All,
I am looking for some advice on landing a supply chain position. My background is accounting and finance and I am a CPA.
I have recently had a screening interview with a large private manufacturing company for a Supply Chain Analyst position. My next interview is with the supply chain director and a few other individuals I would be working with regularly.
I am 26, and my experience so far has been as a financial analyst (internship) and then "three" years in public accounting (2 busy seasons as an intern and 2 years as full-time). I primarily focus on performing reviewed financial statements which involves a lot of analytics, inquiry of the client, and coming up with conclusions based on the findings. I also train new staff and interns on performing reviews, help with recruiting, communicate with clients, and complete some tax and audit work. Unfortunately, the industry I focus on is not manufacturing. My primary experience is in retail, transport, and automobile dealerships.
My goal is to find some overlapping skills that are transferable from public accounting to supply chain and to be able to connect with the supply chain director by talking to him in a way he can relate to.
Here is my list so far:
- Demonstrate teamwork and communication through working with managers/partners/clients to get projects done and by attending networking events and young professional events for new business development and recruiting.
- Analytic ability through the my primary work with reviewed financial statements
- Ability to meet strict deadlines and work under pressure (nature of public accounting)
Any ideas on some other things I can transfer to Supply Chain? The primary responsibility will be to analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate findings with procurement and other departments.
My primary reason for the switch is to get on the "Frontline" of a business rather than summarizing what has happened over the past year. In public accounting, if you have a good idea to improve efficiency, it rarely gets implemented due to partners/managers only focusing on the current year's realization rather than the long-term.
Thanks!