Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products

People in this career often have these skills:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Purchase products or services.
• Execute sales or other financial transactions.
• Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.
• Coordinate logistics or other business operations.
• Maintain data in information systems or databases.

• Communicate with government agencies.
• Calculate data to inform organizational operations.
• Determine the value of goods or services.
• Supervise employees.
• Advise others on business or operational matters.
• Evaluate condition of properties.

• Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

• Administrative Services Managers

• Real Estate Brokers

• Customs Brokers

• Procurement Clerks

• Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators

• Real Estate Sales Agents

• First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand

• General and Operations Managers

• Agricultural Inspectors