How to Prepare for a Procurement Job Interview
Some good questions and some sensible answers that we would concur with in this interesting blog discussing what CPO’s look for in a Procurement Job Interview, in this article from My Purchasing Centre…
What CPO's say:-
What are the most important Procurement/Sourcing skills/experiences that you look for when hiring?
“I look for demonstrated ability to identify new strategic opportunities that deliver value. The candidate should provide specific examples on category planning and management applying unique approaches from a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) perspective. The ability to influence change is also critical”
What are the most important Procurement/Sourcing skills/experiences that you look for when hiring?
“I look for demonstrated ability to identify new strategic opportunities that deliver value. The candidate should provide specific examples on category planning and management applying unique approaches from a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) perspective. The ability to influence change is also critical”
“I typically look for resources that have a combination of consulting background, and industry experience. Consulting experience helps them engage with clients and have a disciplined delivery skill set. Industry knowledge helps them relate to the client and provide insight. Since sourcing has become highly specialized, having category subject matter expertise helps with strategy development and execution and we find that embedded resources who bring strong category expertise perform much better with our clients. I recently had two candidates who were very strong on paper, however both received poor feedback from the internal clients. They fell short in demonstrating that expertise. Needless to say we selected another candidate.”
What are most important non-procurement/sourcing skills/experiences that you look for when hiring?
“I look for the ability to truly understand the business issues and concerns. Procurement professionals get a bad reputation when they look only through their own lens – I look for someone who understands the business user challenges and perspective and how to apply the procurement process (or not) to enable overall business success - not just from a procurement perspective. A sense of humor - it takes intelligence and perspective to be funny.”
“Project management skills, listening skills and being able to formulate a clear strategy are all important. Sourcing is a multistep process and it’s important to understand how the methodology applies to the situation. For example you may not go to RFP for a Mainframe Computer, however you will put together a strategy that outlines the steps required to achieve the best outcome for your company. An individual needs to be able to put the pieces of the puzzle together when a few are missing. You typically see these traits in senior sources or those individuals that have big 4 experience (Consulting).”
What behaviors or traits would knock someone out of contention?
“Over confidence is a deal breaker. The individual may be the smartest resource in the room, however they need to be able to relate to the customer and become a trusted advisor. I look at how an individual will fit into the organization in terms of interpersonal skills and cultural fit. Sourcing skills and methodology can be taught over time; however interpersonal skills, along with cultural fit help the individual to become successful. You have to ask yourself the question ‘would you put this individual in front of one of your clients and feel comfortable that they would represent Global Sourcing, and be seen as an enabler vs. overhead’.”
“Understanding how to communicate interest to a company is very important. Once a company has established interest they will always ask a variation of the following, ‘why our company, why this position and why you?’ This often is your most critical response during the interview process. Such answers as, ‘shorter commute, more money’ or other things that are personal motivations but not related to how you can have a positive impact are deal killers.”
Read the full blog in My Purchasing Centre.
Read the full blog in My Purchasing Centre.