Why Your LinkedIn Profile Might Be Holding You Back for Procurement Recruitment opportunities
Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with a number of highly skilled procurement professionals, people with impressive CVs and deep experience across sourcing, supplier management, and contract negotiation. But there’s been a common thread: many of their LinkedIn profiles are missing the detail that recruiters rely on to find them.
As a Procurement Recruitment Specialist, I don’t just rely on job ads to find talent. Like most recruiters, I spend a lot of time actively sourcing candidates on LinkedIn. In fact, studies show that 77% to 90% of recruiters use LinkedIn as their primary sourcing tool—and we use detailed filters to narrow down the right fit.
If your profile isn’t optimised with the right information, you might be missing out on great procurement opportunities without even knowing it.
What Recruiters Look for in Procurement Talent Searches:
When searching for procurement managers, category specialists, or strategic sourcing professionals, we filter profiles using:
🔹 Industry experience – FMCG, manufacturing, government, etc.
🔹 Procurement categories – Directs, indirects, and specific subcategories (e.g., CAPEX, IT, marketing, logistics)
🔹 Spend under management – Whether it’s $5M or $150M+, this matters
🔹 Responsibilities – Sourcing, tendering, negotiation, contract management, SRM, procurement transformation
Why Keywords Matter in Procurement Recruitment
LinkedIn’s search function picks up keywords from your headline, summary, and job descriptions. If you don’t mention the right procurement terms, you may not appear in recruiter searches—even if you’re the perfect match.
Quick Wins to Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile:
✅ Clearly list the procurement categories you’ve managed
✅ Highlight the industries you’ve worked in
✅ Mention spend values where possible
✅ Outline your key responsibilities using procurement specific language
✅ Use keywords in your headline, summary and job description – terms like strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, category management, and procurement transformation
Whether you’re actively job hunting or just staying open to the market, having a strong, keyword optimised LinkedIn profile is a smart move, especially in such a competitive procurement job market.
💬 Need a second opinion on your LinkedIn profile? I’m always happy to provide feedback or guidance. Contact Elisha Hunter, Consultant – Procurement recruitment on +61 (0) 3 9823 7424 or elisha@blackbookexecutive.com.au
