How To Become A Staffing Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a staffing specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Ralph McKinney Ph.D.

Suppose that you are reading a newspaper on a Sunday morning. If in need, you get attentive towards the job hiring section, but who advertises those jobs? The talented Staffing specialists did that. They are also referred to as employment interviewers or recruitment specialists. They cooperate with program or department managers frequently and proactively identify potential hiring requirements of a company.

Staffing specialists take help from various communication platforms, such as job boards, to advertise job openings. Other than advertising, they scout and hire various capable candidates for the vacant posts. They are also held accountable for organizing in house recruitment programs and attending job fairs to know the latest recruitment procedures.

This job is ideal for individuals who hold a bachelor's degree in business or HR management. They can receive a payment of $18.3 per hour for correctly performing their duties. In general, you will work in an office environment and maintain classic daytime hours.

What general advice would you give to a staffing specialist?

Ralph McKinney Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Management, Marshall University

When starting a career, as noted above, an individual needs to have a clear career plan that considers
how to balance the relationship between work and life. Planning helps individuals identify their
strengths and weaknesses along with their desires and expectations. By understanding your strengths
and weaknesses, you can better communicate your value as an employee. Likewise, understanding your
desires and expectations provides a general basis for negotiating a compensation package. It may not
necessarily be about maximizing the salary, but maximizing your needs and your long-term goals. For
example: You may be able to negotiate more paid time off rather than negotiating a higher salary.
Increasing your salary throughout your career means that you have value as an employee and that the
employer knows your contributions and your value. This means that you must be seen and heard. The
easiest way to be seen and heard is to showcase your efforts and accomplishments through feedback
sessions. As an employee, use the feedback sessions to illustrate your work as well as your efforts to
build your knowledge and skills. If a manager is unaware of your efforts, how can you be rewarded?
Additional credentials help build value and illustrate your commitment to the profession. Determine
which credentials are important to your career. Is it a master's degree or micro-credentials? How do
these fit within your plan? Perhaps the extra time off can be used to take educational courses. If an
employer is paying for education, this is a benefit that has exceptional value beyond the immediate
salary. The extra education can provide for greater upward mobility within the organization.

ScoreStaffing SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,939

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.69%

Asian 6.76%

Black or African American 9.86%

Hispanic or Latino 18.99%

Unknown 5.19%

White 58.51%

Gender

female 78.80%

male 21.20%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a staffing specialist

Explore staffing specialist education requirements

Most common staffing specialist degrees

Bachelor's

62.2 %

Associate

17.0 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Start to develop specific staffing specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Background Checks	11.21%
Human Resources	11.03%
Data Entry	7.47%
Customer Service	7.34%
Telemarketing	5.64%

Complete relevant staffing specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New staffing specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a staffing specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real staffing specialist resumes.

Research staffing specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage the scheduling and logistics of all applicant interviews between candidates and hiring managers.
Utilize Taleo applicant tracking system to manage candidate volume.
Lead project for creation of metrics and reporting capabilities within HRIS system.
Maintain for personnel records and ensure the accurate and timely update into HRIS.

Prepare your staffing specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your staffing specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a staffing specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable staffing specialist resume templates

Build a professional staffing specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your staffing specialist resume.

Apply for staffing specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a staffing specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do staffing specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Staffing specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Pros

I like the interaction with staff, possible candidates, & hiring managers. I possess not only professionalism but friendliness, too. I'm a team player with a positive attitude and enjoy building relationships and helping possible candidates find their career path.

Cons

I'm good at what I do. I share ideas with hiring managers, to make our department excel their goals by following all procedures and policies. Sometimes as team we don't always agree with each other.