What does a Purchasing Agent do?

Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Day to day that includes work like monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations and Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.

What skills should a Purchasing Agent put on a resume?

O*NET rates Negotiation, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Purchasing Agent list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Accounting software, Adobe Acrobat, Apple AppleWorks, Assured Software JPP, and Choice Job Cost. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Purchasing Agent work?

O*NET records 36 titles for this occupation, including Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products, Buyer, Procurement Official, and Procurement Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Purchasing Agent need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Purchasing Agent role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Purchasing Agent resume example

A resume for a Purchasing Agent needs to show the work itself: purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Day to day that means work like this: monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations; prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Buyer
Procurement Official
Procurement Specialist
Purchasing Administrator
Contract Administrator
Contract Analyst
Contract Specialist
Contractor Buyer
Food Broker
Fuel Agent
Fuel Buyer
General Purchasing Agent
Log Buyer
Lumber Buyer
Media Buyer
Ore Buyer
Outside Property Agent

O*NET records 36 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives.
Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
Formulate policies and procedures for bid proposals and procurement of goods and services.
Hire, train, or supervise purchasing clerks, buyers, and expediters.
Maintain and review computerized or manual records of purchased items, costs, deliveries, product performance, and inventories.
Research and evaluate suppliers, based on price, quality, selection, service, support, availability, reliability, production and distribution capabilities, and the supplier's reputation and history.
Confer with staff, users, and vendors to discuss defective or unacceptable goods or services and determine corrective action.
Evaluate and monitor contract performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations and to determine need for changes.
Monitor shipments to ensure that goods come in on time, and resolve problems related to undelivered goods.

19 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Accounting software
Adobe Acrobat
Apple AppleWorks
Assured Software JPP
Choice Job Cost
Construction Management Software ProEst
Corel QuattroPro
Cost accounting software
Cost estimating software
CPR International GeneralCOST Estimator
CPR Visual Estimator
Database reporting software
Database software
Dexter + Cheney Spectrum Construction Software

58 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

10-key calculators
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Laser facsimile machines
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Photocopying equipment
Scanners
Tablet computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

SAP
QuickBooks
Microsoft Dynamics
Oracle Database
Oracle PeopleSoft
Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Negotiation
02Reading Comprehension
03Active Listening
04Complex Problem Solving
05Speaking
06Active Learning
07Critical Thinking
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Management of Financial Resources
10Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

English Language
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service
Mathematics
Economics and Accounting
Law and Government
Production and Processing
Administrative

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

78%Bachelor's Degree
9%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
9%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Purchasing Agent do?: Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Day to day that includes work like monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations and Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
What skills should a Purchasing Agent put on a resume?: O*NET rates Negotiation, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, and Speaking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Purchasing Agent list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Accounting software, Adobe Acrobat, Apple AppleWorks, Assured Software JPP, and Choice Job Cost. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Purchasing Agent work?: O*NET records 36 titles for this occupation, including Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products, Buyer, Procurement Official, and Procurement Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Purchasing Agent need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 78% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Purchasing Agent role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.