Buyer Resume Guide + Tips + Example
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On the hunt for a job as a buyer? To land a great position, you will need a strong buyer resume. Not sure where to start? We can help! Use our guide to create a compelling resume for a buyer role and win hiring managers over with your excellent strategic planning, procurement and negotiation skills.
Start by editing this buyer resume example, or explore our library of customizable resume templates to find the best one for you.
Buyer resume sample (text version)
Nelly Smith
Avon, OH 44011
555-555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Industrious buyer adept at keeping costs under control while optimizing inventory for usage needs. Versed in record-keeping and production requirements. Skilled in research and forecasting abilities with strengths in communication and key relationship management.
Skills
- Supply inventory measuring
- Purchasing report updating
- Product status tracking
- Product delivery reconciliation
- Documentation requirements
- Corporate policies and procedures
- Vendor coordination
- Team leadership
- Strategic planning
Work History
July 2016 – Current
Kiewit Corporation – Cleveland, OH
Buyer
- Purchase the highest quality products for the lowest possible price, saving 25% of the assigned budget.
- Review and organize over 300 records of items that were purchased and any costs relating to purchases.
- Negotiate with vendors and suppliers and administer contracts.
August 2011 – November 2015
Systems Ltd. – Arnold, OH
BUYING AGENT
- Built a competitive bidding environment with a broad range of suppliers.
- Assessed changes and determined proper courses of action by collaborating with suppliers.
- Documented purchasing activities, inventory reports and department records, improving functionality by 85%.
August 2007 – December 2010
Wholesale Floors LLC – Chadwick, IL
ASSISTANT BUYER
- Analyzed customer needs and accordingly developed procurement requirements.
- Managed monthly purchase order shipments by deadline and cancellation dates.
- Prepared contract agreements and other documentation for over 50 clients.
Education
Chicago State University Chicago, IL
BBA Marketing Management and Research
5 essentials of a top buyer resume
Contact details
Add your contact information to the top of your resume so hiring managers can contact you for an interview. As our sample resume for a buyer role shows, your contact information must include your full name, city, state and ZIP code, phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and professional website, add them last.
Personal statement
A personal statement, also known as a professional summary, is a concise, three-to-five-sentence statement that tells the hiring manager who you are and what you offer. Your buyer resume summary must include job-relevant skills and one or two notable accomplishments. It should also touch on how long you’ve been in the procurement field. If you are applying for your first job or changing careers, use a buyer resume objective instead.
Skills
Create a compelling buyer resume skills section so hiring managers can see if your skill set matches their needs. Add your job-relevant skills to a bulleted list, making them easy to scan. It is best to include both hard and soft skills, such as product status tracking and problem-solving.
If this is the first time you are applying for a buyer role, include transferable skills from other employment.
Work history
Whether this is your first job or you’ve been at it for decades, a buyer resume must include a section to display your job history. In reverse-chronological order, list your current and previous employers and provide company names, locations and the dates you worked for them. Include three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list.
Education
As you can see in our buyer resume example, it’s important to include an education section in your resume, whether or not you have a degree. In reverse-chronological order, use bullet points to display the schools’ names and the years you graduated. If you did not attend college, list your high school information and the classes or training you’ve completed since graduating.
See why My Perfect Resume is a 5-star resume builder
Action verbs for a stand-out buyer resume
To make your skills and experience shine, use a combination of action verbs and numbers on your resume.
Here is a short list of powerful action words to consider using on a buyer resume:
- Procure
- Research
- Maximize
- Purchase
- Review
- Negotiate
- Determine
- Collaborate
- Document
- Report
- Analyze
- Manage
- Prepare
- Liaise
- Generate
- Oversee
- Coordinate
- Plan
- Update
- Track
- Solve
- Monitor
Check out our collection of resume samples to help you write the perfect resume for a buyer job. You will find buyer resume samples to inspire you!
Need a professional resume now? Our Resume Builder has all the tools you need to create an attention-grabbing resume in minutes! Just fill in one of our templates.You can make edits as you go, download your finished resume and save it in any file format you want. It is that simple!
Top buyer skills for your resume
Review the job description for your target buyer job closely and match the skills listed under the requirements to your own skills and traits. You’ll want to include a mix of technical and interpersonal skills.
