How to hire a lot porter

How to hire a lot porter, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your lot porter 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 lot porter 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a lot porter to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a lot porter that fits the bill.

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

   Type of Lot Porter	Description	Hourly rate
   Lot 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 Detailer	A car detailer is responsible for providing auto cleaning services, following clients' specifications within internal guidelines. Car detailers organize the interior and exterior features of the vehicles, performing cleaning and disinfecting operations with utmost safety by adhering to the organization's procedures... Show more	$11-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Vehicles
   • Cleanliness
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Service
   • Safety Policies
   • RV
   • Dealership Display Standards
   • Customer Delivery
   • Dealer Trades
   • Service Drive
   • Dealership Lot
   • Front Line
   • Service Stalls
   • Serial Numbers

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage stock of the vehicles; document vehicle locations and individual VIN numbers.
   • Maintain department cleanliness before and after every shift.
   • Prepare cleaning solutions as necessary and follow safety procedures as prescribed by OSHA.
   • Investigate transmission errors for DriveTime lot vehicles.

   More lot porter duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average lot porter salary

   $13.50hourly

   $28,085 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level lot porter salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 31, 2025

   Average lot porter salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$39,423	$19
   2	California	$35,460	$17
   3	Montana	$33,878	$16
   4	Colorado	$31,583	$15
   5	Wyoming	$30,569	$15
   6	Iowa	$27,854	$13
   7	Oklahoma	$26,455	$13
   8	Arizona	$26,127	$13
   9	Kentucky	$25,883	$12
   10	Nebraska	$25,676	$12
   11	Texas	$25,232	$12
   12	Ohio	$25,226	$12
   13	New Mexico	$24,675	$12
   14	Florida	$24,565	$12
   15	Virginia	$23,728	$11
   16	Tennessee	$23,335	$11

   Average lot porter salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	O'Brien Steel Service	$30,871	$14.84
   2	Golden State Foods	$30,795	$14.81
   3	Ryder System	$30,723	$14.77	2
   4	Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama	$29,883	$14.37	5
   5	Sanborn	$29,237	$14.06
   6	Sonic Automotive	$28,980	$13.93	7
   7	Ken Garff Automotive Group	$28,463	$13.68	22
   8	Lazydays	$28,443	$13.67
   9	George's	$28,391	$13.65	17
   10	Larry H Miller Arena Corporation	$28,379	$13.64
   11	Crown Automotive	$28,329	$13.62	1
   12	Midway Chevrolet	$28,269	$13.59
   13	auto	$28,263	$13.59
   14	BMW of Riverside	$28,194	$13.55	1
   15	ABM Industries	$28,194	$13.55	54
   16	Norm Reeves Inc	$28,192	$13.55
   17	Cadillac of Whittier Inc	$28,192	$13.55
   18	Honda Cars of McKinney	$28,192	$13.55
   19	Eligible	$28,192	$13.55
   20	Toyota of Hollywood	$28,192	$13.55	33

4. Writing a lot porter job description

   A lot porter 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. Below, you can find an example of a lot porter job description:

   Lot porter job description example

   Can you back a trailer into a tight spot? Or pull a 5th wheel into a repair bay? Can you also operate a forklift? Then we may have a job for you! Our busy RV dealership needs an RV porter and forklift operator who can safely move large recreational vehicles around our property—in and out of service bays, onto storage lots, etc. Big vehicles are a big responsibility, so only serious inquiries with great skills need apply. Pay between 13 and 15 dollers an hour.

   Job Responsibilities

   • Move RV inventory of varying size safely around the dealership lot
   • Maintain the cleanliness and order of RV inventory, lot and company property
   • Provide support for service and sales functions as needed

   Education and/or Experience

   Must have experience operating forklifts and must be comfortable driving RVs of every size and configuration (5th wheel, bumper pull, Class-A, Class-C, etc.).

   Compensation

   $14-16 hour based on experience

   Benefits

   Benefits include medical and dental insurance, 401K retirement savings plan, vacation time, holidays, company paid continuing education and training. Our company maintains a strong policy of equal employment opportunity for all associates. We hire, train, promote and compensate associates on the basis of personal and professional competence and potential for advancement without regard for race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability or citizenship, as well as other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

   About our Dealership

   Holiday World is a growing company that is looking for quality individuals to join our team of professional employees. Our company has grown over the past 20 years from 35 employees to over 225 today. We value our employees and recognize that they are our greatest asset. As we continue to grow, we are looking for career minded, goal driven individuals that are willing to work hard and accept the challenge of the opportunity.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find lot porters for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your lot porter job on Zippia to find and recruit lot porter 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 lot porters, 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.

   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 lot porter

   Once you've selected the best lot porter candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them 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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