Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

- Cost negotiation - new project costs to target, cost savings vs budget, negotiating added value (getting more for our money)
- sourcing strategy development
- contract management
- quality management
- project management
- new supplier assessment

Cliche time - every day is different! I might be understanding business requirements from stakeholders, working on internal process improvement projects, writing a presentation to give to a board member, negotiating a contract with a supplier, or negotiating for resources internally. Direct buyers might be at a suppliers' manufacturing sites to understand see how components are made, while indirect buyers may be talking to an international colleague to discuss a global contract.

Supplier visits are an important part of being a buyer for parts, as understanding the processes involved in producing parts is extremely important. It is also useful to gauge whether, for instance, workers at your suppliers are being treated well and work being carried out safely. Supplier visits are also important to develop the relationship with the account managers you work with - personal relationships are possibly the most important element of being a buyer.

You may also visit your own manufacturing sites, as the people putting your parts on cars are best placed to highlight assembly, quality and safety issues.

In direct purchasing, seeing and learning about different manufacturing processes is extremely interesting, and seeing parts that you have worked on being fitted to a car is exciting and rewarding. In indirect purchasing, developing category management and sourcing strategies using a wide range of internal and external information means I get to genuinely think strategically, which I really enjoy.

Automotive is a high pressure industry, so everything seems urgent - balancing workload is very important. If cars are not built because a supplier you are responsible for doesn't supply parts on time, then the company loses money. Purchasing is often seen as a road-block by other functions and so a lot of effort is required to 'sell' the benefits of engaging with purchasing.

There was potential for worldwide travel, and the ability to use the skills from both elements of my degree - analysing costs and mathematics skills from Economics, and being able to analyse and present large amounts of both numerical and non-numerical data from Politics. A big part was also the company itself, a luxury UK automotive brand.

Maths skills are very important, as are inter-personal skills. If you are not negotiating with a supplier over cost then you may be negotiating internally to ensure that a project goes to plan.

You must also be able to communicate clearly, with people from all backgrounds, all nationalities and at various levels of seniority.

Job specific training such as negotiation, and system-based training. CIPS is offered (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply), and more general courses based on improving communication, influencing skills, time management and creativity.

After university I temped in a variety of offices local to me, in order to gain office based experience.

I am MCIPS qualified (Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply), which is a 3 year qualification.

As I have experience of direct purchasing as well as indirect purchasing of construction, facility management, catering, energy and marketing, I have a lot of options for what to do next - either taking on a more general purchasing manager's role or specialising in one of the categories above is most likely.

Office based work experience is very important. However whatever job you are in you could try keeping a diary of events that you could use in interview situations - times you worked in a team, times you had to convince someone to do something they didn't want to, and so on. This will make application forms and interviews less daunting if you have a ready made list that you can look back on.

Buyers need to have a thick-skin as we are not always everybody's friend - whenever money is being spent we are there to make sure it is being spent properly. But it is very rewarding to work on a project with internal stakeholders and to be able to save money for the company you work for, which then immediately impacts the company's bottom line.