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Guest Blog by Rodney Apple of SCM Talent Group
The Supply Chain Management profession offers very broad and diverse career paths to choose from spanning all major industry segments from manufacturing to retail to wholesale distribution, in addition to numerous types of service providers such as technology firm, systems integrators, thirty party logistics, and more.
To get the best results, your resume should be designed to help supply chain recruiters and potential employers quickly and easily understand your unique skills, relevant experience, past performance, and accomplishments. Let’s dive into some of the best supply chain resume tips we have to offer.
Highlight the Most Significant and Relevant
10 seconds or less is the time it takes most recruiters and employers to scan a resume and determine their interest level. Go into detail on your most recent and applicable work experience and de-emphasize experiences from the beginning or earlier part of your career. If supply chain recruiters or employers don’t see something of interest in the first resume scan, they will likely never go through the rest of your resume and will move on to the next resume instead.
Be Efficient in the Content and Design
Stay on point and condense where possible – your resume should be no more than two pages in length and no less than 10 point type in Helvetica or Arial (you should avoid Times New Roman as it’s considered outdated). Leave as much white space and margin as you can to make it look cleaner and easier to scan and digest. Bold and capitalize all headings (Name, Summary, Experience, Education, etc.) but keep bolding and underlining of normal text to a minimum.
Focus on the Format
A reverse chronological order resume with an explanation of all gaps in employment lends to credibility and is preferred by employers and recruiters. Verify all information and dates are completely accurate and updated to reflect your current or most recent position. For the date format, we recommend using Month/Year for each position you’ve held.
Quantify Achievements
Quantify your accomplishment statements using percentages and/or dollar amounts (e.g., cost savings, increased productivity, etc.). Be sure to tell what “you” personally did and your particular role versus what the entire “team” did.
Showcase Your Supply Chain Skill Set
Instead of an objective statement, consider listing a brief summary of your supply chain skills and expertise. Write either a brief paragraph and/or list five to ten bullet points at the very top of the first page under contact information. You should tailor this summary section based on which types of jobs you’re applying to. Doing this will increase your chances of landing a job interview.
Maintain Transparency with Your Work History
Confirm your work history is clearly described to avoid your resume being rejected due to too many unanswered questions or gaps. If you decide to use a functional resume format versus reverse chronological, be sure to add an outline of your chronological work history with the dates in Month/Year format. If you have employment gaps, list anything you were doing of value during that time, especially if it pertains to updating your work skills, education, certifications, etc.
Keep It Work-Related and Professional
In a supply chain resume, listing personal information such as your list of hobbies, children or marital status, age, race, ethnicity, religion, or personal references are things you need to leave out. Do not include a picture of yourself either. Including personal information could negatively impact your candidacy.
Shine Professional Certifications & Advanced Education
If you have obtained an advanced degree (MBA, MS, etc.) or a professional certification(s) such as an APICS CPIM, CLTD, or CSCP, you must place this information towards the top of your resume where it can easily be seen. This helps your resume to stand out amongst other candidates and is commonly listed as a “preferred qualification” on many supply chain job descriptions.
Your Accomplishments Trump Job Duties
Under the Experience section, avoid listing only your job duties and responsibilities. It’s critical that you also list your accomplishments, and be sure to quantify the results of each accomplishment. Use action verbs (optimized, transformed, integrated, directed, etc.) in bullet point form for more impact and easier scanning.
Outline Size, Scope, and Complexity
Demonstrate your career progression throughout your resume. Supply chain recruiters and employers also want to understand the types of companies you’ve worked for along with the size, scope, and complexity of the supply chain network or operation you’ve managed or supported for each position you’ve held. Fine detail is not necessary, but list the basics to provide context.
Connect Your Web Presence
If you are active on business-related social media networks such as LinkedIn, or if you maintain a supply chain-oriented blog or website, be sure to include the links/URLs at the top of your resume underneath your name and contact information. This is an easy way to supplement your resume with additional content (supply chain articles you’ve published, references on your LinkedIn profile, etc.)
Professional Resume Writing Services
Consider having your resume professionally written. Resume writing and LinkedIn profile optimization services have helped our referrals that work in supply chain develop stronger resumes that generate more job interviews.
To your success!
Rodney Apple
Rodney Apple serves as the Managing Partner of SCM Talent Group which he founded back in August of 2004 in Atlanta, GA. He has been completely specialized in end-to-end supply chain recruitment since 2001 when he joined The Home Depot (Fortune 13 at the time) to lead the recruitment for their very first supply chain department. Rodney went on to lead all professional and executive supply chain recruitment for The Coca-Cola Company for 6+ years followed by a few other clients that included Kimberly-Clark, Cummins and PwC.
Rodney’s passion for the field of supply chain management is evident through his involvement within the industry and various supply chain associations. He has presented at CSCMP and APICS global conferences, has been serving as the Career Coach for ASCM (formerly APICS) since 2014, and in 2017 became an APICS Magazine Department Author, contributing articles under “Professional Development”. Rodney also authors the Supply Chain Talent Blog where he shares best practices in supply chain recruiting, leadership development, job search strategy, resume optimization, interviewing techniques and related topics. He can be reached at rapple@scmtalent.com.
Rodney Apple, SCM Talent Group
