Sourcing specialists are responsible for obtaining materials for a company. They conduct market research to identify the best suppliers based on the organization’s requirements and budget. Then, they will reach out to them to schedule a negotiation meeting. This is when they will try to get the best agreement for both parties. The idea is to reduce the company’s costs and establish a long-term relationship with the suppliers.
As a sourcing specialist, you must have excellent negotiation skills to establish successful agreements with suppliers. Therefore, this is something you should highlight in your resume. You must also be familiar with inventory tracking as you will be monitoring and updating the systems.
Sourcing specialists usually work in the manufacturing industry, and their role is highly tied to the commodity focus of the organization. That’s why they are usually expected to have extensive knowledge of their industry. This way, they can identify better suppliers and improvement opportunities in the company’s procurement process.
To become a sourcing specialist, you should have a bachelor’s degree in Logistics or Supply Chain. However, some employers might overlook your college degree if you have procurement experience.
In this guide, we’ll help you enhance your sourcing resume performance by giving you industry-relevant tips tailored to each specific role. Below, you’ll get more insights on each sourcing occupation.
Jump to a resource:
Get advice on each section of your resume:
The role of a sourcing manager is to handle the entire life cycle of procurement operations. They determine benchmarks for sourcing specialists, analyze financial statements, and calculate costs from suppliers. In addition, they must develop strategies to improve the negotiation process and reduce materials expenditure. You must also estimate and mitigate risks, so this is a technical skill that you can emphasize in your resume.
As a sourcing manager, your role is directly reflected in the company’s success and expenditure statements. Therefore, it’s easy to quantify your achievements by mentioning how you reduced risks or costs. This is a good way to impress your potential employer and express your value.
You will be the head of the procurement team, so it’s crucial to have leadership skills. You must monitor other specialists’ performance, guide team members, and motivate them to accomplish budgetary goals.
As a sourcing specialist, your role is to acquire commodities for your organization with a budgetary plan. You must reduce the company’s expenses while still receiving high-quality materials. Then, you will establish a successful relationship with these suppliers. Sourcing specialists also monitor their performance to evaluate if they’re meeting their obligations. If you want your resume to be relevant you can also include industry-specific keywords.
During the negotiation process, you might have to check contracts to make sure they follow legal compliance and that all terms and conditions fall under the organization's interests. This is why it is important to demonstrate that you have knowledge of contractual agreements.
Sourcing specialists must excellent negotiation skills, so it’s crucial to emphasize this in your resume. You must have active listening, emotional intelligence, be persuasive, etc. This way, you can get better deals for your company, including lower prices and better services.
A strategic sourcing manager is a key player in the supply chain management of any organization. Your resume should reflect your ability to strike the best deals with vendors, balancing quality and cost. With companies increasingly implementing sustainable procurement strategies, having a handle on green sourcing is a significant advantage. Tailor your resume to demonstrate how you've effectively navigated these dynamics to optimize a company's procurement process.
In our rapidly evolving digital world, data-driven strategies are growing in prominence. As such, proficiency with data analysis tools and techniques is a characteristic many companies are seeking for this role. Your resume should demonstrate how you've leveraged data to make informed sourcing decisions and drive efficiency in the procurement process.
Within a strategic sourcing manager's role, negotiation is a crucial skill. On your resume, provide specific examples of how your exceptional negotiation skills have led to cost savings, improved vendor relationships, or resulted in beneficial contracts for your company.
Data analysis is increasingly becoming a vital part of strategic sourcing. Therefore, outline your familiarity with data analysis tools and experience using data to inform sourcing decisions. Point to specific instances where data-driven strategies have improved procurement processes or resulted in significant cost savings.
Strategic sourcing managers make data-driven decisions when estimating which supplier is the best match. They evaluate factors that go beyond quality and price, such as relationship risks, the vendor’s reliability, and intangible value.
These factors are crucial for the negotiation process because it gives sourcing specialists something to hold onto. Additionally, this role is highly related to finances and administration. You can mention your familiarity with financial operations in your resume.
Strategic sourcing managers are very focused on data-backed decisions. They assess opportunities using valuable data and come up with actionable insights. That’s why research and data analytics are definitely worth mentioning in your resume.
As a strategic sourcing manager, you will often develop reports for stakeholders. This way, they know how supply chain operations are doing and how they can improve them to reduce costs and increase value. Hence, you must be proficient at reporting and data visualization to illustrate your discoveries.
We spoke with hiring managers at top companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target to gather their best advice for creating a strong sourcing resume. They shared insider tips on what they look for when hiring for sourcing roles, and how you can make your resume stand out. Here are some key takeaways:
Numbers speak louder than words when it comes to showing your impact as a sourcer. Whenever possible, quantify your achievements:
Without metrics, it's hard for hiring managers to gauge your true value. In contrast, a resume that's light on numbers might look like:
A resume summary for a sourcing role is optional, but it can be a valuable addition if you have extensive experience in the field or want to provide context for a career change. It should never be used to state an objective, as hiring managers are more interested in what you can bring to the company. Instead, use the summary to highlight your most relevant skills and experiences that align with the sourcing position you are targeting.
When crafting your summary, avoid repeating information that is already covered in other sections of your resume. Focus on providing additional details that showcase your unique value proposition and make you stand out as a candidate. Keep it concise, ideally no more than a paragraph, and tailor it to the specific sourcing role and company you are applying to.
The work experience section is the backbone of your sourcing resume. It's where you highlight your sourcing expertise, key accomplishments, and career progression. Hiring managers and recruiters look to this section to understand your sourcing background and assess if you're a good fit for their role.
In this section, we'll cover the key steps to write an effective work experience section:
The education section of your sourcing resume shows hiring managers that you have the necessary knowledge and training for the role. It also gives them a sense of your career trajectory and how you've developed your skills over time. Here are some tips for crafting a strong education section on your sourcing resume.
Sourcing specialists must demonstrate reliability and good communication skills. If you want to reflect that in your resume, it would be a good idea to incorporate strong action verbs. It is a great way to impress recruiters. Action verbs are usually placed in bullet points to describe professional experience and achievements.
Instead of using vague language, you can use words like “exceeded”, “established”, or “reduced” which are more relevant to your career. Below, you’ll find some of the action verbs we’ve selected for your sourcing resume.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Sourcing specialists must have strong negotiation skills and business acumen. You must also reflect your problem-solving skills in your resume. In addition, most employers expect you to have a basic understanding of inventory management software and computer literacy. As a sourcing specialist, you will be working with a wide variety of tools, including Microsoft Excel, project management software, and email outreach tools.
Remember that sourcing specialists’ role is usually highly related to the industry they work in. Hence, it would be a good idea to check your potential employer’s job posts to include industry-specific skills. Below, you’ll see some of the skills we’ve gathered for sourcing resumes.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Sourcing job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
