
How to Explain Gaps in Employment (Resume & Cover Letter)
An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
You forge the deals and source the merchandise to feed the monster. But the hiring manager will never know that unless you prove it. Do it with this standout sample buyer resume.
No matter what industry you work for, your job consists of several activities: checking the market trends. Following new developments. Negotiating prices. Managing budgets.
It’s a lot of responsibility for one person, so no wonder you want to be paid accordingly. You also expect extra work benefits, because money isn’t the only thing that matters in the 21st century.
Not every buyer job is great. Make sure your buyer resume puts you in a strong negotiating position with hiring managers.
This guide will show you:
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Do you really need a buyer resume or assistant buyer resume? What about these?
Donna Riebe, Buyer
donna.q.riebe@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/donnaqriebe
513-479-5643
Professional Summary
Resourceful buyer with 4+ years of experience, skilled in negotiating and purchasing. Seeking to save money and cut lead times at XYZ Corp. At ABC Company, negotiated better deals with 53 suppliers to save $1.1M annually on materials costs. Worked with suppliers to ensure compliance with our just-in-time purchasing program to help cut lead times 25%.
Work Experience
Buyer
ABC Company
April 2016–May 2019
Buyer
DEF Ltd.
April 2015–April 2016
Education
2011–2015 Ohio State University
Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration
Skills
Activities
Volunteer purchasing manager, Loup County Animal Shelter.
Participate in weekly running club for fun and fitness.
Here’s how to write a buyer resume that gets jobs:
Buyers, also called purchasing agents, are resource and cost researchers and negotiators. They analyze prices and research and buy materials and services for businesses. A buyer resume must show strong negotiation and analytical skills, as well as interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate.
Here’s a tip:
The hiring manager wants a reason not to read your resume.
A sloppy buyer resume will give her one.
So—
Format your resume for buyer jobs with these key steps:
Pro Tip: The length of a resume is vital. There’s almost no need for a 2 or 3-page resume for buyer jobs. One page is enough unless you’ve got pages of great accomplishments.
Here’s a secret:
Hiring managers don’t like reading buyer resumes.
You need to make them want to read yours.
Use a profile summary.
With 2+ years of buyer experience, a good summary for resume use will focus on achievement.
What’s the biggest way your buyer skills made things better for the company?
With a smaller work history, write a resume objective statement. Those mainly sell your buyer skills, but it helps to add accomplishments.
Pro Tip: In an entry-level resume for buyer jobs, talk about the buyer skills you used in other jobs. Those are called transferable job skills.
Some resumes shine.
Why?
Because the hiring manager can see they fit the company and job.
Make your buyer resume one of those.
Here’s how to add work experience description in a resume:
Pro Tip: You don’t need to list non-buyer jobs from a long time ago. But you can if your resume is too short. Just try to use them to prove buyer skills.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
This might sound backwards.
Your resume education section doesn’t just show you went to school.
On a buyer resume, it should prove key skills.
You don’t have to show cum laude on a resume to do it right. You can just cite classes you did well in, positions, sports, projects, or groups.
Pro Tip: Don’t show GPA on a resume for buyer jobs unless it’s recent or super-high. What should you do with the extra space? Put another skills-proving achievement.
Use this buyer resume skills list with soft and hard skills examples:
Hard Skills:
Soft Skills:
Caution—
Don’t lump all those skills in at once.
Go heavy on the ones this purchasing job really wants.
Find them in the job ad. You can even call the company and ask.
Then show evidence like I described above.
Pro Tip: For each of the key skills you list, you’ll need some kind of accomplishment to show you use it like a pro. Put them in your experience, education, and “other” sections (below).
They don’t want to hire a robot.
They want a living, breathing human being.
Use your buyer resume to show you are that.
Include:
Pro Tip: Use your other resume sections to back up the purchasing skills you list in your resume for buyer jobs. If you raised attendance for a group, that proves leadership.
Should I write a cover letter for my buyer resume?
Yep.
It’s true a lot of hiring managers don’t like them. But many do.
That’s especially true if you do it right.
To write a good buyer cover letter:
How many words should a cover letter be? Anything more than 350 is too long.
Pro Tip: Write a job application follow-up email a few days after you apply. Still hear crickets? It’s okay to ping them in a week, and then the next week if they don’t reply.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
That’s it!
That’s how to write a resume for buyer positions.
Not having good luck with your buyer resume? Is something wrong with your resume for buyer jobs you can’t put your finger on? Give us a shout in the comments. We’d love to talk!
An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
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In this guide you’ll learn *when* and *how* to use a general, universal resume. Plus, you’ll see an easy-to-use template you can copy and tweak in no time.