How to hire a Buyer

How to hire a buyer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step buyer hiring guide:

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

What does a Buyer do?

Post A Buyer Job For Free, Promote It For A Fee

Post Free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your buyer 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 buyer 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

   A buyer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, buyers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of buyers.

   Type Of Buyer	Description	Hourly Rate
   Buyer	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.	$17-36
   Planning Analyst	As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues... Show More	$23-44
   Director Of Purchasing	A director of purchasing oversees the procedures related to buying resources and supplies, directing operations from planning to execution while adhering to standards and company policies. They primarily perform research and assessments to understand project needs in terms of price, quality, and delivery time... Show More	$32-79

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Purchase Orders
   • Customer Service
   • Logistics
   • Supplier Performance
   • MRP
   • Commodities
   • ERP
   • Cost Savings
   • On-Time Delivery
   • Cost Reduction
   • RFQ
   • Supplier Relationships
   • Delivery Dates
   • POS

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve QA initiatives by increasing transparency and communication with multiple departments and suppliers to achieve daily/weekly/monthly production requirements and expedites.
   • Manage all incoming RMA equipment, processing and directing to correct locations and departments.
   • Create, analyze and manage recaps pertaining to inventory, trends, OTB, and markdowns.
   • Manage KanBan spreadsheets to optimize inventory levels and supplier performance.
   • Manage business relationship with Japanese OEM of wide-format printer engines.
   • Manage MRB and IQA escalations to facilitate defective material resolutions.

   More Buyer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your buyer job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A buyer salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, buyers' average salary in hawaii is 36% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level buyers earn 51% less than senior-level buyers.
   • Certifications. A buyer with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a buyer's salary.

   Average buyer salary

   $54,049yearly

   $25.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level buyer salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated June 4, 2025

   Average buyer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	New Jersey	$61,676	$30
   2	Kansas	$61,254	$29
   3	Washington	$60,906	$29
   4	Pennsylvania	$60,232	$29
   5	New York	$59,824	$29
   6	Michigan	$59,006	$28
   7	Ohio	$58,707	$28
   8	Utah	$57,871	$28
   9	District of Columbia	$57,208	$28
   10	Illinois	$56,983	$27
   11	California	$56,928	$27
   12	Massachusetts	$56,278	$27
   13	Maryland	$56,162	$27
   14	Missouri	$56,138	$27
   15	Indiana	$54,427	$26
   16	Minnesota	$54,344	$26
   17	North Carolina	$53,549	$26
   18	Nebraska	$53,250	$26
   19	Oklahoma	$51,748	$25
   20	Colorado	$51,723	$25

   Average buyer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	NVIDIA	$113,789	$54.71
   2	Entegris	$107,431	$51.65
   3	Microsoft	$104,481	$50.23
   4	Tillys	$100,446	$48.29
   5	Snowflake Computing	$99,712	$47.94	2
   6	McKinsey & Company Inc	$96,850	$46.56	5
   7	Accenture	$96,499	$46.39	62
   8	Cisco	$96,382	$46.34	8
   9	Nokia	$93,618	$45.01	1
   10	SMTC	$93,093	$44.76	2
   11	Amd	$92,918	$44.67	1
   12	Varian Medical Systems	$92,539	$44.49
   13	Synopsys	$90,787	$43.65	1
   14	Micron Technology	$90,211	$43.37
   15	Zebra Technologies	$89,658	$43.10	14
   16	Fashion Nova	$89,245	$42.91	16
   17	Control4	$88,530	$42.56
   18	Lam Research	$88,197	$42.40
   19	KLA	$87,984	$42.30	9
   20	Apple	$87,039	$41.85	15

4. Writing a Buyer Job Description

   A buyer 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a buyer job description:

   Buyer job description example

   At LG we make products and services that make lives better, easier and happier through increased functionality and fun. Put simply, we offer the latest innovations to make "Life Good" - from home appliances, consumer electronics, vehicle components and mobile communications to business innovations in digital signage, air conditioning, solar and LED lighting. As a global leader, we strive for greatness in product leadership, market leadership and people leadership to realize our growth strategies.
   
   At LG's R&D Lab we're creating new software initiatives that enhance life for consumers and businesses around the world.
   Talk about a mantra. Life's Good with LG!
   
   We are currently seeking a bilingual Procurement Specialist to join our dynamic team in Santa Clara as part of the LG R&D Lab organization.
   
   Job Responsibilities:
   Sourcing new suppliers and technologies in the areas of:
   Quality, Cost, Delivery in HW, SW, Mechanical Parts, Raw Materials, etc. Market Intelligence:
   Researching and reporting major semi-conductor suppliers, service providers, automotive manufacturers and consumer electronics related to LGE business through various channels including media. Research and reporting in areas including quarterly sales records, semi-conductor industry news and trends, foundry reports, automotive and consumer electronics latest trends including acquisitions, investments, blackouts, etc. Managing procurement/purchasing issues with suppliers such as deliveries and shortages. Collaborate with HQ procurement team to resolve SCM issues in North America including areas such as supply disruption, price negotiation, etc. Provide on-site support to HQ employees traveling to the R&D Lab on business trips.
   
   Job Requirements and Experience:
   Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science related field. 3-5 years of experience working in the semi-conductor or IT industry in the areas of Engineering, Procurement, Planning, SCM, Market Intelligence. Some fluency in Korean is required
   
   LG Electronics, USA Inc., LG Mobile Research USA LLC, LG Electronics, Alabama, inc., LGEVU and Zenith Electronics LLC provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.Further, the Company takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics
   
   #LI-JH1

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right buyer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with buyers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit buyers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting buyers 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 buyer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the buyer 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

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.)

   Sign Up To Download Full List

   Sign Up

How much does it cost to hire a buyer?