From the course: Careers in Supply Chain and Operations

Supply chain career tips

From the course: Careers in Supply Chain and Operations

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Supply chain career tips

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- Now that you're ready to pursue a supply chain career, here are 10 things that you can do right away that will help you navigate the next step and all of the steps to follow. First, join a professional organization. Take advantage of the opportunities to learn and network with folks who do the kind of work that you want to be doing. Second, attend a trade show or a conference. You can learn a whole lot and meet a lot of people in a really short amount of time. Third, follow and connect to other supply chain professionals on LinkedIn and Twitter, and there are some really good LinkedIn groups that you can join too. Fourth, subscribe to magazines and e-newsletters. Some of them might have a small subscription fee, but a lot of them make their money from advertisers, and they're totally free for subscribers like you and me. Fifth, get certified. No matter where you see your career heading, there's a certification out there that can help learn the tools, the rules, and the language that you'll need. Sixth, choose a long-term career goal. Make some choices about the things that you like and the things that you don't. Being honest with yourself about what you want to do makes it easier to say no to things that might pull you off course. Seventh, choose a short-term career goal. As they say, the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. So, figure out what jobs you should be doing today that will get you closer to where you want to be. Eighth, create a professional development dashboard. Be clear about the things that you're doing today that will get you ready for what you want to do in the future. Ninth, take an online class. As my friend Steven Brown often reminds me, the future of business education is lifelong and online. There are lots of great courses on LinkedIn Learning and there are other online courses too. And the last thing that you can do right now is to volunteer. Find an organization that is doing something that you believe in, and figure out how to help with their supply chain. It's a great way to get hands-on experience while making a real difference in the world. If you're serious about building a career working in the supply chain, then doing these 10 things will give you immediate momentum. And if you keep doing them, they'll pay dividends by helping you build a successful and rewarding career as a supply chain professional.

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