Five Ways to Advance Your Logistics Career

Looking for a challenge in your logistics career? Been in the same position for a while and think it’s time to move up? Well, with the world of work changing significantly over the last few years as the ‘new normal’ comes into play, it might be just the right time to move forward in your career. 

This is particularly true for a career in logistics and for a few good reasons. Logicians are always in high demand, particularly right now, as the logistics industry is set to grow by a huge 77 billion dollars globally by 2025. 

Another reason to advance your career now is that the logistics industry tends to hire from the inside, opting to promote current staff more often than seeking external applicants. Strike while the iron is hot and find out more about growing your career and moving up the logistics ladder today.

Having a diverse range of skills is key to advancing in any career, and if you focus on your skills profile, then you are one step closer to moving up. The logistics industry is currently suffering from a great skills shortage, so having a range of abilities under your belt is invaluable. 

Having the skills to carry out a broad range of tasks makes you an even more valuable member of any organisation. For your employer to know that you are prepared to learn new things and take on new challenges, they are far more likely to see you as a candidate for promotions. 

You can build new skills by discussing different aspects of the job with co-workers, asking to shadow or be shown new skills by others, and by taking courses so you can develop theoretical and practical knowledge. There are a number of online logistics courses which can diversify your skillset and make you a more well-rounded, irreplaceable worker within your company. Some of the most popular skills areas you might want to develop include:

It is difficult to know how to get to where you want to be when you don’t know the steps you need to take to get there. 

Begin by jotting down where you are now in your career and the skills you have, and then the skills, experience, and knowledge you need for where you want to be. Once you have a clear idea of the gaps between where you are and where you want to be, you can work out the specific steps you need to get there. 

These steps can be as small or large as you feel you are able to take on, and putting a deadline on each step is a great way of ensuring that you stay on track. Try to be as specific as possible with these steps, such as researching individual courses which will give you the skills you need and finding out exactly what duties you will be taking on as your progress in your career. 

These steps will depend on your career journey, but they might include things like taking a course in port and shipping operations, learning management skills by shadowing a current manager, taking on specific new tasks as part of my role, or discussing my strengths and weaknesses with my employer.

Although you will want to build a variety of skills and a broad knowledge base, it is also important that you remember what your particular strengths are. Your strengths are specific to you and are what makes you stand out as an employee, so perfecting these skills is key when it comes to career advancement. 

For example, if you are really good at seeing the finer details of a process and analysing the potential pitfalls and problems which may arise, keep developing that strength at every opportunity. 

Whilst being aware of your other strengths and weaknesses, of course, you should not forget the key things that you are good at in your role, as this could be just what your employers are looking for. 

Hone in your skills, and if you can develop them further with qualifications or online courses, then do so. Having strong skills as well as background knowledge and a professional qualification is very hard to beat.

Staying up to date with the current information and trends is vital in most careers, including logistics. Make sure you stay in the know and are aware of any changes that can impact not only your role and daily duties but also the industry as a whole such as legal developments, traffic news, and international relations.

Showing that you keep up to date with important global issues and developments demonstrates that you are aware of the effect that they can have on the logistics industry, and it also allows you to stay ahead of the game when your daily duties are impacted. 

Keep up to date with developments in technology, changes to transport laws, current affairs, and specific changes to logistics processes, and demonstrate that you are on the ball when it comes to staying up to date.

Networking is a great skill to have when it comes to advancing your career, as you can make connections with key individuals in the industry. This highly undervalued aspect of work is key to career advancement, with up to 80% of jobs are not posted, and these positions are filled through networking. 

Network with others at any opportunity, whether it is during daily work, on specific projects, or at industry events. The more people you meet and engage with, the more opportunities to learn something new and discover new opportunities. 

This doesn’t mean just engaging with those above you either, as you can learn something from everyone, so make sure to talk to everyone. As well as the potential to learn new things and discover new employment opportunities, you can make some fantastic friends in the process. 

The logistics industry is one of the best industries for career advancement, and with these five steps you can make sure you progress in your career the way you want to.