Interim Procurement Placement

You have found the job advert, applied, been for interview and managed to secure that job in procurement/ supply chain. Now you have a start date. What should you do next?

Starting a new Procurement/ supply chain interim contract or permanent job can be a daunting prospect and can introduce a whole range of different emotions form excitement to nerves or worry to happiness, the list is endless. When starting at a new workplace there are many things we need to adapt to as time goes on, but lets just start with the basics…

Sit Back and Observe

It’s your first day, you’ve received your laptop & badge, and filled out piles of paperwork and you are now sitting at your new desk, hopefully with some idea of what to do next! Exercise on the side of caution when it comes to diving in and making friends. Sit back and observe different departments and how everyone interacts. What are the main team & individual priorities? What goals are they working towards? Shadow every call and show up to every meeting. Take copious notes. You’ll probably never read them again, but they work wonders for your retention and processing capabilities. Finally, concentrate and make sure you hit the ground running!

Play Full Out

Each organisation is different. Some have different policies, ways in which they work or different terms for different things. By hitting the ground running and becoming integrated in that organisation you should become fully integrated very quickly. Learning the ropes and who the key stakeholders are can set you up for a successful career in Procurement.

Find Some Friends

Once you have started the job and your projects are in full swing, get out there and make a few friends! I firmly believe that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with—a philosophy often attributed to personal development expert Jim Rohn, but paraphrased and repeated by others in similar fields. Having friends at work can give you a reason to get up in the morning. Even if you are in a position on an interim basis it is important to make friends. Procurement/ supply chain is a close nit community and you never know when you might be working with those people again.

Making friends also broadens your network, which is very important when working on an interim basis. You never know where your next job is coming from!

Make saving money your priority

Lets face it in the world of procurement and supply chain all that really matters is saving money! Make a big impact by saving money and doing it fast. This is especially prevalent when working as an interim. You may only have a few months to prove your worth, so engage your stakeholders, analyse your figures/ market and make an impression where it counts, to their bottom line!

Make a lasting impression

If you are only in the Procurement department as an interim make a lasting impression by completing your assignment and doing it well. Network throughout the department because at the end of the day its not what you its who you know.

Finally, enjoy yourself, a happy employee is a good employee. 

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