Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products

Buy merchandise or commodities, other than farm products, for resale to consumers at the wholesale or retail level, including both durable and nondurable goods. Analyze past buying trends, sales records, price, and quality of merchandise to determine value and yield. Select, order, and authorize payment for merchandise according to contractual agreements. May conduct meetings with sales personnel and introduce new products.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Monitor competitors' sales activities by following their advertisements in newspapers and other media.

• Conduct staff meetings with sales personnel to introduce new merchandise.

• Determine which products should be featured in advertising, the advertising medium to be used, and when the ads should be run.

• Consult with store or merchandise managers about budget and goods to be purchased.

• Confer with sales and purchasing personnel to obtain information about customer needs and preferences.

• Set or recommend mark-up rates, mark-down rates, and selling prices for merchandise.

• Inspect merchandise or products to determine value or yield.

• Train and supervise sales and clerical staff.

• Provide clerks with information to print on price tags, such as price, mark-ups or mark-downs, manufacturer number, season code, and style number.

• Authorize payment of invoices or return of merchandise.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

• Experience: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

• Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

• Examples: These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include funeral directors, electricians, forest and conservation technicians, legal secretaries, interviewers, and insurance sales agents.

• Svp range: (6.0 to < 7.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• 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.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

• 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.

• 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.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• 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.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Service Orientation
  Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Inductive Reasoning
  The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• 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 there is a problem.

• Mathematical Reasoning
  The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• 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.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Selling or Influencing Others
  Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  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.

• Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
  Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

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Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Importance of Repeating Same Tasks
  How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Time Pressure
  How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

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Work Styles

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

• Moral Values
  Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Advancement
  Workers on this job have opportunities for advancement.

• Co-workers
  Workers on this job have co-workers who are easy to get along with.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Variety
  Workers on this job have something different to do every day.

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