Getting your foot in the SAP door

Posted on June 2022 By Speller International
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SAP has been around for 50 years, it has 425,000 clients in 180 countries, with SAP Australia posting a $46 million profit for 2020. It is going from strength to strength, adapting and evolving as the worlds IT landscape changes.

For many IT students and graduates wanting to make SAP their career the biggest question they are asking is ‘how do I get my foot in the door?’

We sit down with Managing Director Judy Cole and Recruitment Consultant Scott Anstey who recently presented at Victoria University and answered this very question to the class of Master of Business (Enterprise Resource Planning System).
Below are their tips and tricks in how to present your CV, where to apply and ways to differentiate yourself.
Strangely enough we don’t recommend using recruiters!

Clients come to Speller to screen and shortlist candidates they cannot find themselves. They are not going to want to pay a fee for someone who has no experience when they can fill entry level roles by using their own network or placing ads directly.

Network network network!

·       Peers

·       University contacts

·       Professional contacts

·       LinkedIn contacts

Never be afraid to ask for ideas on where to apply, for introductions or suggestions of alternative avenues.

Apply to Large Consulting Houses

Large Consulting Houses usually use the standard model of surrounding the senior members with junior consultants, and they do hire entry level positions.

SAP is Fickle – Play to your Strengths

Yes, if you’re learning SAP you want to choose a busy area, however there are many other factors that need to be considered;

·       Which industry is busy?

·       How’s the Australian/Global Economy?

·       Is outsourcing in or out of fashion?

·       Are there any political factors that need to be considered?

·       The list goes on!

Our best advice is play to your strengths – the best consultants in the market are truly passionate about what they do and no matter what that is, they are never out of work for very long.

For example: if you are an accountant by trade then why not investigate the finance, reporting, budgeting or forecasting modules?  Your business understanding will give you an advantage over those without and if this is an area you are truly passionate about then this will shine through in any interviews. People like to hire enthusiastic and passionate people, they also like to hire people who can “add value” straight away and if you already have accounting skills, then you can!

Applying Directly

·       Know your company

·       Research websites

·       Don’t sent your CV without knowing the company

·       Prepare a cover letter and CV – ensuring you’re using words that match the job ad

·       Call and follow up

·       Build Relationships with HR

·       Get Social

 

Differentiate yourself!

This is important. The SAP industry is highly competitive to get in to but once you are in then it truly is a career that will keep you entertained for life. It’s worth putting in the time now, you need to differentiate yourself from the other people applying for entry level positions. You can differentiate yourself in numerous ways;

·       from your personality (whether it is outgoing or not)

·       your passion

·       your technical skills

·       your hard work

·       eagerness

·       who you know

·       how you sell yourself and the list goes on

Judy shares an example of one student who differentiated themselves –

During one of the presentation at Victoria University, a few years ago; One students wanted to get in to SAP BW; this person had no “hands on” experience in this field. After the presentation they followed up the very next day with me and asked me for a list of companies where large SAP projects were taking place, they asked for advice and for referrals to which I gave. In addition they built their CV using SAP BW cubes; this showcased their technical skills along with showing passion and dedication. They managed to get an interview with a large SAP end user site in Melbourne (by approaching them directly), they rang me and asked if I knew the person who would be conducting the interview and if I could give a brief background to help them prepare for the interview – which I did.

This person quickly differentiated themselves using numerous ways – they used the recruiter (me), and even though I would not place this person directly I was happy to help because they asked. They used their other networks and did their research, they applied directly to the relevant person within the organisation, show cased their technical ability and passion in something as simple as their CV, prepared for the interview (again using their networks) and - They got the role!! What’s more this particular company was actually looking for that well elusive “minimum of 3 years experience” person at the time, they got the role over other experienced applicants.

So, by doing some research, utilising your networks, applying your strengths and differentiating yourself, your first big SAP role could be just around the corner.