How to hire a palletizer

How to hire a palletizer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step palletizer hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your palletizer 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 palletizer 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

   A palletizer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, palletizers 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 palletizer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Palletizer	Description	Hourly rate
   Palletizer	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.	$12-18
   Dock Worker	People working in the docks are collectively called dock workers. Their primary job is to load and unload ships... Show more	$13-20
   Stage Hand	Stagehands are skilled employees who work in the television, film, or theatre to assist other crew members set up the sound, lighting, and other equipment as well as helping performers change into their costumes. These employees are required to hang banners, update marquees, and handle other signage within the venue as it is important for any production... Show more	$12-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Pallets
   • Work Ethic
   • Electric Pallet Jack
   • Quality Checks
   • Safety Rules
   • Math
   • Quality Products
   • Troubleshoot
   • Safety Standards
   • Empty Pallets
   • GMP
   • Stack Boxes
   • Assembly Line
   • Safety Policies

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform machine changeovers and troubleshoot machine issues.
   • Inspect defect products and troubleshoot problems with equiptment.
   • Stack boxes run shipping lines and used an automatic wrapper
   • Perform CIP on machinery and swab test before pushing out next product.
   • Complete given maintenance tasks with and without guidance, compliant with OSHA standards.
   • Conduct maintenance on tanks and pipe systems to strict OSHA standards for milk processing.

   More palletizer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average palletizer salary

   $15.43hourly

   $32,103 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level palletizer salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 22, 2025

   Average palletizer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Minnesota	$39,761	$19
   2	Washington	$37,529	$18
   3	Wisconsin	$36,227	$17
   4	Oregon	$35,698	$17
   5	Rhode Island	$35,680	$17
   6	New York	$34,789	$17
   7	Illinois	$34,511	$17
   8	Ohio	$32,728	$16
   9	California	$32,618	$16
   10	Texas	$30,614	$15
   11	Virginia	$29,955	$14
   12	Tennessee	$29,745	$14
   13	Kentucky	$29,351	$14
   14	Georgia	$28,622	$14
   15	Arkansas	$28,368	$14
   16	Indiana	$28,323	$14
   17	North Carolina	$27,736	$13
   18	Oklahoma	$27,614	$13

   Average palletizer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Kemps	$40,723	$19.58	1
   2	Dairy Farmers of America	$40,353	$19.40	5
   3	O-I Glass	$39,264	$18.88
   4	Ajinomoto	$39,250	$18.87
   5	Post Holdings	$38,930	$18.72	4
   6	Red Gold	$38,911	$18.71	1
   7	Cargill	$38,623	$18.57	3
   8	Crown Holdings	$37,840	$18.19	5
   9	Conagra Brands	$37,581	$18.07
   10	Tyson Foods	$37,377	$17.97	2
   11	Amcor	$37,113	$17.84	24
   12	Rite Aid	$36,935	$17.76
   13	International Paper	$36,846	$17.71	2
   14	Graphic Packaging International	$36,724	$17.66	4
   15	Lactalis	$36,723	$17.66	2
   16	Staples	$36,547	$17.57
   17	Southern Champion Tray	$35,438	$17.04	2
   18	JBS USA	$35,388	$17.01
   19	CVS Health	$35,340	$16.99	10
   20	Broan	$35,064	$16.86

4. Writing a palletizer job description

   A palletizer 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 palletizer job description:

   Palletizer job description example

   Location Description: Michael foods, Inc. located in Chaska, Minnesota is known as the "best small town in Minnesota" with a highly rated school system and home of the PGA Tournament in 2018! As our community grows, we strive to preserve the small town atmosphere. Minutes away from beautiful lakes, major highways, shopping malls and the Twin Cities, it is the perfect location to work!. Our location produces a variety of potato products. For over 100 years, the Michael Foods family of businesses has leveraged quality ingredients and innovative processes to offer the finest products and solutions to our customers and to food-loving consumers. Responsibilities:

   JOB SUMMARY :

   This position is responsible for running automated palletizers in a safe and efficient manner.

   JOB RESPONSIBILITIES :

   1. Adhere to safe work practices, follow GMP’s, maintain sanitary conditions and ensure that product quality is maintained. Report to management any conditions or practices that may adversely affect food safety, food quality or personnel safety.
   2. Adhere to all safety policies and procedures.
   3. Keeping product flow at an optimal level by effectively and safely troubleshooting and running palletizing equipment, conveyance system and pallet wrapper.
   4. Ensure proper equipment set-up during change over.
   5. Printing proper labels (SU tag) for finished product.
   6. Ensuring that cases are taped and palletized properly.
   7. Ensuring that the proper pallets are being used by adhering to pallet specifications.
   8. Communicating relevant information to fellow employees on the shift and to on-coming employees at shift change.
   9. General cleaning of equipment and maintaining good housekeeping throughout the department per the daily sanitation checklist.
   10. Perform other duties as assigned.

   Qualifications:

   JOB QUALIFICATIONS :

   EDUCATION:

   High school diploma or general education degree (GED) or equivalent.

   EXPERIENCE :

   COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

   In order to promote a manufacturing environment that is safe and efficient for both personnel and food, the ability to effectively communicate in basic English (both verbal and written) is required. This includes the ability to speak, read and comprehend safety instructions, rules and warnings for self and others in both normal and emergency situations.

   LANGUAGE SKILLS:

   Ability to read and comprehend simple instructions, short correspondence, and memos. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations.

   MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

   Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

   REASONING ABILITY:

   Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, and diagram or schedule form.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find palletizers 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 palletizers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level palletizers 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 palletizer job on Zippia to find and recruit palletizer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit palletizers, 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 palletizer

   Once you've found the palletizer 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.

   To prepare for the new palletizer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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