How to hire a Purchasing Agent

How to hire a purchasing agent, step by step

Here's a step-by-step purchasing agent hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a purchasing agent job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new purchasing agent
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Purchasing Agent do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your purchasing agent job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a purchasing agent for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a purchasing agent to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a purchasing agent that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of purchasing agents.

   Type Of Purchasing Agent	Description	Hourly Rate
   Purchasing Agent	Buyers and purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations to use or resell. They evaluate suppliers, negotiate contracts, and review the quality of products.	$17-34
   Buyer	A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products... Show More	$17-36
   Planner/Buyer	The role of buyers/planners is to ensure that office materials and equipment are well-supplied within their organization. They decide and purchase the materials needed for use or resale by their organization... Show More	$17-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Purchase Orders
   • Customer Service
   • Logistics
   • Inventory Control
   • MRP
   • Cost Savings
   • ERP
   • Corrective Action
   • R
   • Supplier Performance
   • Delivery Dates
   • On-Time Delivery
   • RFQ
   • POS

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Reorganize MRO to manage inventory more efficiently.
   • Utilize MaCola ERP system to process and manage purchase requisitions and purchase orders in coordination with manufacturing forecast.
   • Process purchase orders from electronically generate RFQ'S.
   • Develop programs with suppliers to ensure that commodities meet engineering and quality specifications while maintaining on-time delivery.
   • Prepare purchase orders, RFP's and RFB's, advertise solicitations, review responses and approve contract acceptance.
   • Send out RFQ's and award orders to the best fit and price vendor to ensure manufacturing meets critical due dates.

   More Purchasing Agent duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your purchasing agent job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A purchasing agent can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, purchasing agents' average salary in louisiana is 32% less than in maryland.
   • Seniority. Entry-level purchasing agents 49% less than senior-level purchasing agents.
   • Certifications. A purchasing agent with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a purchasing agent's salary.

   Average purchasing agent salary

   $51,950yearly

   $24.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level purchasing agent salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2025

   Average purchasing agent salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$61,999	$30
   2	Washington	$58,518	$28
   3	Oregon	$58,286	$28
   4	New York	$56,717	$27
   5	Massachusetts	$56,076	$27
   6	Colorado	$54,891	$26
   7	Alabama	$53,549	$26
   8	Illinois	$51,723	$25
   9	District of Columbia	$51,563	$25
   10	Alaska	$51,082	$25
   11	Minnesota	$50,952	$25
   12	Utah	$50,611	$24
   13	Georgia	$50,582	$24
   14	Texas	$49,454	$24
   15	Pennsylvania	$49,260	$24
   16	Kansas	$48,810	$23
   17	Arizona	$48,204	$23
   18	Oklahoma	$48,167	$23
   19	Ohio	$47,927	$23
   20	North Carolina	$47,311	$23

   Average purchasing agent salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Abiomed	$102,257	$49.16
   2	Google	$101,826	$48.95	2
   3	Apple	$97,521	$46.89	14
   4	Meggitt PLC	$78,924	$37.94
   5	BlackRock	$78,867	$37.92
   6	PBF Energy	$76,466	$36.76
   7	Quaker Houghton	$76,064	$36.57
   8	Jacobs Engineering Group	$71,915	$34.57
   9	Corning Incorporated	$71,008	$34.14	16
   10	Vertex Pharmaceuticals	$70,879	$34.08	6
   11	Shiseido	$70,868	$34.07	1
   12	Baker Hughes	$70,035	$33.67	4
   13	Anheuser-Busch	$68,601	$32.98
   14	Crown Equipment	$68,255	$32.81	7
   15	Schlumberger	$67,664	$32.53	6
   16	Williams International	$66,761	$32.10	2
   17	Salk Institute for Biological Studies	$66,450	$31.95
   18	Boston Public Schools	$66,387	$31.92
   19	Mack Trucks	$65,772	$31.62
   20	Fanatics	$64,620	$31.07	5

4. Writing a Purchasing Agent Job Description

   A purchasing agent job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a purchasing agent job description:

   Purchasing Agent job description example

   Work type: Full Time
   School/Department: Finance and Administration Grade: Grade 10 Categories: Finance/Accounting Job Type: Officer of Administration Bargaining Unit: Regular/Temporary: Regular End Date if Temporary: Hours Per Week: 35 Salary Range: Commensurate with experience Position Summary
   
   Reporting to the Manager of Procurement, the Procurement Coordinator will manage all aspects of the end-to-end procurement process for all design, construction, and other facilities-related procurement transactions.As a liaison to our external vendors, the Procurement Coordinator will assess data to identify and recommend vendors for bid lists, as well as disqualify those that do not meet minimum requirements. The Procurement Coordinator will reconcile data for existing vendors to solicit and verify vendor information, qualifications, and vendor capacity.
   
   Subject to business needs, we may support flexible and hybrid work arrangements. Options will be discussed during the interview process.
   
   Responsibilities
   The Procurement Coordinator will be the liaison with external vendors for distribution and management of all RFP, RFQ and RFI requests; composes and review proposals, facilitates descope meetings and approves award decisions.The Procurement Coordinator will translate the proposal into a legal contract document, assess proposed contract edits from vendors, and finalize the contract. Responsible for submitting the request for purchase orders and assess all associated change orders.The Procurement Coordinator will adhere to and enforce a complex set of University policies and procedures in addition to Facilities and Operations policies, procedures, and holds full responsibility for compliance. In collaboration with Risk Management, the Procurement Coordinator will ensure that the insurance requirements are in line with the risk indicated in the scope of work.In addition, collaborate with the Office of General Counsel to ensure legal edits are appropriate given the scope of work.On a quarterly basis, the Procurement Coordinator will ensure that bids are ready to be awarded in anticipation of Trustee funding approval. The Procurement Coordinator will analyze and evaluate current procurement processes and propose corrective action to streamline and improve these processes.Additional duties will include onboarding of new vendors, documentation of policies and procedures for the unit, and updating the University's vendor database that allows for easy and accurate reporting.Perform other duties as assigned and assist with special projects. Minimum Qualifications
   Bachelor's degree required. Minimum of 0-2 years of related experience required. Must be a self-starter and capable of operating with minimal supervision. Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, including active listening skills, plus the ability to work closely and effectively with a diverse group of University administrators. Strong consensus-building and relationship-building skills are essential. Must be able to negotiate issues and resolve problems. In addition, the successful candidate must be able to work well with all levels of management, both internally and externally, and exercise sound judgment. The candidate must have a high degree of personal and professional integrity; be customer focused (internal and external); takes initiative; can quickly grasp new concepts; is organized and thorough; can multi-task and manage workload; pays close attention to detail; proactive. Experience in a fast-paced environment requiring rapid decision-making and flexibility. Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran
   
   Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.
   
   Applications open: Aug 29 2022Eastern Daylight Time
   Applications close:

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right purchasing agent for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your purchasing agent job on Zippia to find and recruit purchasing agent candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting purchasing agents requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new purchasing agent

   Once you have selected a candidate for the purchasing agent position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new purchasing agent first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a purchasing agent?