Supply chain procurement is a specialized field calling for talent with a very specific set of skills. Finding qualified supply chain managers to fill a need at your organization requires a focused, informed candidate search, rather than casting a wide net.
Placing a spot on Monster, Indeed, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn and other mass-appeal “help wanted” sites has its appeal. Such sites are relatively inexpensive to list employment ads on, for example, and they’re fairly user-friendly on both the candidate and company sides. Sadly, the low price tag and effort required are directly proportional to the results your company is likely to land in its search. Engaging a specialized supply chain recruiting firm offers significant advantages over job site ads for reasons almost too numerous to mention, but here are three.
High Demand for Candidates
Retail firms like Target and Whole Foods, for example, advertise for job openings online because there frequently are more hopeful applicants than there are positions to be filled. The companies wanting to hire only need to put out the word using easy avenues like online job ads, and the candidates will come to them. With supply chain recruitment, the situation is reversed, thanks to the degree of skill, experience and specialization the field calls for. In this tight market, it is crucial to cast a net over both active and passive candidates, something a job site cannot do.
Search Functions That Fall Short
The supply chain field seeks procurement professionals with a range of skills, and the job titles and descriptions it uses can vary greatly. If you open the Jobs page of the MRA Global website, you’ll find a rainbow of job titles, like “Consulting Manager, Sourcing,” and “Vice President, Supply Chain & Operations”—all falling under the “supply chain recruitment” umbrella. Now, try a little experiment: search for procurement jobs on one of the big-name jobsites. You’ll likely end up with a mishmash of positions that don’t fit, like general sales, retail buying gigs, trucking jobs and maybe a procurement ad or two mixed in and buried. Qualified procurement candidates are seeing the same weak results, so they’re likely to get frustrated and skip such sites when looking for work.
Lack of Location and Industry Focus
Depending on a company’s range of offerings, materials being sourced and other aspects, it could require a supply chain candidate be situated in a specific part of the world, or anywhere around the globe. The search could require a focus on one specific industry, or it could cover several. One trouble with online job sites and want ads is they don’t handle specialty or subtlety very well. A candidate with decades of experience in procurement for the packaged food industry, for instance, might log into Indeed and find positions in electronics, construction, automotive and other fields that aren’t necessarily her cup of tea.
Engaging a specialized supply chain recruiting firm, then, makes sense. Such organizations offer the resources, knowledge, experience, and global reach required to connect you with qualified, intelligent candidates. What’s more, experienced recruiters take the exhausting process of hunting down procurement professionals off your plate, enabling you to focus on what you do best: building your business. Contact MRA Global to find out how to elevate your procurement search process.