How To Prepare For a Procurement Interview

Procurement is one of the fastest-growing professions in Kenya. It involves and requires very specific skills and expertise. This is particularly apparent if you are looking for a Procurement job. 

Regardless of your position or situation, it is highly valuable to understand the type of interview questions, and answers, appropriate for Procurement professionals.    

Here are sample interview questions and answers for procurement jobs

1. Which procurement problem are you currently facing and what solution have you applied?

There is a variety of problems currently facing the procurement division. The mark of excellence here is how well thought out your response is. You can maintain going deeper and more profound until you get satisfied. In this question, the interviewer wants to know how broad your experience is in solving procurement problems. Make sure you think hard and find the best problem you (not your team members) have solved, what was the scenario, what approach you took, and what the outcome was.

2. How do you define cost savings in a way that will be embraced by Executive management?

Historically, there has been a gap between what procurement professionals consider to be “cost savings” and what executive management considers to be cost savings. Executive management uses standard financial statements as their “scorecard” for the business.

Some procurement professionals have never made an effort to understand how financial statements work. Therefore, they have a difficult time reporting cost savings in a way that people using financial statements will consider legitimate.

To define cost savings in a way that will be embraced by executive management, you need to communicate cost savings in a way that can be reconciled with data on the organization’s official financial statements using the “language of accounting.”

3. What steps do you take as a procurement manager to develop strong working relationships with key suppliers?

4. What are the logic & Principle of goods and services procurement?

There are logic & Principle for goods and services procurement applied by most firms, and you would want to know how they work to arrive at the best deals.

As a candidate, you can answer this question by using an example of sustainable procurement practices. 

5. What tools do you use to keep track of progress on your projects?

Projects should always be kept track of using tools available in modern technology. Microsoft Project is an excellent project management software program that leading procurement professionals use to track their projects.

Are you looking for ways to pass your next procurement interview? Book a mock interview coaching session that will take you through thorough interview preparation.