How to hire a food production worker

How to hire a food production worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step food production worker hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the food production worker you need to hire. Certain food production worker 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 food production worker 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 shows salaries for various types of food production workers.

   Type of Food Production Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Food Production Worker		$11-17
   Woodworking Shop Hand	A woodworking shop hand is responsible for assisting woodwork tasks, creating high-quality products, and inspecting the items thoroughly before packaging and releasing for delivery. Woodworking shop hands maintain clean and safe construction tools and equipment, perform repairs as needed, and disposing of defective items that may affect operational efficiency... Show more	$12-18
   Line Up Worker	The Responsibilities of a Line-Up Worker varies upon the organization or industry. Still, most of the tasks revolve around doing manual work such as loading and unloading heavy shipments, operating various devices and machines of different sizes, assist in maintenance and assembling, and coordinating with teammates and reporting to supervisors... Show more	$9-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Basic Math
   • Safety Regulations
   • Math
   • Cleanliness
   • Assembly Line
   • Production Process
   • Quality Standards
   • Culinary
   • GMP
   • HACCP
   • Tray Line
   • Food Safety
   • FDA
   • USDA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and instruct workers in the art of food preparation as culinary team leader.
   • Ensure employees produce products to client's specs and to FDA or USDA standards in a timely manner.
   • Clean the equipment as well as the area to FDA standards.
   • Tend or operate and sanitize equipment such as kettles and cookers to the standards of the USDA.
   • Adhere to safe work practices, follow GMP s, maintain sanitary conditions and ensure that product quality is maintained.
   • Perform housekeeping responsibilities ensuring adherence to USDA guidelines.

   More food production worker duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your food production worker job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A food production worker can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, food production workers' average salary in florida is 40% less than in north dakota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level food production workers 33% less than senior-level food production workers.
   • Certifications. A food production worker with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a food production worker's salary.

   Average food production worker salary

   $14.46hourly

   $30,076 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level food production worker salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average food production worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$36,101	$17
   2	California	$33,258	$16
   3	Wisconsin	$33,198	$16
   4	Minnesota	$33,099	$16
   5	Oregon	$32,565	$16
   6	Arizona	$32,440	$16
   7	Massachusetts	$32,397	$16
   8	Colorado	$31,612	$15
   9	Idaho	$31,330	$15
   10	New Jersey	$30,932	$15
   11	Utah	$30,858	$15
   12	Ohio	$30,362	$15
   13	South Carolina	$29,348	$14
   14	Michigan	$29,278	$14
   15	Pennsylvania	$29,225	$14
   16	Iowa	$29,116	$14
   17	Virginia	$28,610	$14
   18	Louisiana	$27,490	$13
   19	Maryland	$26,517	$13
   20	Texas	$25,777	$12

   Average food production worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California-Berkeley	$40,269	$19.36
   2	Green	$36,968	$17.77	1
   3	Hormel Foods	$36,314	$17.46	42
   4	Valley-Wide	$36,120	$17.37
   5	Sutter Health	$34,428	$16.55	53
   6	TPI	$33,113	$15.92	7
   7	Legends Hospitality	$32,600	$15.67
   8	Butterball	$32,553	$15.65	8
   9	Volt Systems LLC	$31,962	$15.37
   10	Remedy Intelligent Staffing	$31,486	$15.14
   11	Tyson Foods	$31,322	$15.06	67
   12	Doherty Staffing Solutions	$31,110	$14.96	30
   13	University of Iowa Center for Advancement	$30,852	$14.83	29
   14	AHMC Healthcare	$30,782	$14.80	4
   15	Bama Companies	$30,626	$14.72	1
   16	Harmon	$30,512	$14.67
   17	PSEA	$30,221	$14.53	21
   18	Premier Service Co	$30,212	$14.53
   19	TERRA Staffing Group	$30,171	$14.51
   20	Dawn Foods Global	$30,080	$14.46

4. Writing a food production worker job description

   A food production worker job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a food production worker job description:

   Food production worker job description example

   Enjoy a SWEET career at Dianne's Fine Desserts in this entry-level, daytime job! Doherty Staffing Solutions is partnering with Dianne's Fine Desserts, a leading provider of premium desserts, located in Le Center, MN. We are seeking candidates for an Entry-level Food Production Worker positions on 1st shift. Compensation for these temp-to-hire roles starts at $15.00 per hour. Ask about our sign-on & referral bonus opportunities! Interested? Read below for more information!

   Company Summary
   Dianne's Fine Desserts has been serving up inspiring, mouth-watering and memorable desserts for over 40 years. This company is a leading provider of premium frozen thaw-and-serve desserts to the foodservice and in-store retail industries. Their product line includes cheesecakes, layer cakes, pies and tarts, brownies/bars and individual minis and specialty desserts.

   Entry-level Food Production Worker Main Responsibilities:

   • Places cardboard collars around cakes
   • Places desserts on and off racks
   • Spreads icing on cake layers and stacks layers
   • Places garnishes on finished products
   • Decorates top of cake with required design

   Entry-level Food Production Worker Key Requirements:

   • Ability to communicate with team members
   • Ability to stand for 10-hour shift, with breaks, with or without reasonable accommodations
   • Willingness to help other production areas as needed

   Take the next step and apply today! Click APPLY NOW to complete our mobile-friendly, online application. For questions or additional information about the Entry-level Food Production Worker positions in a food production environment, please call our on-site Recruitment Team directly at or email us at .

   Review us and WIN!
   Referrals wanted; earn unlimited $100 rewards!
   Download our mobile app for iOS & Android devices

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right food production worker for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your food production worker job on Zippia to find and recruit food production worker 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 food production workers, 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 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 food production worker

   Once you've decided on a perfect food production worker candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new food production worker. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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