Consider some of the following buyer skills for your resume:
- Market research
- Trend forecasting
- Procurement
- Product status tracking
- Product reconciliation
- Financial analysis
- Math
- Quality assurance
- Inventory management
- Vendor coordination
- Record keeping
- Reporting
- Contract preparation
- Computer literacy
- Business acumen
- Negotiation
- Relationship management
- Strategic planning
- Process management
- Written and verbal communication
- Leadership
- Collaboration
- Problem-solving
- Decision-making
- Creativity
- Presenting
- Teamwork
Certifications for a buyer resume
Most companies will want buyer candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in a subject like business, finance or supply chain management. Certification is typically not required, but having at least one certificate on your buyer resume can be very helpful. It shows hiring managers that you have built specialized skills and are committed to professional development.
The following certifications can boost your resume:
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Buyer resume FAQ
1. How do you include negotiation skills on a buyer resume?
A good buyer needs good negotiation skills, so you definitely want to highlight this competency on your resume. There are several places in your document where you can feature this set of skills. First, you will want to note that you are a skilled negotiator at the top of your document in your buyer resume summary or objective. You should also add “negotiation” to the bulleted list in your skills section. And finally, show how you’ve applied this skill in the past to achieve measurable results under your work history section. For example, you could include a bullet point below a former job title that reads something like “Negotiated product prices with suppliers monthly, helping to reduce costs by 20%”. Try to include numbers and metrics when featuring achievements to make an impact. If you are not sure how to include negotiation-related accomplishments in your document, use one of our buyer resume templates for guidance.
2. What should be included in an entry-level buyer resume?
An entry-level buyer resume should still include your contact information, a personal statement and sections for your skills, work history and education. However, if you have no experience working as a buyer, you might want to use a functional or combination resume format that puts the focus on your professional skills and academic background, while de-emphasizing your (lack of) work experience. Under your education section, you should point out relevant coursework and projects. Feel free to mention internships, extracurricular activities and volunteer work if these experiences equipped you with transferable skills that can be applied to a buyer role. Finally, consider starting your resume with an objective rather than a summary statement. This way, you can highlight your top qualifications while also touching on your career goals and how they align with the job opening.
3. What are some skills to feature in a buyer resume?
Your resume skills section should include a mix of hard skills, like financial analysis and trend forecasting, and soft skills, like teamwork and communication. You ideally want to feature skills that are mentioned in the job posting, but only if they apply to you. Take a look at our overview of top buyer resume skills on this page and check out buyer resume samples for more ideas.
4. Should you include references in your buyer resume?
While having a trusted, respected professional vouch for your experience and abilities can be a key part of your job application, including references in your resume is mostly a thing of the past. Hiring managers will contact you if they need references and usually ask you to submit them separately. Devote the space in your buyer resume to your important abilities and credentials and make a case for yourself as an excellent employee. References will help support your claims later.
Do’s and don’ts for building a buyer resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your buyer skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your buyer resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target buyer job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your buyer resume.
- Format your buyer resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your experience and skills in the procurement field.
- Boast that you are the “most competent buyer ever.”
- Include irrelevant personal information, such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that are not relevant to a buyer role.
- Forget to proofread. A buyer resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a buyer interview
Research.
As a buyer, you will know how important research is. It is vital to take the time to learn about your target employer’s history, goals, values and people before the interview. Doing so conveys interest, passion and commitment — traits that can set you above the competition.
Practice.
Practice does make perfect. To prepare for your interview, start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- We can sometimes identify a small problem and fix it before it becomes a major problem. Give an example of how you have done this.
- Which is more important to you – the job itself or your salary?
- What is the biggest mistake you’ve made?
Write down two or three possible answers for each question, then practice answering them with a friend or family member.
Ask questions.
Always have at least three questions for each person you speak with during the interview process. Doing so shows that you are interested and have been paying close attention.
Some questions you might ask for a buyer job are:
- How do you see this role fitting into the larger goals of the company?
- What are some of the challenges I might face in this role?
- Can you tell me more about the company’s culture and values?
Prepare references.
Have professional references ready before your interview — you never know if the hiring manager might want to contact them immediately. Ask a former manager and two former colleagues who can speak about your performance and who you are confident will give you a stellar review.
CV examples for the next step in your purchasing career
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Buyer Resume Example
Dayle Kavonic is a professional online writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in digital content creation. She has written extensively on the topics of resume and cover letter writing, job hunting and career development.