Hi Everyone!

9 Comments

1. Tami CannizzaroAugust 31,2023 at 7:21PM UTC

   Hi! All is not lost! I've transitioned to new careers several times. The most difficult part will be to start thinking more at the 100,000' level to understand how your skills translate into other jobs/industries. We tend to think of our skills on more of a micro level - such as "pipe buyer". Try to step away from how you currently use your skills to think more broadly, such as "Purchasing Manager", "Inventory Manager", "Supply Chain", "Product Buyer", "Distribution Manager", etc. etc.

   Think about things like, Number of units purchased annually, budget/financial responsibilities, any people management. What programs you might have used, including Excel, SAAS, proprietary, whatever. Six Sigma certifications or other.

   As a buyer, do you set your own annual budget? Is your review tied to hitting gross margin numbers or other profitability targets?

   ALL of this information can be used to build your career story and why you are an asset to a hiring manager. Consider your "quantifiable wins", how you drove the business. For your resume, use action verbs to start bullets for each quantifiable win: Increased, Decreased, Saved, etc.

   It might help to work with a certified career coach who can help you redefine yourself as you pivot towards a new job/career.

   Best of Luck! You've Got This!

2. AnonymousAugust 31,2023 at 7:57PM UTC

   This is all really helpful information. I really appreciate it! I do think that looking into a career coach might be my best bet. Thank you

3. AnonymousSeptember 4,2023 at 7:18PM UTC

   There is a career coach I know of who is phenomenal at helping people. Her name is Grisel Scarantino. She is on LinkedIn and offers free strategy calls. I encourage you to look her up to see if she is a good fit. Good luck!

4. AnonymousAugust 31,2023 at 7:38PM UTC

   I took a lot of personality and skill tests via my university's career center ( I also took some through my first full-time employer) to get a clear sense of where I naturally fall in terms of my sense of value, interest, thinking style and motivation. That pointed me ti certain types of jobs where I would feel a connection. I then went about looking for job descriptions and job titles regardless of industry that included skills and responsibilities that fell into areas I learn were good fits for me, my interests, my style of thinking and my personality.

   There are a ton of these tests now offered online that paint a really great and broad picture. They can help you identify areas of natural interest and might also help you understand your transferable skills and expertise built from your 6 years of career progression.

   I would also consider a career coach that might help you translate all this information into a resume that would be used to help you pivot into a more appropriate career path.

5. AnonymousAugust 31,2023 at 7:58PM UTC

   Thanks! Do you know of any helpful tests you've used that I can access? I'm happy to look them up. I'm just curious if there was one that stuck out to you the most.

6. AnonymousAugust 31,2023 at 8:39PM UTC

   It's been so long I don't remember

7. ChrishoggSeptember 1,2023 at 2:10PM UTC

   Read these two books:

   + What Color is Your Parachute? by Bolles

   + Designing Your Life by Evans and Burnett

   Check out and interact with this site:

   + https://www.onetonline.org

8. AnonymousSeptember 1,2023 at 3:49PM UTC

   As a buyer you clearly understand supply chain which makes you infinitely hireable in other industries. Find other roles within the supply chain to move around into something new. Good luck.

9. Sarah StadtherrSeptember 4,2023 at 5:14PM UTC

   As a buyer of raw materials you learned skills that could be translated to estimating in the Construction field. These folks are highly sought after and are well paid. The jobs to be estimated can be very simple all the way up to multi-million dollar complex, complete jobs. Consider looking into that if you haven't already.