How to hire training and development specialists

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives.
• Design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers.
• Develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen.
• Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts.
• Monitor, evaluate, or record training activities or program effectiveness.
• Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials.
• Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.
• Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Bachelor's degree]
• Strong speaking, learning strategies, active listening, active learning, critical thinking and monitoring skills
• Working knowledge of education and training, customer and personal service, English Language and personnel and human resources
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $33.31 an hour ($69,280 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for training and development specialists

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
6. How do you teach yourself a new process, and how would you teach it to someone else?
7. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What training and development specialists do

• Assess training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, focus groups, or consultation with managers, instructors, or customer representatives.
• Design, plan, organize, or direct orientation and training programs for employees or customers.
• Develop alternative training methods if expected improvements are not seen.
• Evaluate modes of training delivery, such as in-person or virtual, to optimize training effectiveness, training costs, or environmental impacts.
• Monitor, evaluate, or record training activities or program effectiveness.
• Obtain, organize, or develop training procedure manuals, guides, or course materials, such as handouts or visual materials.
• Offer specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.
• Present information with a variety of instructional techniques or formats, such as role playing, simulations, team exercises, group discussions, videos, or lectures.

Skills that matter most

SpeakingLearning StrategiesActive ListeningActive LearningCritical ThinkingMonitoringEducation and TrainingCustomer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguagePersonnel and Human Resources

Education, experience and outlook for training and development specialists

• Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree (BLS)
• Experience usually needed to start: Less than 5 years (BLS)
• Job outlook: +10.8% over ten years, much faster than average · about 46,000 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay training and development specialists

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See training and development specialists pay in every state

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Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.