, asking thoughtful, forward-looking, questions demonstrates your authentic interest in the role. Don’t be afraid to show your passion for your work and your interest in the position.
Show how well you've been listening, as well as the company insights you've been able to garner, by asking the right questions to fill in the blanks. A strong procurement professional knows how to push the status quo, hold crucial conversations, and how to ask some tough questions gracefully. So don't shy away from asking what it is you need to know.
Much like anything in life, it is our thoughts and our attitude that determines our success. Be prideful, confident, and know your value.