In this week’s edition of PurchTips entitled “3 Buyer Career Lessons From The Stanley Cup,” I wrote about how Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel has been performing above his pay grade in the Stanley Cup playoffs. I translated that scenario into a tip for buyers to apply a similar mentality to their procurement careers. Here is an important point that I…
Though not related to the NLPA or even procurement, I recently witnessed a crazy employment situation. It involved a company that provides services in consumers’ homes. On a certain Friday, an employee of the company didn’t show up on time for one of the consumers. The consumer unsuccessfully tried to reach the employee directly. Then, after more time had passed, the…
A good friend of mine recently found himself looking for a job in the purchasing/supply chain/procurement/strategic sourcing realm. He asked me to pass along his resume to any employer in my network who may be looking for talent such as his. I just. Couldn’t. Do it. Why not? Well, his resume simply looked sloppy to me. I thought his resume…
My aging parents receive in-home care. And I just got word today that one of their aides will not be returning as she is no longer an employee of the agency that provided her. I breathed a sigh of relief. I have witnessed very few people who were as bad at their jobs as this woman was. The interesting part…
I hope that you have enjoyed the article “Tips For Advancing Your Procurement Career.” The article goes over reasons hiring managers may be reluctant to hire certain procurement professionals for higher-level procurement jobs, regardless of their experience. The article goes over ways that procurement professionals can overcome this reluctance. I’d like to take a slightly different approach with this post. …
Claire Cunningham from Ivalua recently penned an excellent piece entitled “Three Ways Procurement Can Gain Millennial Appeal” for Supply & Demand Chain Executive. The article explored how the procurement profession can attract the next generation of business professionals. One of the ways suggested was to “create a defined career path.” Attend any talk about millennials in the workforce and you’re…
While the average purchasing salary globally remained consistent between 2011 and 2012, a new report out today reveals that the average purchasing salary in North America has increased by 11%. This data can be found in the Purchasing & Supply Management Salaries in 2012 Report, published by the Next Level Purchasing Association, which provides purchasers insight into the compensation of…
Everyone that knows Gary had noticed that his mood had changed. Always known to be chipper and talkative, Gary was seemingly distracted in recent weeks. After watching Gary be aloof for so long, Chas had to intervene. Chas, like Gary, is senior buyer in Fictitious Company, Inc., a mid-sized engineering firm. Both Gary and Chas started out as buyers for…
I hope that you have enjoyed the article “4 Words Your Supply Chain Resume Needs.” Sometimes, I write a PurchTips article and, immediately after it gets emailed to our 220,000+ members, I thought of something I would have liked to add to it. Such was the case with this article. But thank God for this blog! Here’s what I wanted…
Getting an interview in today’s purchasing job environment is tough. Not only are there few good jobs available due to the high unemployment rate, but having your resume not get lost in the shuffle is an accomplishment in itself because of the pure volume of people looking for work and bombarding job postings with their resumes. So, if you get…