How to hire a commodity specialist

How to hire a commodity specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step commodity 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 commodity specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commodity specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a commodity specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the commodity specialist you need to hire. Certain commodity specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect commodity specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents commodity specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Commodity Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Commodity Specialist	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.	$44-82
   Purchaser	A Purchaser is responsible for buying goods and services from distribution centers to sell to customers or other companies. They conduct data analysis and research current market trends to identify public demands and generate resources that would increase the company's revenues and profitability... Show more	$17-32
   Purchasing Agent	A purchasing agent's general task is keeping purchase records and making sure that there won't be any discrepancies with the handling of orders. The purchasing agent should be responsible for the order processing and payment collection... Show more	$17-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Supplier Performance
   • Commodities
   • Purchase Orders
   • RFQ
   • Strategic Sourcing
   • Chain Management
   • On-Time Delivery
   • RFP
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Cost Reduction
   • Supplier Selection
   • ERP
   • Lean Six Sigma
   • Sigma

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the RFP and negotiation processes.
   • Manage daily trade maintenance for gas, energy and weather derivatives.
   • Manage purchases and sales of fix assets investments through Bloomberg and Sympro to maximize income and reduce risk for customers.
   • Manage relationships with high net worth institutional accounts; quoted prices and provide real-time trading activity information for commodities.
   • Utilize and implement advance knowledge of treasury procedures, facilitate FX sweeps post transactions and confirmation of banking payment instructions.
   • Prepare RFP's, review proposals and conduct negotiations.

   More commodity specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, commodity specialists' average salary in north dakota is 31% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level commodity specialists earn 47% less than senior-level commodity specialists.
   • Certifications. A commodity specialist 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 commodity specialist's salary.

   Average commodity specialist salary

   $126,153yearly

   $60.65 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level commodity specialist salary

   $92,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average commodity specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$147,666	$71
   2	Illinois	$135,738	$65
   3	Washington	$127,694	$61
   4	Massachusetts	$125,374	$60
   5	Virginia	$122,654	$59
   6	Wisconsin	$122,149	$59
   7	Texas	$121,352	$58
   8	Georgia	$121,295	$58
   9	Rhode Island	$121,039	$58
   10	Nebraska	$118,890	$57
   11	Florida	$112,631	$54
   12	Minnesota	$110,886	$53
   13	Kentucky	$106,349	$51
   14	Pennsylvania	$104,491	$50
   15	Colorado	$102,682	$49
   16	Indiana	$100,012	$48

   Average commodity specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Citadel	$174,881	$84.08	1
   2	WEC Energy Group	$147,121	$70.73
   3	Apple	$143,743	$69.11	4
   4	Turner & Townsend	$134,983	$64.90	4
   5	Venteon	$126,890	$61.00
   6	Amazon	$126,690	$60.91	49
   7	CNH Industrial	$123,344	$59.30	5
   8	Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC Calvert	$122,791	$59.03
   9	INFICON	$122,089	$58.70
   10	Markem-Imaje	$121,294	$58.31
   11	Cisco	$120,258	$57.82	1
   12	National Express	$119,320	$57.37
   13	Juniper Networks	$118,742	$57.09
   14	Kiva	$118,519	$56.98	2
   15	Enterprise Holdings	$117,025	$56.26
   16	Faurecia Emissions Control Systems Na, LLC	$116,417	$55.97
   17	Gustave A. Larson	$116,139	$55.84	1
   18	Alstom	$115,469	$55.51	2
   19	Ichor Systems	$114,013	$54.81
   20	Regal Beloit	$113,323	$54.48	1

4. Writing a commodity specialist job description

   A job description for a commodity 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 commodity specialist job description:

   Commodity specialist job description example

   Make a difference.
   
   As a Quotations Specialist, you will handle the quotations process from the time you receive the request to the time you submit the quote to the customer. You will communicate with Graybar sales representatives, customer service representatives, customers and manufacturer representatives to gather needed details to create your quotes. You will learn about our product lines and pricing mechanics, as well as the computer systems we use, in order to provide quotations that result in profitable sales for the company.
   
   In this role you will:
   Prepare cost estimates of material Contact factories and representatives to obtain cost information Collaborate with sales representatives and customer service representatives Form relationships with customers and suppliers to provide on-time and accurate quotations Compare manufacturers' bills of material to ascertain and price any differences for complete comparisons
   
   What you bring to the table:
   Customer service and communication skills Ability to meet deadlines Knowledge of SAP and ability to work with Excel formulas 2+ years experience preferred2 year degree in Business or related preferred
   
   Why should you join Graybar?
   
   At Graybar, our employees are the heart and soul of our company. We believe that employees with diverse perspectives bring the ideas and innovative thinking we need to solve our biggest challenges and compete in an ever-changing world. Consistent with our values, we welcome people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences into our company because we believe it's the right thing to do and the right way to run our business.We want each of our employees to know that they matter and to feel a sense of belonging, ownership and inclusion at Graybar. We believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and we work to build a collaborative environment where our employees have the opportunity to grow, learn and make a difference, both as individuals and as part of the team.
   
   That's what our employee ownership culture is all about: working as one team and moving forward together, while honoring the unique value each person brings to our company.
   
   Apply now and find out what's next for you.
   At Graybar, we are known for our comprehensive benefits and our employee stock ownership plan! As a full-time employee of Graybar, you will accrue THREE weeks of vacation during your first 12 months, and will have access to a wide variety of our benefits. Benefits include: Medical Insurance and Prescription Drug, Dental Insurance, Vision Plan, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Disability Benefits, Profit Sharing Plan, 401(k) Savings Plan, Paid Vacation, Sick Days and Holidays, Employee Recognition Program
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer/Vet/Disabled
   
   Not the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clicking Introduce Yourself in the top-right corner of the page or create an account to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find commodity 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 commodity specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level commodity 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 commodity specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit commodity specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with commodity specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to 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 commodity specialist

   Once you've selected the best commodity specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a commodity specialist?