pick packer.

Some of the standard duties of a pick packer include:

• order picking: as a pick packer, your main responsibility is to pick the products in the order slip from their designated location in the storage facility. It is essential to handle the product with care to avoid damage. You should ensure you pick the correct amount to avoid mistakes when processing large quantities. Delays in picking should be avoided, as they can hold up all the subsequent processes, like shipping. 
• packing items: you pack consumer goods, fresh farm produce, raw materials or finished goods to prepare for transportation, ensuring you use the proper packaging to avoid damage in transit. You should also handle the products with utmost care to minimise damages. You label and prepare the items for shipping when they are packed. It is important to write the recipient's address and the product's weight if the package conceals the contents. You also assist with loading containers onto delivery trucks for shipping.
• cleaning the work area: you handle multiple products during your workday, so you keep the work area neat to avoid contamination. To prevent damage, you should clean the surfaces before picking different goods. For instance, if you are packing metallic or sharp objects, ensure you clean the work areas to prevent sharp objects from damaging other products. When packing or picking food products, ensure you maintain a high level of cleanliness.
• performing quality control checks: when you finish packing a product, you complete quality control checks on a sample to ensure the customer receives high-quality products. You also record information from the quality checks on reports and present them to warehouse or facility managers.

As a pick packer, your work settings depend on the industry in which you work. In most industries, you will likely work in a warehouse or distribution centre in climate-controlled storage facilities. You handle raw materials and finished products when you work in a manufacturing warehouse. In agriculture, you pick the produce directly from farms, which involves working outdoors. A pick packer doesn't travel since they work from the same warehouse.

Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include order pickers, warehouse workers and truck drivers. You might also be working close to maintenance technicians, maintenance supervisors, delivery drivers and forklift drivers, as well as other specialists that could include, but not be limited to, warehouse managers, inventory specialists and facilities managers.

As a pick packer, you work full-time, part-time or seasonally. For 24-hour schedules, you are assigned shifts on a rotational basis, which could be 8 to 10 hours a day. That means you are likely to work early mornings, during the day or night shifts. Part-time pick packers work a few hours a week to cover for the full-time workers and fill packing schedule gaps. Seasonal pick packers often work when the company has an influx of orders.

The skills you acquire in the position open opportunities in production, logistics and quality control sectors. For instance, some pick packers become truck drivers or inventory specialists. Others also specialise in picking or packing and explore career paths in the field. The pick packer career path involves progression to higher roles like supervisors or packing managers.

Finding your pick packer job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:

• a wide variety of training and development opportunities
• an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
• a range of opportunities in your area
• get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
• temporary and permanent contracts

Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a pick packer is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers every year thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.

As a pick packer, you retrieve products from different locations at the warehouse based on daily orders. You ensure the quantity of the packed items align with the orders and separate them from other orders. You also check the product quality during packaging and report any problems to the supervisor. When you finish packaging the orders, you attach the delivery labels before loading them onto delivery trucks.

A pick packer earns an average salary of $53,000 per year. Most employers pay different hourly rates for working day and night shifts. You are likely to make more for working unconventional work hours. Experienced pick packers also receive a remuneration package of $55,000 due to the transferrable skills they bring to the role.

Most warehouse and distribution companies use packing machines to package items. Hence, you should be skilled at operating the machines and carrying out minor maintenance tasks. As a pick packer, you require good manual skills and the ability to stand on your feet for long periods. Attentiveness to detail is also important to avoid packing the wrong items.

Working as a pick packer is an exciting career that requires few skills to be successful. However, you work in a fast-paced, physically demanding environment and spend most of the day standing. If you can cope with stressful work settings, you could make an excellent pick packer since you will complete your tasks quickly and efficiently.

A packer needs at least a year of experience working in similar roles to work with minimal supervision. You can start as an order picker or truck loader before becoming a packer.

Applying for a pick packer job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our pick packer job offers. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.