How to hire an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist

How to hire an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist you need to hire. Certain administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist 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 an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Administrative Assistant/Secretary/Receptionist	Description	Hourly rate
   Administrative Assistant/Secretary/Receptionist	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-20
   Receptionist Secretary	A receptionist secretary is responsible for providing the best customer service, as well as attending to the needs of existing and potential clients. Duties of a receptionist secretary include managing customer's inquiries and forwarding important calls to the appropriate department, performing administrative and clerical tasks, escalating high-level of client's concerns to the management, keeping the reception area clean, monitoring office supplies and request stocks as needed, and maintaining an organized record of meetings and events... Show more	$11-16
   Administrative Staff	As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll... Show more	$27-48

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Entry
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Front Desk
   • Office Equipment
   • Payroll
   • Multi-Line Phone System
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Word Processing
   • PowerPoint
   • Direct Calls
   • Telephone Calls
   • Windows
   • Greeting Visitors
   • Proofread

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Act as primary liaison between patients, physical therapists and physicians while accomplishing miscellaneous duties necessary for maintaining operations.
   • Process staff meal deductions for payroll.
   • Track and submit working hours of employees to payroll department.
   • Prepared/Analyze invoices for billing department and research subpoenas.
   • Implement a solution for staffing restructure that reduce overall salary expense while maintaining productivity for a rehabilitation inpatient nursing unit.
   • Initiate and monitor requisitions through PeopleSoft for office supplies, laboratory supplies including purchasing lab animals for research and travel reimbursement.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, administrative assistant/secretaries/receptionist' average salary in florida is 50% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level administrative assistant/secretaries/receptionist earn 40% less than senior-level administrative assistant/secretaries/receptionist.
   • Certifications. An administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist 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 an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist's salary.

   Average administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist salary

   $15.85hourly

   $32,974 yearly

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   Entry-level administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

4. Writing an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist job description

   A good administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist 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 an administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist job description:

   Administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist job description example

   CONTRACT Receptionist(s), Administrative Assistant(s), and Executive Secretary positions. Fusco Personnel has been retained to recruit for contract Receptionist(s), Administrative Assistant(s), and Executive Secretary positions for the New York State Office of Mental Health. This is a full-time, long-term contract position located in Utica, NY! Apply today if you possess the following:

   • Data Entry/Word Processing skills
     • Basic, lower-level, clerical support
     • Data entry/retrieval
     • Document drafting and editing
     • Other clerical functions
   • Receptionists/Secretaries
     • Provide Administrative support to program areas
     • Clerical and Administrative functions
       • Drafting Correspondence
       • Scheduling Appointments
       • Organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files
       • Provide information to callers
       • Receiving visitors
       • Arranging conference calls

   Fusco Personnel takes great pride in successfully matching talent and culture for our valued clients. We accomplish this through the hard work and expertise of our exemplary specialty recruiters and staff.Whether you are contemplating your next career move, or you are seeking the key players to bring your business to the next level – consider contacting our experts.Fusco Personnel is a NYS Certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity, Race/Gender/Veterans/Disability Employer

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find administrative assistant/secretaries/receptionist 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 administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist job on Zippia to find and recruit administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist 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 administrative assistant/secretaries/receptionist, 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new administrative assistant/secretary/receptionist 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.)

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