How to hire a lawn care specialist

How to hire a lawn care specialist, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a lawn care specialist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A lawn care specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, lawn care 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.

   Here's a comparison of lawn care specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Lawn Care Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Lawn Care Specialist	Grounds maintenance workers ensure that the grounds of houses, businesses, and parks are attractive, orderly, and healthy in order to provide a pleasant outdoor environment.	$11-19
   Groundsman	Groundsmen or greenkeepers are professionals who take responsibility for the maintenance of materials and equipment. They make certain to provide enough stock of consumables... Show more	$12-20
   Yard Worker	A yard worker provides landscape maintenance services to homes and establishments. Their responsibilities typically include meeting with clients to identify their needs and landscape preferences, mowing lawns, growing plants and trees, applying pesticides and fertilizers, operating irrigation systems, and maintaining grounds clean and presentable... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Lawn Care
   • Mowing
   • Snow Removal
   • GRASS
   • Customer Service
   • Customer Locations
   • Blowers
   • Weed Control
   • Mowers
   • Safety Procedures
   • Flower Beds
   • General Maintenance
   • Rakes
   • Pest Control

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide and manage commercial and residential landscaping and mowing services.
   • Operate hand, power, and riding lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, aerators, string trimmers, etc.
   • Be able to provide first aid and CPR if need.
   • Operate heavy machinery such as; lawn tractor, spreaders and aerators.
   • Perform lawn maintenance using appropriate equipment such as tractors, aerators, etc.
   • Provide emergency response including crisis management, first aid, CPR and fire response as needed.

   More lawn care specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your lawn care specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A lawn care specialist 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 lawn care specialist in Florida may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level lawn care specialist usually earns less than a senior-level lawn care specialist. Additionally, a lawn care specialist 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 lawn care specialist salary

   $15.23hourly

   $31,685 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level lawn care specialist salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average lawn care specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$37,122	$18
   2	Minnesota	$36,540	$18
   3	New Hampshire	$36,317	$17
   4	New York	$35,893	$17
   5	New Jersey	$35,579	$17
   6	Wisconsin	$35,446	$17
   7	Delaware	$35,297	$17
   8	Connecticut	$35,285	$17
   9	Illinois	$33,623	$16
   10	Colorado	$33,237	$16
   11	Indiana	$32,902	$16
   12	Michigan	$32,688	$16
   13	Utah	$32,584	$16
   14	Iowa	$32,546	$16
   15	Montana	$31,971	$15
   16	Missouri	$31,142	$15
   17	Ohio	$30,585	$15
   18	Pennsylvania	$30,545	$15
   19	Virginia	$29,805	$14
   20	Kentucky	$28,856	$14

   Average lawn care specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Medical City Arlington	$34,690	$16.68
   2	SavATree	$33,801	$16.25	50
   3	Lawn Doctor	$33,305	$16.01	68
   4	Bartlett Tree Experts	$32,991	$15.86	51
   5	The Davey Tree Expert Company	$32,991	$15.86	49
   6	National Association of REALTORS	$32,982	$15.86
   7	DJ's Landscape Management	$32,961	$15.85
   8	Naturescape	$32,953	$15.84	34
   9	SpringGreenFranchise	$32,683	$15.71	8
   10	Novant Health	$32,380	$15.57	30
   11	CHI Mercy Health	$32,310	$15.53
   12	Snelling	$31,611	$15.20	1
   13	Dayton Children's Hospital	$31,511	$15.15	4
   14	Apis	$31,502	$15.15
   15	Sava, Llc	$31,299	$15.05
   16	Luther Manor Communities	$31,227	$15.01	1
   17	Ohio's Hospice	$31,183	$14.99	7
   18	Elite Staffing	$30,939	$14.87
   19	Vince	$28,210	$13.56

4. Writing a lawn care specialist job description

   A job description for a lawn care 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 lawn care specialist job description:

   Lawn care specialist job description example

   NBC Sports Next is where sports and technology intersect. We're a subdivision of NBC Sports and home to all NBCUniversal digital applications in sports and technology within our three groups: Youth & Recreational Sports; Golf; and Betting, Gaming & Emerging Media.
   
   At NBC Sports Next, we make playing sports better through innovative technology and immersive experiences for athletes, coaches, players and fans. We equip more than 30MM players, coaches, athletes, sports administrators and fans in 40 countries with more than 25 sports solution products, including , the largest youth sports club, league and team management platform; , the leading online tee time marketplace and provider of golf course operations technology; the ultimate golf membership that connects golfers to exclusive content, tee time credits, and coaching, tips; , swim team management services; , sports and fitness business software solutions; and , a leading platform for fantasy sports information and betting-focused tools.
   
   At NBC Sports Next we're fueled by our mission to innovate, create larger-than-life events and connect with sports fans through technology that provides the ultimate in immersive experiences.
   Come join us as we work together as one team to innovate and deliver what's Next.
   
   As a Member Care Specialist, you will deliver extraordinary service with a personal connection to every single golfer you touch. By solving problems and uniting golfers with their passion, our team is redefining golfer care on a grand scale. From the traveling golfer looking to book a tee time next month, to the less technologically savvy golfer trying to book a single for this afternoon, it is the role of the Golfer Care Specialist to create raving fans by providing exemplary service. If you have a desire to help others to go along with your love for golf, this is the job for you.
   
   Job Duties
   
   Successfully book golfers tee time requests
   
   Ensure golf course calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
   
   Providing customer service that leads to unparalleled, personalized service by answering questions & general inquiries about our client golf courses
   
   Input data into the company computer platform to keep each customer record updated
   
   Participate in a quality program to certify that a high level of accuracy and Golfer Care are consistently being delivered
   
   Deliver our “why” and commit to the growth of our great service

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit lawn care specialists, 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 lawn care specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect lawn care specialist 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 also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new lawn care specialist. 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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