How To Hire A Department Specialist

Research Summary. Here are some key points about hiring department specialists in the United States:

  • In the United States, the median cost per hire a department specialist is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new department specialist to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

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How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Department Specialist

Hiring a department specialist comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting department specialists involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of department specialist recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.

You can expect to pay around $49,764 per year for a department specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for department specialists in the US typically range between $16 and $33 an hour.

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How to hire a Department Specialist, step by step

To hire a department specialist, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a department specialist, you should follow these steps:

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

1
Identify Your Needs

Before you post your department specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business need. 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.

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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 the salaries of various department specialist positions.

Type Of Department SpecialistDescriptionHourly Rate
Department SpecialistRetail 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 PersonA 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 ClerkA 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
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2
Create An Ideal Candidate Profile

Before you start to recruit department specialists, imagine the ideal employee for this position and begin creating a profile and job description. What skills do they have, and what responsibilities do they have to be proficient in?

Department specialists typically have the following skills:

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

Here are the most common department specialist responsibilities:

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.
Check all Duties

Beyond the basics, you should also consider how well a candidate fits into your company culture. In other words, you should think about how your ideal department specialist will live by the company's mission statement and contribute to the team dynamic you already have in place.

Most Common States For Department Specialists In The US

Rank #State# Of Jobs% of PopulationAvg. Salary
1Georgia1,09010%$42,858
2North Carolina1,01010%$49,562
3Massachusetts73411%$62,661
4Maryland57610%$49,368
5Minnesota57410%$51,445
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3
Make A Budget

Including a salary range in the 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, their level of experience, education and certifications, and the prestige of the employer. 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.

Updated March 16, 2023

Department Specialist Salary Estimate

$49,764

$23.93 hourly
Entry level Salary
$35,000 yearly

Department Specialist Average Salary By Location

RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly RateJob Count
1Hawaii$74,543$36
2California$60,267$291
3Oregon$56,810$27
4New York$56,614$27
5Nevada$53,564$261
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Department Specialist Average Salary By Company

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Springs Charter Schools$66,138$31.80
2University of California-Berkeley$64,490$31.00
3General Atomics$64,207$30.872
4VIVA USA$63,431$30.50
5University of California$59,999$28.8543
6Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.$58,756$28.2520
7Montgomery County Public Schools$58,628$28.191
8UC Santa Barbara$58,423$28.09
9Choice Translating$57,438$27.611
10Save Mart Supermarkets$56,103$26.979
11Johns Hopkins Medicine$55,289$26.5823
12Beacon Credit Union$54,602$26.252
13CoreTechs Personnel$54,354$26.13
14United Natural Foods$53,866$25.909
15Edina Public Schools$51,845$24.93
16First Foundation$51,187$24.61
17University of Rochester$50,231$24.153
18Larimer County$49,868$23.98
19Friday Health Plans$48,910$23.51
20Medical University of South Carolina$47,553$22.86
Show More

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:

Example of Full Job Description

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 A 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 Process

Your first interview with department specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and their specific 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' special skills and talents to see if they match with the ideal candidate profile you came up with earlier. Candidates who are good enough for the next step can then 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 Department Specialist

Once you have selected a candidate for the 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. It is important to make sure that your offer is competitive, 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 Checklist For The Hiring Process

  • 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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Hiring Department Specialists FAQs

How Much Does A Good Department Specialist Cost?

A good department specialist costs $23.93 an hour in the US. However, it can vary based on factors such as the department specialist experience, abilities, industry, and the specific requirements of your business.

What Are The Duties Of A Department Specialist?

The duties of a department specialist are:
  • 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.

Should I Hire A Department Specialist With No Experience?

Yes, you should hire a department specialist with no experience. Hiring an entry-level department specialist with no experience offers versatility for your team. They may lack some qualifications, but are adaptable and have not yet formed problematic habits. However, more training may be required compared to experienced.

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Updated March 16, 2023