Purchasing Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.
At a Glance
Purchasing Managers earns a median of $139,510/yr with +3.1% projected growth. Typical entry: Bachelor's degree. Top skills: Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Microsoft SharePoint.
$139,510/yr
+3.1%
6
Bachelor's degree
Skills & Requirements
Skills (20)
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
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.
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Knowledge (9)
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.
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.
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Abilities (15)
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
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).
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
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.
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Technology (13)
Work Activities (29)
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Work Styles (2)
A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.
Careers with Overlapping Skills
These occupations share the most skills. A career transition between them means many of your skills transfer directly.
Sales Managers
Management · 203 shared skills
General and Operations Managers
Management · 202 shared skills
Management Analysts
Business and Financial Operations · 201 shared skills
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Office and Administrative Support · 201 shared skills
Human Resources Specialists
Business and Financial Operations · 201 shared skills
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Business and Financial Operations · 201 shared skills
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Computer and Mathematical · 201 shared skills
Business Intelligence Analysts
Computer and Mathematical · 201 shared skills
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