Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

People in this career often have these skills:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 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.

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

People in this career often do these activities:

• Evaluate applicable laws and regulations to determine impact on organizational activities.
• Execute sales or other financial transactions.
• Purchase products or services.
• Negotiate contracts with clients or service providers.
• Analyze business or financial data.

• Establish organizational guidelines or policies.
• Train personnel to enhance job skills.
• Supervise employees.
• Maintain data in information systems or databases.
• Monitor inventories of products or materials.
• Obtain information about goods or services.
• Confer with personnel to coordinate business operations.
• Monitor organizational processes.
• Develop technical specifications for systems or equipment.
• Estimate demand for products or services.
• Analyze market conditions or trends.
• Conduct eligibility or selection interviews.
• Pay charges, fees, or taxes.
• Develop business relationships.

• Purchasing Managers

• Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

• Supply Chain Managers

• Logistics Analysts

• Logisticians

• Cost Estimators

• Management Analysts

• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers