How to hire a personnel specialist

How to hire a personnel specialist, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a personnel 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a personnel specialist 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 personnel specialist that fits the bill.

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

   Type of Personnel Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Personnel Specialist	Human resources specialists recruit, screen, interview, and place workers. They often handle other human resources work, such as those related to employee relations, compensation and benefits, and training... Show more	$17-32
   Human Resources Recruiter	A human resources recruiter is responsible for sourcing potential candidates on filling in organizational roles to support business operations and maintain efficiency on project deliverables. Human resources recruiters work closely with every department's head to analyze their qualifications and posting the job requirement on the company's job board and other communication platforms... Show more	$15-32
   Staffing Coordinator	A staffing coordinator is responsible for assisting the staffing needs of an organization, organizing the hiring process, and monitoring the working schedule of staff to ensure smooth operations. Staffing coordinators often coordinate with recruiting agencies for staffing solutions to fill roles and process onboarding... Show more	$14-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • HR
   • Audit Pay
   • Customer Service Functions
   • Personnel Actions
   • Personnel Policies
   • ID
   • Personnel Data
   • General Education
   • Personnel Support
   • DOD
   • HRIS
   • Performance Evaluations
   • PowerPoint
   • Personnel Issues

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Serve as consultant for ADA and FMLA issues; also lead sexual harassment investigations.
   • Manage wage and salary administration and supervise payroll function.
   • Brief command employees impact by RIF.
   • Conduct combat safety and weapons training.
   • Act as the vehicle registration NCO.
   • Serve as staffing specialist while in the DEU.

   More personnel specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $51,057yearly

   $24.55 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level personnel specialist salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average personnel specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$64,602	$31
   2	North Carolina	$56,757	$27
   3	Virginia	$54,980	$26
   4	California	$54,666	$26
   5	California	$54,381	$26
   6	California	$54,126	$26
   7	Texas	$53,983	$26
   8	California	$53,824	$26
   9	New York	$50,733	$24
   10	Colorado	$49,690	$24
   11	Massachusetts	$49,552	$24
   12	New Jersey	$48,498	$23
   13	Mississippi	$47,050	$23
   14	Florida	$46,773	$22
   15	Indiana	$45,304	$22
   16	Iowa	$44,587	$21
   17	Arizona	$44,056	$21
   18	West Virginia	$44,049	$21
   19	Oklahoma	$43,353	$21

   Average personnel specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	McKinsey & Company Inc	$75,730	$36.41	26
   2	Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation	$57,012	$27.41	2
   3	Arizona State University	$56,602	$27.21	3
   4	City of Louisville	$55,549	$26.71
   5	University of California	$54,416	$26.16	1
   6	UC Santa Barbara	$53,183	$25.57
   7	University of California-Berkeley	$53,079	$25.52
   8	UCLA	$51,965	$24.98
   9	CalSTRS	$51,474	$24.75
   10	University of Massachusetts Medical School	$51,227	$24.63
   11	KnowBe4	$50,555	$24.31
   12	Croell Ready Mix	$50,482	$24.27
   13	Delta Solutions & Strategies	$50,290	$24.18
   14	Ball State University	$48,939	$23.53
   15	Duke University Health System	$48,298	$23.22	2
   16	State of West Virginia	$47,837	$23.00	10
   17	City of Norfolk	$47,582	$22.88
   18	Vectrus	$44,424	$21.36

4. Writing a personnel specialist job description

   A personnel specialist 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 personnel specialist job description:

   Personnel specialist job description example

   Responsibilities
   
   As part of the Academic Personnel staff team, you will
   
   be responsible for assisting various faculty in the Department of Medicine
   
   (DOM). Using a custom department web-based application and the campus OPUS and
   
   Interfolio system to communicate and facilitate dossier preparation with
   
   faculty and administrators, you will conduct a thorough
   
   review of academic dossier submissions and provide feedback to Management
   
   Services Officers/Division Coordinators and Affiliate Coordinators in order to
   
   meet Dean's and campus requirements. In this role, you will also assist in
   
   the management of the interactive online Dossier Application and OPUS for all
   
   academic personnel actions in DOM and assist in the management of the online
   
   faculty RECRUIT system. Knowledge of University academic personnel policies and
   
   procedures preferred to provide guidance to faculty and staff regarding
   
   academic actions.Qualifications
   
   Required: * Demonstrated oral and written communication skills to obtain and convey information clearly, accurately and in a timely manner. * Ability to compose and create logical and grammatically correct correspondence. * Attention to detail and ability to track the progression of dossier reviews through various reviewing agencies.* Ability to work efficiently with minimum supervision and set priorities in order to meet varying demands, changes in priorities and competing deadlines.* Excellent organizational skills.* Ability to maintain confidentiality in handling sensitive documents and files.* Ability to work as part of a team.* Knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Internet, Word, Excel and Access software programs.Preferred: * Experience in academic personnel. * Working knowledge and understanding of the CALL, Academic Personnel Manual and University academic personnel policies and procedures.
   
   UCLA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.
   
   UCLA Health welcomes all individuals, without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin or disabilities, and we proudly look to each person's unique achievements and experiences to further set us apart.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit personnel 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 personnel specialist

   Once you've found the personnel specialist 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 also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is 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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