How to hire a department specialist

How to hire a department specialist, step by step

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

What does a department specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your department specialist 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 department specialist 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 department specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, department 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.

   This list presents department specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Department Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Department Specialist	Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.	$16-33
   Sales Person	A salesperson is in charge of ensuring that the products, goods, or services of the company get sold to customers. They are trained to market the products well, understand what the customer needs, and find the product that best fits the customer's needs... Show more	$6-58
   Sales Clerk	A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business... Show more	$7-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Knowledge
   • Drive Sales
   • Cleanliness
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Service
   • Office Equipment
   • Sales Floor
   • Excellent Time Management
   • Patients
   • Stock Room
   • Standard Operating Procedure
   • Inventory Control
   • Gross Profit
   • Customer Complaints

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a high volume of patient information from authorizing diagnostic procedures and scheduling patients.
   • Conduct continuous inventory evaluation via analysis of POS computer data.
   • Provide account coverage on government, corporate, and mortgage-backed securities.
   • Strengthen organizational visibility by leading community outreach initiatives, fulfilling roles as youth mentor and orchestrating event planning and logistics.
   • Assist with scanning old patient records into EMR, other duties assign.
   • Communicate all policy and procedure violations to management, prepare detailed memos outlining the issues.

   More department specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the department specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A department 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 department specialist in New Mexico may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level department specialist. Additionally, a department specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average department specialist salary

   $49,764yearly

   $23.93 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level department specialist salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average department specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Hawaii	$74,543	$36
   2	California	$60,267	$29
   3	Oregon	$56,810	$27
   4	New York	$56,614	$27
   5	Nevada	$53,564	$26
   6	Montana	$51,780	$25
   7	Minnesota	$51,570	$25
   8	North Carolina	$50,838	$24
   9	Colorado	$49,537	$24
   10	Nebraska	$49,114	$24
   11	Illinois	$48,454	$23
   12	Arkansas	$47,474	$23
   13	Arizona	$45,832	$22
   14	Texas	$42,882	$21
   15	Utah	$42,411	$20

   Average department specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Springs Charter Schools	$66,138	$31.80
   2	University of California-Berkeley	$64,490	$31.00
   3	General Atomics	$64,207	$30.87	7
   4	VIVA USA	$63,431	$30.50
   5	University of California	$59,999	$28.85	9
   6	Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.	$58,756	$28.25
   7	Montgomery County Public Schools	$58,628	$28.19
   8	UC Santa Barbara	$58,423	$28.09
   9	Choice Translating	$57,438	$27.61
   10	Save Mart Supermarkets	$56,103	$26.97	6
   11	Johns Hopkins Medicine	$55,289	$26.58	12
   12	Beacon Credit Union	$54,602	$26.25
   13	CoreTechs Personnel	$54,354	$26.13
   14	United Natural Foods	$53,866	$25.90	1
   15	Edina Public Schools	$51,845	$24.93	1
   16	First Foundation	$51,187	$24.61
   17	University of Rochester	$50,231	$24.15	15
   18	Larimer County	$49,868	$23.98	2
   19	Friday Health Plans	$48,910	$23.51
   20	Medical University of South Carolina	$47,553	$22.86	13

4. Writing a department specialist job description

   A good department specialist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a department specialist job description:

   Department specialist job description example

   Benefits include health care (medical coverage, HSA, vision, dental, STD/LTD, life insurance), paid time off, 401(k) matching, and professional development. Employees also enjoy virtual work, a casual dress code, and employee welfare subscriptions.

   Job Overview: Interpreting Department Specialist

   • Ensure projects are executed on time, on budget, and meet company and client requirements
   • Ensure contractors use best practices and required processes, systems, and tools
   • Troubleshoot and resolve supplier, client, and project challenges
   • Be on-call periodically to troubleshoot issues after hours, if needed
   • Assist in training and coaching colleagues and clients
   • Assist with recruiting, screening, onboarding, and training of interpreters
   • Review, process, and audit appointment records
   • Recruit interpreters at events that may take place in evenings and on weekends
   • Personally provide on-site, telephone and video interpreting if needed
   • Track and report Key Performance Indicators weekly
   • Ensure Quality Control field audits are carried out and improvement feedback is incorporated
   • Proctor Spanish Language Proficiency tests periodically for client employee prospects
   • Prepare service proposals for prospective interpreting clients
   • Identify suppliers who deliver substandard work and take appropriate corrective action
   • Share knowledge across company; propose ideas for improving quality and efficiency
   • Proactively promote our brand within the industry, among clients, prospective clients, suppliers, prospective suppliers, and the community in general
   • Proactively seek, recommend, and execute solutions that support company goals
   • Participate in teambuilding and strategic planning events in-person or virtually, as appropriate
   • Proactively support account managers to grow profitability of new and existing accounts
   • Maximize positive engagement with our contractors by making the most of their capabilities
   • Create and maintain healthy, positive, and productive internal and external relationships
   • Support continuous improvement initiatives and strategic objectives

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5. Post your job

   To find department 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 department specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level department 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 department specialist job on Zippia to find and attract quality department specialist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with department 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.

   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 department specialist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the department 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.

   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 department specialist?