How to hire a shipping specialist

How to hire a shipping specialist, step by step

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

What does a shipping specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your shipping 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 shipping 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 shipping 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 shipping specialist that fits the bill.

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

   Type of Shipping Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Shipping Specialist	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule. They ensure proper scheduling, recordkeeping, and inventory control.	$12-20
   Logistics Clerk	Logistics clerks are professionals who are responsible for regulating the supply chain of an organization by performing administrative tasks such as monitoring inventory levels, arranging transportation methods, and managing shipping schedules. These clerks are required to ensure that electronic or paper files are kept accurately and up-to-date so that they can track orders and answer billing questions... Show more	$12-19
   Shipper	A shipper is an employee who is responsible for filling customer orders and ensures that the quality of these orders meets the company standards. Shippers are tasked with locating items in a warehouse and preparing them for shipping while completing all the transportation procedures so that no complications arise during the cargo-sending process... Show more	$12-18

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Logistics
   • Shipping Receiving
   • Pallet Jack
   • Data Entry
   • Outbound Shipments
   • IATA
   • Forwarders
   • Customer Orders
   • Hazardous Materials
   • LTL
   • ERP
   • Cycle Counts
   • Hoists
   • International Shipments

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage order fulfillment for small parcel, LTL, and freight forwarder shipments.
   • Complete documentation and manage inventory levels by utilizing ERP systems.
   • Manage incoming and outgoing shipping logistics for cargo transportation carriers and shipping companies.
   • Process orders including accurate checking, sorting and consolidating freight, wrapping pallets, loading and unloading shipments of customer orders.
   • Unload products from pallets and restock warehouse inventory.
   • freight papers, invoices, HAZMAT, etc .).

   More shipping specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your shipping specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A shipping specialist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, shipping specialists' average salary in south dakota is 38% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level shipping specialists 38% less than senior-level shipping specialists.
   • Certifications. A shipping specialist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a shipping specialist's salary.

   Average shipping specialist salary

   $16.09hourly

   $33,465 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level shipping specialist salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 12, 2025

   Average shipping specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$40,225	$19
   2	Massachusetts	$38,659	$19
   3	California	$37,407	$18
   4	Oregon	$36,044	$17
   5	North Dakota	$35,627	$17
   6	Minnesota	$35,215	$17
   7	New Hampshire	$34,977	$17
   8	Pennsylvania	$34,771	$17
   9	New York	$34,732	$17
   10	Wisconsin	$33,803	$16
   11	Colorado	$32,509	$16
   12	Arizona	$32,298	$16
   13	Michigan	$32,284	$16
   14	Illinois	$31,764	$15
   15	Mississippi	$30,974	$15
   16	Ohio	$30,944	$15
   17	Kansas	$30,550	$15
   18	Georgia	$29,851	$14
   19	Texas	$29,798	$14
   20	Florida	$29,555	$14

   Average shipping specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$61,916	$29.77
   2	Danaher	$48,681	$23.40	6
   3	DiaSorin Inc.	$46,204	$22.21
   4	Catapult Systems	$41,807	$20.10
   5	Zynex Medical	$41,767	$20.08
   6	NOV	$41,281	$19.85	13
   7	U.S. Pharmacopeia	$41,148	$19.78
   8	Relativity	$40,497	$19.47	3
   9	TruStile Doors	$39,410	$18.95
   10	Swanson Health Products	$39,110	$18.80
   11	Corsair	$38,533	$18.53
   12	Dr. Tavel	$38,154	$18.34
   13	The University of Kansas Health System	$37,725	$18.14	2
   14	Caris Life Sciences	$37,475	$18.02	13
   15	Hussmann	$37,306	$17.94
   16	DRB Systems	$37,225	$17.90
   17	Eurofins	$37,185	$17.88	7
   18	Waterford.org	$37,122	$17.85
   19	BSN SPORTS	$36,974	$17.78
   20	cornellcraneandsteel	$36,888	$17.73

4. Writing a shipping specialist job description

   A job description for a shipping 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 shipping specialist job description:

   Shipping specialist job description example

   Industry: Pharmaceutical
   Shifts Available : Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
   Salary: $16.00 - $20.00 DOE
   Employment Type: Contract To Hire
   
   Environment: This customer has a culture of empowerment where team members are trusted with responsibility and decision making. Everyone is expected to take initiative and help when their skills are needed while demonstrating leadership and teamwork. Wouldn t you want to work for a company like that?!
   
   Job Scope: The Shipping Specialist is responsible for handling outbound traffic activities. Position is responsible for ensuring that customer orders are processed accurately and on time. Must also prioritize in order to meet expected ship dates and accurately label and pack orders. Position is responsible for maintaining an accurate inventory through precise transactions and cycle counting
   Ship finished goods and raw materials.
   
   Responsibilities: Label and package finished goods in accordance with regulatory standards and customer specific requirements. Operate fork truck, company vehicles, pallet wrapper and other material handling equipment. Operate computer (Oracle applications) to process orders, generate labels, and post shipments. Perform timed (independent) inventory cycle counts with record keeping and reporting responsibilities. Maintain safe clean work environment. Create bills of lading and contact carriers. Develop proficiency with Shipping Coordinator responsibilities, including. Allocate orders and generate shipment paperwork. Assist with freight tariffs and audit invoice charges from various logistics partners. Coordinate freight routing with logistics partners. Obtain the best and most efficient freight cost for out of scope freight movements with carriers. Handle and communicate all Export logistics arrangements, including scheduling of containers, preparing customs documents and send to appropriate parties. Assist with the management of SR s and freight claims. Perform other duties as assigned. Skills Needed: High School Diploma or equivalent is required. Minimum of one-year experience in a shipping, warehouse or inventory control position required; 5 years preferred. Must possess the physical ability to lift 50lbs, push/pull up to 1000lbs using pallet jack type equipment. Must be able to operate a forklift and other material handling equipment SRG offers flexible staffing solutions with a national presence. We provide contract, contract-to-hire, direct hire and executive search services. SRG utilizes an innovative approach to identify and qualify talent that is unique to the Staffing industry, featuring a cutting-edge platform that allows us to rapidly and precisely match professionals to client requirements. We have a proprietary database of over one million candidates and maintain continuous contact with our qualified talent.
   
   EOE/ADA
   
   Receiving, Distribution, Freight, Pallet Jack, Warehouse, Manufacturing, Production, Shipping, Scales, Batches, FDA, SOPs, GMP

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find shipping specialists 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 shipping specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit shipping specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with shipping specialist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of 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 shipping specialist

   Once you've found the shipping 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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How much does it cost to hire a shipping specialist?