A great resume is a powerful tool yet woefully misused and a major obstacle preventing many highly qualified candidates from getting the job they really want.

“It’s marketing, marketing, marketing” Bronwen Hann says, Senior Partner of Argentus Search Group, a Specialty Search Firm in Procurement & Supply Chain. “People just don’t market themselves properly”. Quote, MM&D Magazine October 2008

That starts with a really strong resume. So as soon as you start your search, the first thing you must do is take a close and critical look at your resume – its likely time for a complete re-write. Read your resume as if you were looking to hire yourself. Most resumes are tired and boring and if that’s the case, heed these words.

It’s time to brand yourself, toot your own horn, and tell the world your true value. A resume is no longer a job description. It just isn’t enough to get yourself noticed, especially the more senior you are. A great resume is a bullet pointed, punchy, achievement based document (three pages), packed with MEASURABLE PROOF of what you have achieved in your career. Which will get your resume to the top of the ‘to be interviewed’ pile. This marketing approach will guarantee to get you noticed. After all in the procurement game it’s all about results. If you’re putting your procurement resume out there, you had better be sure that you can easily demonstrate you can bring fast results to a perspective employer in showing specific category expertise as well as being able to come up with examples of your success.

Employers are no longer interested in resumes that all look the same – they are looking for that something that differentiates. If you can’t put a document in front of an employer that is refreshingly different that everyone else, you are putting yourself at a decided disadvantage. A Procurement resume must be chockablock full of succinct industry speak and clearly emphasise performance metrics which jump off the page at the reader.

Bring a strong Return On Investment perspective to your resume. It’s very powerful. Sell yourself and the benefits you bring to a company – put them in the picture because people don’t have time to do it for themselves these days – you have thirty seconds to grab them, make good use of it. What you have to offer an employer means you exponentially increase your chances of getting noticed ahead of everyone else applying for the same position.

Soft economy – NO WAY. Not for Procurement professionals. Times have never been better for you to be moving your career forward. Group Purchasing Organizations for example are seriously cranking the pump right now for Strategic Sourcing talent.