How to hire a detailer/porter

How to hire a detailer/porter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step detailer/porter hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the detailer/porter you need to hire. Certain detailer/porter 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

   A detailer/porter's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, detailer/porters 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.

   Here's a comparison of detailer/porter salaries for various roles:

   Type of Detailer/Porter	Description	Hourly rate
   Detailer/Porter	Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. Others feed or remove material to and from machines, clean vehicles, pick up unwanted household goods, and pack materials for moving.	$10-16
   Car Wash Attendant	As a car wash attendant, they wash and polish car exteriors and interiors. They often clean tires, dust, drying, applying soap solutions, vacuuming car interiors, scraping loose specks of dirt, cleaning seats, and removing the trash on a car... Show more	$11-18
   Car Washer	A car washer is responsible for cleaning and polishing cars, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their tasks typically include vacuuming the interior parts such as seats and floors, discarding the trash, cleaning the windows and windshield from the inside and outside, applying soap solution to the car's exterior, scraping off dirt, and applying wax... Show more	$10-16

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Vehicles
   • Shop Maintenance
   • Customer Service
   • Clean Cars
   • Body Shop
   • Dealer Trades
   • Auto Body
   • Foreign Materials
   • Tire Pressure
   • Building Maintenance
   • Air Compressors
   • Loose Dirt
   • Leather Surfaces
   • Transport Vehicles

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage stock of the vehicles; document vehicle locations and individual VIN numbers.
   • Provide professional automobile detailing services with a variety of cleaning techniques and products to ensure the desired level of superior cleanliness.
   • Maintain the dealership grounds by mowing, weed eating and maintaining mowing equipment.

   More detailer/porter duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your detailer/porter job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A detailer/porter salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a detailer/porter in Michigan may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level detailer/porter usually earns less than a senior-level detailer/porter. Additionally, a detailer/porter with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average detailer/porter salary

   $13.57hourly

   $28,226 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level detailer/porter salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average detailer/porter salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$38,002	$18
   2	Illinois	$30,030	$14
   3	North Dakota	$29,815	$14
   4	Missouri	$29,185	$14
   5	Ohio	$28,752	$14
   6	Wisconsin	$27,020	$13
   7	Indiana	$26,983	$13
   8	Pennsylvania	$26,716	$13
   9	Arizona	$25,879	$12
   10	Maryland	$25,516	$12
   11	Florida	$25,238	$12
   12	South Carolina	$24,641	$12
   13	Texas	$24,221	$12
   14	Michigan	$23,644	$11

   Average detailer/porter salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Serpentini Chevrolet	$29,616	$14.24	6
   2	Lithia Motors	$29,270	$14.07	3
   3	VW Credit Inc.	$28,811	$13.85
   4	Gerber NCS	$28,420	$13.66	8
   5	Sunnyside	$28,406	$13.66
   6	AutoNation	$28,381	$13.64	36
   7	Drivetime	$28,327	$13.62	24
   8	Ferrari Express Inc.	$28,306	$13.61
   9	BMS Management, Inc.	$28,304	$13.61	11
   10	Factory Motor Parts	$28,040	$13.48
   11	Enterprise Holdings	$26,882	$12.92	347

4. Writing a detailer/porter job description

   A good detailer/porter 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 detailer/porter job description:

   Detailer/porter job description example

   Make-Ready Technician/Detailer - Auto Dealership
   
   Are you a clean freak? Do you obsess over every little detail? Do you love that new car smell? If so, our busy dealership may have the perfect opportunity for you as our new make-ready tech/detailer. Sure, we work hard. But we also take good care of those who work to make our dealership a success. If that's you, let's talk. For the right person, the rewards can be outstanding.
   
   Job Responsibilities
   

   • Train and assist other make-ready and detail techs
   • Maintain inventory and order make-ready supplies
   • Act as liaison between department staff and sales managers to facilitate the process for new and pre-owned vehicles
   • Detail client vehicles as needed
   • Maintain strict adherence to dealership policy on client vehicle care and operation
   • Note damage and notify service so a claim can be filed within 24 hours
   • Perform quality control inspections of all vehicles before being brought to frontline
   • Coordinate with sales and service to ensure on-time deliveries
   • Attend department meetings

   
   Education and/or Experience
   
   High school diploma or GED; 1 to 3 months of related experience and/or training; Candidates with an equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered.
   
   Compensation
   
   Compensation is based on experience and commensurate with Fortune 500 companies.
   
   Physical Demands
   
   The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
   
   While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to utilize manual dexterity as well as stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus.
   
   Benefits
   
   Health,Dental vision and paid time off.
   
   About Us
   
   We are a family owned and operated over 30 years. It is a great work environment for growth and we strongly believe in promoting from within. We offer health, dental, vision, short-term disability, as well as, Aflac products. We also provide a paid vacation after your first year.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right detailer/porter for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with detailer/porters they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit detailer/porters who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit detailer/porters, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 detailer/porter

   Once you've found the detailer/porter candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new detailer/porter. 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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