The CV Trap You Must Avoid

Image: Glenn Carstens-Peters / Unsplash

Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen a trend emerging in the way supply chain and logistics talent are preparing their CVs – and it’s one that could derail your job application at the very first step.

Since 2020, we’ve been going through a perfect storm of supply chain pressures that have resulted in a massive impact on the bottom lines of businesses.

From COVID-era shipping restrictions, through to interest rate-driven economic pessimism in the global retail sector, and now to the tariff wars, the cost of doing business has skyrocketed in many sectors.

And so, supply chain and logistics professionals are being called upon to solve big, meaty strategic problems that are critical not just to the success, but to the very survival, of the businesses they work for.

Looking for positives wherever possible, we can see that there are big opportunities for strategically-minded supply chain professionals to massively increase their contribution to their businesses.

On the job front, CEOs and MDs are willing to invest big in the sort of strategic supply chain thinkers who can help them to sleep easy at night.

This brings me to the big problem.

I’ve met many supply chain professionals who are incredibly strategic in their approach.

However, you can’t see it from their CVs.

Instead of listing measurable contributions they’ve made to their businesses, instead they create a laundry-list of day-to-day responsibilities.

They talk about all the small mechanical tasks they do in a day, rather than concentrating on the big picture difference they made.

This is a massive missed opportunity. As a result, many supply chain professionals are selling themselves short.

How to avoid this trap? Think achievements, not tasks.

Instead of focussing on your day-to-day duties, use your CV as an opportunity to highlight the positive difference your contribution has made.

Describe the situation before and after. Be specific about the impact you’ve made – percentage changes are a great way of demonstrating improvement without giving away business-sensitive dollar values.

And where you can, give a hint of how you did it. You don’t have to tell the whole back-story – that’s best left to the job interview. But flashes of your strategic perspective and insight always help to make your CV more interesting.

Now more than ever, businesses need supply chain talent to protect and grow business revenues.

There are seats open at the strategic table. Don’t sell yourself short with a CV that focuses purely on day-to-day execution.