9 Tips to Bagging a Lucrative Logistics Job

With the growth of e-commerce, the logistics industry is becoming one of the most attractive landing areas for new graduates looking to begin their careers in business. Yet bagging a job in logistics can be a complicated and competitive process. To ease the process and help kick-start your career, here are 9 tips to bagging a lucrative logistics job!

One of the easiest and most popular methods to begin a career in the logistics industry is to obtain a place on a logistics graduate programme. Many large companies in the UK run graduate schemes in logistics, such as Royal Mail, British Airways, DCC and Morrisons. These programmes can last up to two years and most will require a 2:1 from an accredited university in a relevant subject.

Whilst these programmes are highly competitive, obtaining a place will kick-start your career in the logistics industry and give you invaluable skills and experience to progress further. 

Whilst a job in logistics does not necessarily require a degree, employers will increasingly seek candidates who understand and have a working knowledge of the area and its demands in the workforce. A degree, or a higher-level qualification, in a relevant subject can help you become more attractive to employers: a degree in logistics or in supply chain management being the obvious choice. 

Not only will such a qualification make you eligible for certain graduate schemes and placements in the logistics industry, but it will increase your logistics know-how and your general employability within the sector. 

Employers in the logistics industry are looking for decision-makers, those with people skills and those with the ability to make fast and efficient choices under pressure, as well as those skilled with data and following patterns. Try to hone these skills on your CV using your past work experience if you can, emphasising these qualities and demonstrating how your experience would make you an efficient employee and a perfect fit for the industry. 

If you don’t have the necessary work experience, you can always take up hobbies or volunteering in areas that follow data or decision-making in order to demonstrate these skills. 

As the modern world becomes more and more dependent on e-commerce, having experience in this area could help increase your employability and give you a greater understanding of what a career in logistics entails. Working for a company such as Amazon part-time would give you real-time and real-world experience of modern applications of e-commerce; giving you credibility in your interest in the industry as well as a real-world perspective on working as part of a supply chain.

Social media is becoming increasingly important in the world of logistics and supply-chain management, and so displaying expert knowledge in this domain will increase your likelihood of bagging a lucrative logistics job. 

Social media is key in logistics as it functions both a method of PR for public-facing companies, as well as a method of tracking the supply chain. To demonstrate your credibility with social media, you could volunteer to run the social media for your university or even for a university student organisation, or maintain a blog online. 

One of the key qualities that a logistics recruiter will look for in a potential employee is their people skills, as in a logistics job you will rarely work alone; instead functioning as part of a wider chain in which you play a crucial role. Therefore, demonstrating your ability to work well in a team is essential: if you are at university you can hone this skill by joining student groups and student unions, or by volunteering in a role that demands team-work and leadership.

To further add to your employability and credibility in this area, you can upload these qualities (“teamwork”, for example) to your CV and have them endorsed on LinkedIn by your connections.  

LinkedIn, the business-orientated website dedicated to uniting employers with employees, is host to numerous head-hunters and recruiters who are constantly looking for new employers and searching for specific skill-sets. By uploading your CV to LinkedIn, and by using LinkedIn to make connections with others in your industry, you can help make a name for yourself in logistics, make vital contacts in addition to having your skills endorsed by credible employers.  

Finding a job in the logistics industry can be competitive, with jobs going quickly and attracting lots of highly qualified applicants. By setting up job alerts, you can be sure to never miss out on a lucrative opportunity. Try the following keywords for your job alerts: logistics, supply-chain management, transport logistics, social media, logistics company, distribution, warehousing.

Having an accredited logistics qualification can certainly help your progression in the industry, but do not undermine the importance of real-life and real-world experience. Logistics primarily requires the following of data patterns, and the ability to function successfully as part of a team, both of which are skills to be honed and developed with time, not in an academic setting. So, draw on all of your experience when applying for a logistics job. For example, your part-time student job in a supermarket taught you the importance of timing and working as part of a team. Your babysitting job taught you the importance of staying calm under pressure. Draw on the totality of your work and life experience, as it will aid you in the progression of your career. 

Overall, bagging a lucrative job in logistics can be a competitive and challenging process. By honing your people-skills, your teamwork skills and your understanding of what the industry entails – as well as making an effort to make connections in the industry – you will be on your way to a fulfilling logistics career in no time.

In the meantime, why not check out some logistics courses to get you started?