How to hire a product safety specialist

How to hire a product safety specialist, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your product safety specialist 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 product safety specialist 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 product safety 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 product safety specialist that fits the bill.

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

   Type of Product Safety Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Safety Specialist	Occupational health and safety specialists analyze many types of work environments and work procedures. Specialists inspect workplaces for adherence to regulations on safety, health, and the environment... Show more	$23-59
   Public Health Internship	A public health internship provides students with a great learning opportunity to put into practice those educational principles and skills learned in the classroom. They will gain a better understanding and appreciation for the duties and responsibilities of full-time professionals in public health... Show more	$12-26
   Safety And Training Coordinator	A safety and training coordinator helps ensure that all employees, subcontractors, and vendors adhere to the safety protocols and safety behaviors. They oversee safety instructor's safety teachings, procedures, and implementation.	$14-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Product Safety
   • Chemistry
   • FDA
   • Data Entry
   • Regulatory Compliance
   • OSHA
   • Safety Reports
   • TSCA
   • Safety Data Sheets
   • ISO
   • Hazardous Materials
   • Product Line
   • Perform Quality
   • GMP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maximize productivity through coordinating and managing efforts between service engineers, sales personnel and external OEM automation programmers.
   • Conduct OSHA chemical hazard communication training courses for company employees on a global basis.
   • Conduct numerous facility inspections advising various companies of potential equipment and health hazards and possible OSHA citations.
   • Review and approve EHS documentation, conduct EHS audits and provide a follow-up to ensure audit recommendations are implement.
   • Perform when necessary audits on drivers CDL expiration, hazmat endorsement expiration, medical examination/DOT physical expiration.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your product safety specialist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A product safety specialist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, product safety specialists' average salary in hawaii is 46% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level product safety specialists earn 60% less than senior-level product safety specialists.
   • Certifications. A product safety specialist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a product safety specialist's salary.

   Average product safety specialist salary

   $78,152yearly

   $37.57 hourly rate

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   Entry-level product safety specialist salary

   $49,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a product safety specialist job description

   A job description for a product safety 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 product safety specialist job description:

   Product safety specialist job description example

   With over 47 locations in 17 states, Colony Hardware is the leading distributor of Tools, Equipment, Fasteners, Supplies, and Safety Products throughout our markets.
   
   At Colony, our people are our most valuable asset! Success as a Colony Associate means being reliable, conscientious, and passionate. With our direction centered on teamwork, every employee at Colony will not only find their work to be meaningful, but will have the opportunity to grow alongside Colony, both professionally and personally.
   
   Additionally Colony offers offers a competitive compensation and benefits package including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k with company match, paid time off, tuition reimbursement, long term and short term disability insurance, and employee discounts on our extensive catalog of products!
   Colony Hardware is currently seeking a professional, experienced, motivated and dynamic Product Safety Sales Specialist to join our team!
   
   Reporting to the Regional or Branch Manager, the Product Safety Sales Specialist has primary responsibility for growing sales by increasing the breadth and depth of safety products and services that existing customers buy from Colony. The Product Safety Sales Specialist is also responsible for broadening our safety product offering at target accounts by leveraging existing successes and making the customer aware of our unmatched customer service and delivery capabilities.
   
   This Might Be the Opportunity for You If: It is important to you to have a career where every day looks a little different than the last. You see the world as your office. You love being a road warrior, thinking on your feet, and rolling with the punches. An entrepreneurial spirit is the foundation of your work ethic. You are results-driven, and adept at utilizing technology and data to support your success strategy. You are also skilled at developing and nurturing relationships as a means to success. You love winning and are innately competitive. You refuse to compromise your integrity to make a “sale”. Paying attention to the details is engrained in who you are. Doing it right is as important as doing it with a sense of urgency. You stay focused, and nothing falls through the cracks on your watch. You're happy to know we offer a base salary, but your competitive nature is here for the commission check.
   A Little About Your Day: From day-to-day, you will call on jobsites and meet with owners and executives, superintendents, project managers, engineers, contractors, and other key players with buying influence in the construction space. This means your office might be your vehicle, a construction site, a job trailer, a power plant, or a corporate office. You will provide safety product demonstrations to small and large groups, hold training seminars, and participate in trade events independently and in partnership with outside sales reps, vendors, and customers. Operating in a consultative fashion, you will act as a true safety solution provider to customers and their evolving needs. To maximize success, you will work to seamlessly integrate regional-and-company-wide sales initiatives and product-specific goals into your strategy.
   What You'll Need to Have: As a foundation, at least two-to-three years of successful outside sales experience, preferably selling similar products to those offered by Colony. At minimum, a high school diploma or equivalent. A valid driver's license. Your Motor Vehicle Record must show a history of sustained safe driving with no moving violations in the last three years.
   We Can Offer You: We value performance that exhibits a high sense of urgency, coupled with attention to detail and a strong customer service orientation! We also care about the welfare of our employees, which is why our salary and benefits are competitive. Colony's benefits include: Medical, Dental, Vision, STD/LTD, Life Insurance (company paid!), FSA/HSA, 401(k), and more! Competitive PTO and paid holidays Base salary + Commission plan A monthly car allowance Company-provided PPE as required Generous discounts on the best products from leading industry vendors
   Life at Colony: Colony Hardware is the leading distributor of Tools, Equipment, Fasteners, Supplies, and Safety Products to commercial construction and industrial accounts throughout our markets. At Colony, our people are our most valuable asset. Success as a Colony Associate means being reliable, conscientious, and passionate. With our direction centered on teamwork, every employee at Colony will not only find their work to be meaningful, but will have the opportunity to grow alongside Colony, both professionally and personally. If you possess a will to win and would like to join a culture where integrity and collaboration are integral to success, apply to Colony Hardware today to join our growing family!
   
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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right product safety specialist 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.

   To find product safety specialist candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting product safety specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 product safety specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect product safety 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 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 product safety specialist 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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