Job Commandment #2: Get Noticed
If you want to nab that procurement job you’ve been dreaming of, you’ll need to have a topnotch cover letter to help you stand out from the crowd.
Like taxes and doing laundry, writing a cover letter is one of those things in life that not many of us are passionate about doing, but still, it’s essential. And while we may not love doing it, unlike taxes and laundry, it can make a critical difference to our careers: even in 2021 when we have LinkedIn, Procurious and many other ways to connect, a good cover letter is still more important than you think.
But from a procurement perspective, what should you be including in one? Here are four essential elements that will get you noticed on a procurement cover letter:
Element 1: Tailoring your experience to the job
Can we see a show of hands for hiring managers who are sick of generic cover letters?
Yes, oh yes, every hand in the world shoots straight up.
Although hiring managers and recruiters alike are not going to spend years studying your cover letter, they are looking for is a quick snapshot of who you are and why you might be the right fit. And not the right fit for not just any procurement role, but the particular one they are hiring for. You need to show that you have a matching and up-to-date experience set.
Take, for example, this job description from a recent retail category manager role:
Some of your responsibilities will include:
- Maintain effective relationships with domestic trade partners and our overseas sourcing team
- Develop a customer focused category strategy, develop the product range & promotional program that delivers strategic plan and commercial performance
- Negotiate beneficial outcomes for the category to ensure opportunities for improved category performance
- Manage the optimisation of profitability through effective promotional planning, inventory management and packaging efficiencies
If you’ve had category management experience, it’s likely that you’re proficient at all of the above. But given that the average recruiter or hiring manager looks at your application for all of six seconds, you want to make it explicit that you’ve had this experience. So in your cover letter, after you’ve introduced yourself and summarised your experience, you might dot-point your achievements as per the below, so it exactly reflects what the job is asking for:
As a category manager, my achievements have included:
- Built effective long-term strategic partnerships with over 50 suppliers
- Successfully negotiated three new supplier contracts that saved the business over USD $1 million
- Optimised and streamlined a complex supply chain, including relocating multiple warehouses, which was projected to save the company USD $380,000 over three years.
Element 2: Include your sustainability achievements
Sustainability. We all know it’s important, but increasingly, a thorough understanding of how to vet suppliers for sustainability, and how to make your supply chain more sustainable overall, is not just a nice value-add but an expectation for most employers.
Cover letters are not meant to be long, so including your sustainability achievements on your cover letter need not be an arduous task. After the short section where you’ve summarised your experience to match what is required of the job, you should list your other achievements, and include sustainability here. An example might look like the below:
In addition to the above, I have:
- Introduced new elements into an RFQ process that were specifically targeted at long-term supplier sustainability initiatives.
Element 3: Note your understanding of modern slavery
Alongside sustainability, a thorough understanding of modern slavery, and specifically, how to ensure it doesn’t from part your supply chain, is a quintessential experience feather to have in your cap. After all, none of us want to be one of the many organisations who are named and shamed after an incident that, with today’s rise in the use of social media and technology, can often be all too easily discovered.
Detailing your modern slavery experience on your cover letter is important, but you don’t need to go into too much detail. Below your sustainability experience, you can simply mention whatever achievements (or knowledge) you have about the area.
Element 4: Explain how you have used and embraced technology
If the organisations you have worked for so far have avoided a digital transformation … it will soon be coming for them. The procurement world is now well and truly digital, and hiring managers expect that anyone going for a new role will have had exposure to (if not been a part of) digital transformations within their organisations.
Ensure you note any digital experiences you may have on your cover letter, including any RFQ or P2P software you may have used.
Your digital skills section may look something like this:
I have extensive experience using RFQ programs with major vendors, and P2P software in previous supplier partnerships.
I am also able to demonstrate excellent analytical and research skills utilising digital programs, and have strong proficiency in Microsoft Office tools.
It is also worthwhile noting the skills that you are still working on, or have a foundational knowledge base. It will show your potential employer that you are exposed to a wide range of procurement tech, and are willing to learn more!
Above all…
When it comes to writing a cover letter, it is essential to make it pop. Make it stand out. Downplaying your achievements and qualifications for the sake of modesty will get you nowhere, because let’s face it – it’s competitive out there! To give yourself every opportunity to be in the running for the position, you must present a cover letter that shines. It’ll be worth the effort, and when you’re walking into your first day in your dream procurement job, you’ll thank yourself for it!
Are you currently rewriting your CV as well as cover letters? Here are some other great Procurious articles about CV writing:
