Purchasing Resume: Examples & Writing Guide

If you’re in the market for the perfect purchasing resume guide, you’ve come to the right place. Even more so, it’s free of charge, and you don’t have to fill out any RFQ forms. Great!

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but… you know what’s not so great? The decreasing number of available purchasing jobs. No need to fret though, with our guide, you’re going to be set for a very long time.

This guide will show you:

• A purchasing resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a purchasing resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a purchasing resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for purchasing positions to get any job you want.

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Want to read a specific guide for a purchasing agent? Wait no longer: Purchasing Agent Resume Example With a How-to Guide

Looking to find a bargain in other positions? Read more about them here:

• Business Resume Examples
• Buyer Resume Examples
• Sales Resume Examples
• Project Coordinator Resume Examples
• Supervisor Resume Examples
• Car Salesman Resume Examples
• Sales Manager Resume Examples
• Sales Representative Resume Examples
• Sales Associate Resume Examples
• Best Resume Examples for Every Profession

Purchasing Resume Example

Here’s how to up your purchasing resume game and find yourself a dream gig:

1. Choose the Best Purchasing Resume Format

Purchasing specialists acquire materials and supplies in bulk to ensure a company’s operations can run smoothly and efficiently. Their chief duties involve ordering, scheduling, and price negotiation—all of which are crucial elements for any purchasing resume, next to teamwork and time management.

However—

With projections showing a steady decline, and the average age of people in purchasing sitting at way over 40, implying long-term experience being the gold standard, getting in is quite a challenge.

Get at them right away with a perfectly designed resume.

But which resume format works best? The answer is simple: the reverse-chronological resume layout.

It allows you to upsell your biggest strengths to the recruiter in a flash. What’s not to like?

Other than that, there are a few elements for you to remember:

• Add your current contact information.
• Use lots of white space, distinct headings, and a clean resume font for extra readability.
• Set the resume margins to 1 inch on every side.

When done, export the resume file as a PDF to make sure it opens on every device.

Last thing: not sure how long a resume should be? One page is enough in 95% of cases, two-page resumes are for seasoned purchasing champions.

Not feeling too creative at the moment? Read more: Modern Resume Templates to Download and Use Now

2. Prepare an Outstanding Career Profile for Your Purchasing Resume

What’s the number one tip for every resume?

It needs to be scannable.

Recruiters are finicky and impatient. If you think they receive a less-than-truckload of resumes to read through on the daily, think again.

For them, a few seconds is enough to decide if your request should be approved or denied.

Therefore—

Write yourself a resume profile and show that what you bring to the table is worth reading through.

Summarize your resume if you’ve been managing cash flows and blanket orders for more than 2 years. Focus on your greatest achievements and times you scored big for your company.

Resume objectives will work better if you’re new and inexperienced. Shine more light on your ambitions and skills to get them thinking.

Read more: Resume Introductions: Full Writing Guide, Ideas, and Expert Tips

3. Tailor the Work Experience Section to the Purchasing Job Description

Ugh, that’s so uninspired.

…is precisely the opposite of what you want the recruiter to say upon reading your work experience section.

If you make it too generic, the only experience you show is in over-relying on single suppliers.

A good purchasing resume is a strictly targeted resume, each and every time.

You start by listing your newest position first. Include the job title.

Then, tell them what the company was called and how long you spent there.

Add up to 6 bullet points for each job. Describe your tasks and achievements. Remember to keep using lots of numbers and impressive statistics. They draw attention.

Use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) formula when describing achievements. That will demonstrate the real value of your work.

Lastly, never send the same generic resume over and over. I get it, you’re trying to save on costs. But it’s just weak. Avoid 100%.

Read more:How to Choose Relevant Experience for a Resume

4. Put Thought into the Education Section of Your Purchasing Resume

“Education? Who needs to talk about that? It’s the market knowledge that counts!”

Only the last part of that statement is correct, but we’ve covered that already in the job description section.

Other than that, a resume education section is a staple that must be included.

Yet, if your experience proves you outperformed your competitors, there’s nothing to be worried about.

If you have more than 5 years in the industry, stick to the basic stuff. Your degree, attended school, and graduation date are totally enough.

But, if you’re writing a resume as an entry-level candidate, adding some extra bullet points is definitely a good idea:

• Relevant coursework
• A high GPA (3.5 or above)
• Extracurricular activities
• Academic achievements, such as making the Dean’s list or honors on your diploma
• Obtained scholarships 

Read more: When to Put High School on Your Resume (and When Not to)

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.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

5. Show Targeted Skills on Your Purchasing Resume

Let’s start you off with some inspiration. Take a look at this sample list of purchasing skills.

Purchasing Resume Skills

• Market Research
• Performing Cost Analysis
• Negotiation & Contracting
• Expeditions
• Supplier Liaison
• Establishing & Tracking KPIs
• Financial Literacy
• Supply Chain/Logistics
• Budgeting
• Record Keeping
• RFQs/RFPs
• Analyzing Invoices
• Monitoring Inventory
• Problem-Solving Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Time Management
• Organizational Skills
• Professionalism
• Analytical Thinking

Don’t, however, try to list all of your skills onto one resume. Remember that tailoring it is a way more efficient approach, like so:

• Prepare a list of all of your skills. Include hard skills, technical skills and soft skills
• Look at the job posting. Are they mentioning any particular skills they seek?
• Compare with your list and pick out up to 10 matching ones.
• The matches you find will perform as the best resume keywords to avoid getting rejected by automatic ATS resume scans.

Read more: What to Put on a Resume

6. Fill in the Blanks With Additional Sections on Your Purchasing Resume

Most people give up at this point. They kick their feet up after doing the tougher sections and don’t invest time or effort to impress anymore.

But they have inaccurate data.

So, you’re going to do something else that.

Adding extra resume sections can constitute a valuable part of your purchasing resume.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Volunteer work
• Freelance gigs
• Personal projects
• Certifications and licenses
• Foreign languages
• Hobbies and interests

Read more: How to Put Internships on a Resume

7. Seal the Deal with a Great Purchasing Cover Letter

Adding a purchasing cover letter will increase your chances of getting an interview.

It’s true—our HR stats show that around half of all recruiters expect a cover letter from each and every applicant.

In case you need one, we have a quick refresher including the best cover letter tips:

• First things first: use the right cover letter format.
• Start your cover letter with a compelling opening statement. Try to hook your reader right from the beginning.
• Elaborate on what drew you to apply, and how you can improve the company.
• Demonstrate the real impact of your past work by listing more numbered achievements and wins.
• End the cover letter and explain how much they will benefit by hiring you. Give them a call to action.
• As for the ideal cover letter length, 3–4 paragraphs should suffice.

Read more: How to Write a Cover Letter for a Job

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:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Thanks for reading. Got anything to add to what you’ve just seen? Did we miss anything important about how to write a purchasing resume? Let us know in the comments down below!