Opportunities in purchasing are starting to open up
Recruiter advises: Now's the time to look for a purchasing job
Susan Avery -- Purchasing, 10/29/2009 3:35:19 PM
It's all about timing, and it appears the time is right for purchasing professionals looking to make a change in their career or find a new job.
That's the word from Tonia Deal, president of Tonia Deal Consultants in Hudson, Ohio. Deal specializes in helping companies find qualified purchasing professionals to fill roles in procurement operations undergoing transformation from tactical purchasing to strategic sourcing.
In an interview with Purchasing.com, Deal said that purchasing pros who are out of work should not give up and that the key to finding the right position is to network. "There has never been a time in history when there have been so many good people available," she says. "I want people looking for work to understand that if they weren't getting calls earlier this year that it wasn't them. Things are just starting to come around."
Deal's advice is for purchasing pros looking for work "to start over on their contact list. "Now's a good time, before the holidays." But, unless there's a specific position that's open, she advises purchasing pros not to market themselves too heavily around the holidays.
"Your best bet is now, before the end of November. Then, hold off, through the middle of January. Then, in January, you want to be out there and on the ball. You don't want a hiring manager to be thinking that you've been trying to get ahold of them for two months. You want them to recognize that you're just coming around in time to fill their need."
From her vantage point, Deal says that the job market for purchasing professionals is "definitely opening up, and that 2010 is going to be a better year for purchasing. Purchasing operations are as lean as they can be and they can't get much leaner."
Specifically, she expects companies to be looking to fill leadership roles or director positions. "We are really starting to see some of these roles open up," she says. "These are roles that have been on hold for more than a year. We are starting to see activity there."
See: Salary survey 2008: Purchasing raises beat the average
Salary Survey
12/11/2008Purchasing jobs lost, but hiring to resume
02/09/2009
Now Playing: 