Howdy

I was recently restructured out of my job as a product developer for private label goods, specifically fashion footwear. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of jobs in my industry in Houston, Texas and I'd really like to stay here.

That means changing direction a bit. However, the type of work I did can easily translate to other positions such as the ones I listed in the title of the post. I was in charge of product development for many footwear categories, from design to in store merchandising. This meant trend research, market research, product design, sample review, customs classification, sourcing factories and working with China, collaborating with many departments across the company, merchandising, cost analysis, import logistics etc. etc. Each style had it's own distinct process and deadline.

I also was a team captain for the MS150, growing the team from 40 riders to 75 in my 3 years as captain. I managed all of the riders, budget spend and negotiation each year with a committee of volunteers. My first year I won rookie team captain of the year. So, I also have some management and event planning experience through this.

I'm open to ideas, input, resume review etc. My main problem is that my resume reads very fashion industry oriented, so I'm not sure if it will make it through normal applications with out recommendations.

Thanks for reading!

Without seeing your resume, even in a fashion oriented industry, there are still ways to genericize your resume to get through filters. For sourcing, underlying skills include negotiation, strategy development (or some reference to strategic sourcing process), contract management, internal change management to ensure compliance, as well as a focus on results - enabled $X in revenue generation. Negotiated contracts that created $Y in direct operating income benefit. Also, if you have tactical sourcing/procurement experience, include that either as a skill or as a noteable result - so SAP, Ariba, Oracle, Office Suite, all that jazz.

When I've hired people, those underlying skills are more important than industry specific knowledge. Happy to offer more specific feedback if you'd like.

Do you have a PMP certification? I recently changed jobs back into a project management/implementation position and it's very industry specific. As part of this, I've been working with the company I worked for in a similar position and got to reconnect with a former coworker. We got to talking about life after this role...I had been RIFd out a couple of years ago and he had stayed. He mentioned getting his PMP certification, which is something i thought about but never did. After being RIFd i applied all over for project manager and implementation positions but so many of them list PMP as a requirement, so I never got a sniff from anything that wasn't in my industry. Maybe PMP is a way to generalize your experience and show that you're not just applicable to a particular niche?

Good luck!

I don't, but I've also gotten mixed reviews on whether or not the certification is worth pursuing.

I don't want to spend a couple grand on a class if it won't help, but you could be right, especially since my industry wouldn't be considered technical by most

Pursuing the PMP certification now after talking to a few more people.

Hoping it helps!

Just to chime in- PMP certification is pseudo mandatory in the defense sector working govt programs.

We're looking for a project manager but the job hasn't been posted yet. Once it is I'll let you know.

Swimmer, are you looking to stay in the industry? BY that I mean, soft goods/apparel/footwear? If so have reached out to any recruiters in the industry?

What are your preferences?

You still looking, our job finally got posted.

if yes, post your email and I'll send you the job description

Sorry! Just seeing this. Let me know when I can take it down!

you can take it down.