About the job

Agent - Purchasing

Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Purchase raw or semifinished materials for manufacturing. May negotiate contracts.

Top activities and tasks for this job:

• Prepare purchase orders, solicit bid proposals, and review requisitions for goods and services.
• Monitor and follow applicable laws and regulations.
• Negotiate, renegotiate, and administer contracts with suppliers, vendors, and other representatives.
• Purchase the highest quality merchandise at the lowest possible price and in correct amounts.
• Getting Information
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Analyze price proposals, financial reports, and other data and information to determine reasonable prices.
• Working with Computers

The Agent - Purchasing Pre-Employment Assessment was designed to help you hire staff in this role. The test provides a whole-person evaluation by measuring job-relevant cognitive ability, personality, knowledge, skills, and relevant behavioral history. Each component provides important data for hiring decisions. Cognitive ability has been linked to overall job performance in most jobs and correlates with a candidate's ability to learn new skills and to solve complex problems. Personality characteristics determine how well the candidate will fit-in with a corporate culture. Knowledge and skills indicate how much training will be needed before a new employee becomes productive. Finally, relevant behavioral history detects counter-productive behaviors that can impact job performance.

The Agent - Purchasing test includes an animated work simulation in which candidates meet customers, colleagues and supervisors in a job-related context. Post-test surveys indicate the majority of candidates react favorably to these simulations.

The specific attributes measured include:

Following completion, the test produces a Candidate Selection Report that includes an overall score and detailed scores for each attribute. The overall score weighs each of the factors based on research and analysis from the U.S. Government's Occupational Information Network (O*Net). O*Net represents over a decade of dedicated research evaluating the relative importance of various factors that lead to success in almost 1,000 different job roles.

The Candidate Selection Report also provides expert interview questions that help you probe critical or low-scoring areas, along with a guide for noting your evaluation of the candidate's responses. Consistent use of an interview guide is an important part of gaining better candidate insights and making better hiring decisions.