How to hire a product specialist/manager

How to hire a product specialist/manager, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a product specialist/manager, 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 product specialist/manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, product specialist/managers 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 product specialist/manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Product Specialist/Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Product Specialist/Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$39-80
   Manager/Partner	A manager/partner or managing partner is a professional who manages the daily activities of a company as well as guides its overall strategic business direction. Managing partners must cooperate with other executives, board members, and employees to implement organizational goals, procedures, and policies... Show more	$30-67
   Distribution Sales Manager	A distribution sales manager is tasked to find whole and retail sellers to distribute goods and services. Alongside distribution, the manager's tasks include monitoring all sales, orders, product performance, and retailer feedback to further improve the product... Show more	$17-53

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Technical Support
   • Product Knowledge
   • Product Management
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Product Portfolio
   • Ongoing Support
   • Lead Generation
   • Customer Service
   • Post Sales
   • Sales Process
   • Account Management
   • QA
   • Pre Sales
   • Market Research

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead cross-functional team in pioneering the application/game download ecosystem with the implementation of Java games and generating significant new revenue stream.
   • Analyze revenue to determine ROI of, and help improve, promotional campaigns of mobile products.
   • Develop product localization requirements documents, project assessments and ROI analyses.
   • Utilize SQL to support data-driven analysis and decision processes to inform project prioritization, assess feature effectiveness, and troubleshoot issues.
   • Complete RFP's for major counties/municipalities/cities.

   More product specialist/manager duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average product specialist/manager salary

   $117,196yearly

   $56.34 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level product specialist/manager salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average product specialist/manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$146,681	$71
   2	New York	$125,200	$60
   3	Massachusetts	$122,232	$59
   4	North Carolina	$107,432	$52
   5	Michigan	$103,005	$50
   6	Washington	$102,269	$49
   7	Texas	$97,600	$47
   8	Illinois	$97,586	$47
   9	Colorado	$95,408	$46
   10	Indiana	$88,437	$43

   Average product specialist/manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$162,781	$78.26	976
   2	Google	$153,253	$73.68	316
   3	SAP	$137,097	$65.91	48
   4	Corteva	$133,397	$64.13	21
   5	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$129,685	$62.35	531
   6	Cisco	$125,470	$60.32	172
   7	Zurich	$124,938	$60.07	1
   8	Halliburton	$124,674	$59.94	1
   9	Tesla	$118,984	$57.20	22
   10	Stryker	$116,379	$55.95	138
   11	State Street	$115,136	$55.35	17
   12	Techtronic Industries TTI	$115,007	$55.29	2
   13	Life Tech International	$114,469	$55.03
   14	AllianceBernstein	$113,519	$54.58	3
   15	GE Healthcare Holdings Inc.	$113,433	$54.54	52
   16	Infinera	$111,071	$53.40
   17	Medtronic	$110,414	$53.08	173
   18	General Motors	$108,295	$52.06	140
   19	Deloitte	$107,744	$51.80	1,328
   20	Northern Trust	$105,803	$50.87	7

4. Writing a product specialist/manager job description

   A product specialist/manager 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 product specialist/manager job description:

   Product specialist/manager job description example

   The Equity Product Manager performs a critical and influential role within the organization, partnering with both investments and distribution to drive commercial success of the business through proactive initiatives that support new business growth and the existing client base. The Product Manager serves as product champion and investment specialist for their assigned equity products on a global basis across distribution channels.
   Job Description
   
   Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:
   Serve as the first point of contact and a proactive partner to our sales teams for the specific products, as assigned, but with a broad base of equity strategy and broader market knowledge Partner with team members in other regions to ensure effective product support and advocacy on a global basis Act as an extension of and spokesperson for the assigned investment team(s) with both internal and external clients and prospects. Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the investment process, portfolio positioning and market outlook. Partner with the investment team(s) to create and update a strong, consistent suite of core product marketing and client service materials, in collaboration with marketing colleagues Proactively create new sales ideas and other actionable content and approaches to support the sales of the assigned product(s) Understand overall region/channel strategies to communicate priorities to broader team and members of investment management Collaborate with the broader global business development team to define focus areas, business development initiatives, and help to inform broader business strategy Support various training initiatives regarding equity products, the overall equity business and the broader capital markets Collaborate with the RFP team to create/improve RFP language, assist with/review RFPs, and answer ad hoc client questions Partner with Product Development on the launch of new products and the enhancement of existing products across various regions/channels Develop thought leadership ideas and content that connect with their product responsibilities In addition, the Product Manager is responsible for the oversight and quality control of their respective platform, including:
   Review and update of prospecting/servicing presentations, fact sheets, product overviews and other content Update various internal sources of information and content Partner with the data team to ensure accuracy of information in external databases Partner with the RFP team to review and update RFP language and ensure a consistent implementation of strategy positioning and language, and Partner with other internal groups such as performance, legal and compliance, fund accounting, etc. as needed
   
   Job Qualifications & Key Attributes
   
   The ideal candidate should have:
   At least 5 years of experience in the investment management industry (or related investment experience), ideally with direct Product Management / Product Specialist experience Broad investment management and financial market knowledge, ideally with expertise in equity products Intellectually curious about the capital markets, and finding creative ways to connect with our clients & prospects globally An understanding of the institutional and retail marketplace: understanding client needs, market trends and the competitive landscape Ability to influence decisions leveraging strategic insights based on experience/knowledge of equities and global distribution Strong marketing and messaging skills, with the vision to create a compelling story and an ability adapt that message for different audiences Strong analytical skills, with an ability to leverage data and analytics in an impactful way Ability to work effectively under pressure while multitasking, adhering to tight deadlines and maintaining strategic relationships with internal partners A team player with highly developed interpersonal and communication skills, including collaboration, negotiation and influence A desire to interact directly with both internal and external clients and to influence their product knowledge and support our sales efforts Highly detail-oriented and organized Experience with eVestment, Morningstar Direct, FactSet and/or Bloomberg preferred Current CFA or progressing towards preferred Series 7 FINRA certification or ability to obtain
   
   Location
   
   Nashville, TN
   
   #LI-SB1
   Nashville, Tennessee

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

   Post your job online:

   • Post your product specialist/manager job on Zippia to find and recruit product specialist/manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting product specialist/managers 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. 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 product specialist/manager

   Once you've selected the best product specialist/manager 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new product specialist/manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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