Kayleigh in the spotlight
Kayleigh Hulck, Operational Buyer
My name is Kayleigh Hulck and I was born and raised in Appingedam. I currently work at Bollegraaf as an Operational Buyer. I also play volleyball fanatically two or three times a week and am a trainer/coach of the first girls’ team.
I enjoy taking on new challenges every now and then. For example, I have been skydiving and bungee jumping. I also went backpacking alone in Thailand last summer. That was an amazing experience! It was extremely easy to arrange everything and to get in touch with other people. I notice that the more things you do that you find “scary,” the less “scary” they end up being.
Why did you choose procurement?
After my International Business degree, I worked in two sales positions, where I had to organize a lot of tasks and I was the central communication point of the whole company. I realized that this suited me well, but I was looking for something more challenging. In my previous position, we worked closely with our procurement department, and I was regularly involved in discussions with suppliers. On top of that, I noticed that a buyer was not only involved with suppliers but also communicated a lot with the other departments. Because of this versatility, I became increasingly interested in it.
A few months later, I saw a vacancy for an Operational Buyer at Bollegraaf on LinkedIn. I happened to know someone who works here, and he spoke very enthusiastically about the company and the position. This made me apply immediately. During the interview and a short tour, this feeling was only reinforced, and I was convinced that this was the right job and company for me. Currently, I have been working for Bollegraaf with pleasure for over a year.
Engineering is known as a male sector; how does this feel to you?
I have never had the feeling that I work in a “men’s company”. Therefore, this was not something I paid attention to while applying for a job. Above all, you have to see if the company, the position, and the team suit you. In any case, I would never let the fact that there are “too many” men or women working stop me from working at a company. At Bollegraaf I never felt like the odd one out.
What are your plans now? What are your ambitions?
From the beginning of next year, I will start the procurement training (NEVI), during which I can learn the tricks of the trade even better. I hope to make good use of this in the future.
Additionally, there are currently plenty of challenges in the market, which the procurement department is dealing with on a daily basis. From my side, I am trying to contribute to this as much as possible.
What would you say to someone who is looking at whether Procurement is something for them?
As an operational buyer, you are working daily on making sure that the materials arrive on time and are delivered according to agreements. On top of that, it regularly occurs that something must be arranged on short notice, which brings with it the necessary challenge at that moment. Every day can therefore be
different. If you enjoy trying to support the other departments as much as possible and regularly work on an ad hoc basis, then this is a suitable job for you.
It is also important to work closely with different departments (e.g. planning/engineering/project management). This is because there are many different factors that determine the best solution. It gives you a good feeling if, as a result, the goal is achieved at the end of the day.
For an operational buyer, it is therefore important to be proactive, inquisitive, and able to think out of the box. It is not that you do it alone, because you are well supported by others. Together we provide the most suitable solution!
