How to hire a special officer

How to hire a special officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step special officer hiring guide:

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

What does a special officer do?

Post a special officer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The special officer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   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 special officer 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 special officer that fits the bill.

   This list presents special officer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Special Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Special Officer	Security guards and gaming surveillance officers patrol and protect property against theft, vandalism, terrorism, and illegal activity.	$13-23
   Security Supervisor	A security supervisor is in charge of coordinating and overseeing the security staff in a building or within a designated area. Their responsibilities focus on devising strategies, appointing personnel, and implementing protocols that would ensure the safety of an establishment, goods, and the people inside... Show more	$13-28
   Security	A Security's main responsibility is to keep people or an establishment safe. This responsibility is carried out by constantly patrolling a designated area and monitoring the activity within the premises... Show more	$11-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Real Estate
   • Patrol
   • Credit Analysis
   • Criminal Justice
   • Public Safety
   • Financial Statements
   • Emergency Situations
   • Loan Portfolio
   • CPR
   • Litigation
   • Accruals
   • National Security
   • Foot Patrol
   • Traffic Control

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage litigation and bankruptcy matters.
   • Write incident reports according to daily activities and monitor CCTV and switchboard for control access.
   • Conduct building tours, monitor CCTV and alarm systems and controlling building access.
   • Patrol outside of emergency center for protesters and other unauthorize personnel.
   • Monitor and react to emergencies, conduct inspections and perform facility perimeter patrol inspections.
   • Maintain a standard of punctuality and dependability of attendance and retain myself cleanliness, tidiness, neatness and appropriately attire.

   More special officer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, special officers' average salary in mississippi is 47% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level special officers earn 43% less than senior-level special officers.
   • Certifications. A special officer 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 special officer's salary.

   Average special officer salary

   $37,839yearly

   $18.19 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level special officer salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average special officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$49,704	$24
   2	Nebraska	$47,787	$23
   3	District of Columbia	$46,601	$22
   4	California	$46,271	$22
   5	Massachusetts	$43,142	$21
   6	Oregon	$41,420	$20
   7	Colorado	$41,153	$20
   8	Arizona	$39,798	$19
   9	Illinois	$39,705	$19
   10	Utah	$38,961	$19
   11	Missouri	$38,821	$19
   12	Virginia	$38,816	$19
   13	Oklahoma	$38,577	$19
   14	Pennsylvania	$37,134	$18
   15	Florida	$36,679	$18
   16	New Jersey	$36,649	$18
   17	Kansas	$36,508	$18
   18	Ohio	$35,945	$17
   19	Texas	$34,848	$17
   20	Tennessee	$33,677	$16

   Average special officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	City National Bank	$53,669	$25.80	99
   2	Department of Homeland Security	$46,833	$22.52	119
   3	Inter-Con Security Systems	$43,830	$21.07	210
   4	SF-Marin Food Bank	$42,545	$20.45
   5	CoBank	$41,299	$19.86	39
   6	Bank of America	$40,024	$19.24	95
   7	State Of Florida	$39,660	$19.07	221
   8	ACNB Bank	$38,857	$18.68	5
   9	Farm Credit Mid-America	$38,576	$18.55
   10	Capital One	$37,841	$18.19	9
   11	Northwell Health	$37,644	$18.10	21
   12	Rockland Trust	$37,503	$18.03	10
   13	Allied Universal	$37,209	$17.89
   14	Xator	$35,709	$17.17
   15	Umpqua Bank	$35,684	$17.16	20
   16	All Pro Security, Inc.	$35,632	$17.13	14
   17	Titan Security Group	$35,535	$17.08	21
   18	GardaWorld Federal Services	$35,081	$16.87	390
   19	Securitas Electronic Security	$34,608	$16.64	656
   20	DSI Security	$34,607	$16.64	193

4. Writing a special officer job description

   A good special officer job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a special officer job description:

   Special officer job description example

   1. Review operational traffic for intelligence leads
   2. Draft comprehensive targeting packages in support of the client’s objectives
   3. Engage operational components within the customer organization to address targeting requirements and develop new leads for operational exploitation
   4. Conduct detailed searches on items of operational interest and relay pertinent data to relevant customer components.

   Mandatory Skills:

   1. Proficiency in manipulating various classified and open source databases in support of the client’s mandate to acquire foreign intelligence
   2. Experience related to intelligence research and targeting work is required
   Prior experience in supporting HUMINT operations or familiarity with the Intelligence Community and its objectives
   3. Familiarity with cable writing styles and classified client databases, including specific targeting tools
   4. Strong briefing and writing skills are a must, as well as the ability to work well with teams or individually with minimal supervision
   5. Demonstrated regional and/or functional expertise or a working knowledge of geographic regions of interest to the United States

   On September 24, 2021, the U.S. Government’s Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued “2021 Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors” mandating that Covered federal contractors, including Xator Corporation, and their employees shall be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Therefore, this position may require individuals to be fully vaccinated (2 weeks past final dose) or have been granted a religious or medical accommodation by December 8, 2021 or shortly thereafter.

   Equal Opportunity Statement
   Xator Corporation, and its Subsidiaries, provides equal opportunity to all applicants for employment as required by and/or consistent with applicable country law and company policy. Consistent with the foregoing, Xator Corporation provides qualified applicants consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veterans’ status, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other status(s) protected by law. In the United States, Xator Corporation ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

   Powered by JazzHR

   ZhXDVX0hrk

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right special officer 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 special officer job on Zippia to find and recruit special officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit special officers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 special officer

   Once you've found the special officer 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.

   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.

   To prepare for the new special officer 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a special officer?