How to hire a business specialist

How to hire a business specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business specialist hiring guide:

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

What does a business specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The business specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A business specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, business specialists 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of business specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Business Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Specialist		$21-57
   Business Consultant	A business consultant is a professional who works directly with business owners on developing a business plan and identifying their marketing needs. Business consultants offer business owners a wide range of services, such as supplementing existing staff, provide expertise in a specific market, and influencing other people... Show more	$30-56
   Business Banker	A business banker is a professional who collaborates with other bank coworkers to help business customers meet their specific banking needs. Business bankers must sell a variety of banking products and services such as business deposit accounts, treasury management, and business credit cards... Show more	$18-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Product Knowledge
   • Power Bi
   • Data Analysis
   • Treasury
   • Business Processes
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • PowerPoint
   • Ongoing Support
   • SQL
   • Financial Services
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Business Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage existing accounts while identifying new sources of opportunities for sales in the SME segment through cold calling and prospecting.
   • Schedule appointments for estimates for replacement windows, doors, bathroom remodels, gutter replacements, etc.
   • Contribute to product development and roll out of multiple insulation, foam, windows & siding products.
   • Analyze weekly POS data to identify product trends, additional sales opportunities, and drive sales to exceed budgets.
   • Observe strict confidentiality within HIPAA regulations.
   • Work with electronic medical records system uploading documents into patients files.

   More business specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the business specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A business specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a business specialist in Nebraska may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level business specialist. Additionally, a business specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average business specialist salary

   $73,521yearly

   $35.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business specialist salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average business specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$104,729	$50
   2	Oregon	$97,933	$47
   3	California	$90,727	$44
   4	Connecticut	$89,217	$43
   5	Pennsylvania	$88,658	$43
   6	District of Columbia	$88,413	$43
   7	Massachusetts	$84,662	$41
   8	New Jersey	$84,151	$40
   9	Indiana	$80,977	$39
   10	New York	$78,374	$38
   11	Maine	$78,236	$38
   12	Michigan	$77,915	$37
   13	Virginia	$77,638	$37
   14	North Carolina	$71,325	$34
   15	Arizona	$70,433	$34
   16	Kansas	$70,023	$34
   17	Illinois	$69,214	$33
   18	Minnesota	$67,598	$33
   19	Colorado	$65,509	$31
   20	Missouri	$65,268	$31

   Average business specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	BP America Inc	$159,028	$76.46	1
   2	Boehringer Ingelheim	$151,315	$72.75	35
   3	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$147,204	$70.77	7
   4	Apple	$134,311	$64.57	26
   5	Google	$121,697	$58.51	35
   6	Aera Energy	$118,101	$56.78
   7	Microsoft	$117,352	$56.42	17
   8	Accenture	$114,170	$54.89	152
   9	Apache	$111,599	$53.65
   10	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$109,141	$52.47	29
   11	Federal Reserve Bank	$107,345	$51.61	6
   12	Xavient Information Systems	$106,073	$51.00
   13	Warner Norcross + Judd	$103,168	$49.60
   14	Northern Trust	$102,816	$49.43	3
   15	Constellation Energy Partners	$102,262	$49.16	9
   16	Intel	$101,481	$48.79	6
   17	Amdocs	$101,008	$48.56	1
   18	IBM	$99,641	$47.90	36
   19	Sutter Health	$98,745	$47.47	1
   20	Deloitte	$95,130	$45.74	663

4. Writing a business specialist job description

   A job description for a business specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a business specialist job description:

   Business specialist job description example

   Job Description (Posting)
   
   Lead the business requirement gathering and documentation for prioritized enhancements, projects, and defects in our change management repository (Azure DevOps) Ensure proper communication to all stakeholders during the lifecycle of the change and release management process. Work with development team to make sure that developed items meet the business requirements before going through a formal release management cycle. Perform testing in accordance with the business requirements and co-ordinate with business users for formal User Acceptance testing. Adhere to all release management processes and documentation. Actively manage your Sprint Tasks ensuring that the appropriate effort is not only added to the original task but is reduced as you progress your efforts Actively participate and contribute to all Scrums and Sprint planning sessions to help ensure sprints are right sized and achievable. Ensure the timely delivery of all prioritized Defects / Enhancementso Complete System Testing in a timely manner based on a communicated scheduleo Support UAT testing to ensure success based on a communicated schedule Ensure the quality of all enhancements and defect fixes delivered to the businesso Ensure appropriate Test Steps are included on all defects to ensure appropriate testing.o Ensure proper testing and engagement with the development team when needed for your assigned defects.o Ensure risks and concerns with respect to regression testing are proactively communicated to the solutions leads to ensure these are factored into testing plans. Help drive consistency and efficiency in the end-to-end issue pipeline by adhering to mandated defect creation template requirements: Do your part in ensuring that new test scenarios are added to the system wide regression test suite for your respective area(s) Monitor issues in Service Now and provide support to the business by meeting the resolution SLAs and adhering to the support processes with appropriate level of communication to the stakeholders and documentation in the Service Now. Contribute to the support handbook documentation in OneNote and provide active participation in your area. Additionally, assume responsibility of your primary focus area to make sure support handbook is updated and reviews are done in a timely manner. Maintain and build key relationships with external IT teams. (1.) To drive business workshops and gather business requirements (2.) To review functional specification document and ensure for completeness and storage. (3.) To conduct the walkthrough to brief the functional specification mapping to business requirements and suggest design solutions (4.) To review test cases and ensure that it is in line with functional requirements (5.) To lead a team of business analysts
   
   Qualification
   
   B Tech
   
   Skill (Primary)
   
   Microsoft Dynamics (APPS)-Microsoft Azure-Tools and Standards-Azure - DevOps

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find business specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any business specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit business specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 business specialist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the business specialist 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new business specialist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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.)

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