Job Overview Acquiring items or machinery can be made through auctions. Families who are moving to another place or home who does not have the capability of bringing all their possessions would hire an auctioneer to assist them in disposing their property. In an auction, people can bid for livestock, farm equipment, artwork, real estate or personal property. The item will be sold to the highest bidder. Charities and other groups which need more funds would auction items that are donated by their members to raise money.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
Sales, Speech, Mathematics, Art History, Economics and Art are classes in high school that will help applicants prepare for a career as an auctioneer. There are many schools all over the country that has training programs for auctioneers. Indiana University in Bloomington offers Certified Auctioneers Institute program. The National Auctioneers Association (NAA) came up with online courses which involve topics in Introduction to Advertising and Ethics. They can also enroll on training programs for appraising and presenting items. Licensing are required in some states. Most of the auctioneers have bonds too because of the large amount of money they handle.
Skills and Abilities
It is important that the auctioneer knows the rules and regulations of the state. They need to have excellent communication skills and should get the attention of people through the power of their voice. It is important to be alert and to know the crowd activity.
They need to know how to entertain the crowd and keep them interested. Some auctioneers would save the best and the most popular item for the last to keep people interested. It is essential that auctioneers think and respond quickly to the atendees feedback.
Duties
The first thing that auctioneers do is to meet with the seller. They are responsible in reviewing the property or item to be sold. They should know if a minimum bid should be given to a particular item. One of the important and difficult tasks in this profession is appraising the item. This is time-consuming since they would be getting some information about the item being sold such as its history, the type of item as well as the unique qualities the item possess. Their duty also includes organizing the items where the auction is held. Some auctioneers create booklet or catalogs which describe the items for auction. To invite people, they need to advertise and promote the sale efficiently to the target market.
Earnings and Job Outlook
Auctioneers can work either on a fulltime or a part-time basis. For fulltime auctioneers, they can earn at least $20,000 while part-timers can earn at least $10,000. Their income is usually coming from the commissions. There are still an fair to average rate of job opportunities for those who want to become an auctioneer even though there is a growing number of auction activities through the use of the internet auction sites.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.