How to hire an administrative assistant/technical

How to hire an administrative assistant/technical, step by step

Here's a step-by-step administrative assistant/technical 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/technical job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new administrative assistant/technical
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an administrative assistant/technical do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the administrative assistant/technical you need to hire. Certain administrative assistant/technical 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

   An administrative assistant/technical's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, administrative assistant/technicals from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of administrative assistant/technicals and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Administrative Assistant/Technical	Description	Hourly rate
   Administrative Assistant/Technical	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$14-27
   Administrative Support	Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries... Show more	$12-25
   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:

   • Patients
   • Data Entry
   • PowerPoint
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Access Database
   • Purchase Orders
   • Payroll
   • Expense Reports
   • Provides Administrative Support
   • Office Equipment
   • Word Processing
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Financial Reports
   • Meeting Minutes

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
   • Perform numerous hardware/software installations, configuration/maintenance of windows OS systems and perpetual hardware.
   • Develop innovative PowerPoint presentation covers used by the cost engineers to market company services to clients.
   • Process patients upon arrival for schedule appointments, responsible for obtaining patients referral information and processing information into computer.
   • Implement a solution for staffing restructure that reduce overall salary expense while maintaining productivity for a rehabilitation inpatient nursing unit.
   • Schedule appointments to perform HUD require interviews making sure contractors/sub-contractors follow lead-safe rules and regulations.

   More administrative assistant/technical duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the administrative assistant/technical job description is a good way to get more applicants. An administrative assistant/technical salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an administrative assistant/technical in Montana may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level administrative assistant/technical. Additionally, an administrative assistant/technical with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average administrative assistant/technical salary

   $42,541yearly

   $20.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level administrative assistant/technical salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average administrative assistant/technical salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$59,216	$28
   2	Connecticut	$58,992	$28
   3	California	$55,550	$27
   4	Colorado	$51,764	$25
   5	Massachusetts	$47,851	$23
   6	New York	$43,259	$21
   7	Illinois	$40,449	$19
   8	Virginia	$39,430	$19
   9	Arizona	$39,199	$19
   10	Wisconsin	$39,008	$19
   11	Texas	$38,789	$19
   12	Iowa	$38,110	$18
   13	Michigan	$38,004	$18
   14	Delaware	$34,810	$17
   15	Kansas	$34,434	$17
   16	Montana	$33,155	$16
   17	North Carolina	$32,201	$15
   18	Florida	$30,791	$15
   19	Georgia	$27,769	$13

   Average administrative assistant/technical salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Plante & Moran PLLC.	$59,324	$28.52	5
   2	Long Beach City College	$50,857	$24.45
   3	Minnesota State Fair	$49,088	$23.60	24
   4	Technica	$48,590	$23.36
   5	PepsiCo	$48,284	$23.21	14
   6	Proviso Township Schools	$48,260	$23.20	5
   7	Emory University	$47,074	$22.63	11
   8	Sierra Nevada	$46,250	$22.24	7
   9	NBCUniversal	$45,594	$21.92	36
   10	Washington State University	$45,426	$21.84	3
   11	Lake County	$45,372	$21.81	5
   12	Belcan	$44,748	$21.51	3
   13	Stryker	$43,989	$21.15	5
   14	Babcock Power	$43,809	$21.06
   15	Navajo Technical College	$42,992	$20.67
   16	Abbott	$42,782	$20.57	25
   17	The University of Kansas Health System	$42,160	$20.27	13
   18	NCH Healthcare System	$42,090	$20.24	1
   19	ERG	$41,948	$20.17	3
   20	Randstad North America, Inc.	$41,693	$20.04	11

4. Writing an administrative assistant/technical job description

   An administrative assistant/technical job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of an administrative assistant/technical job description:

   Administrative assistant/technical job description example

   The role of the Technical Administrative Assistant is to support license operations for software, application services and products provided by the Health Research Team. Maintains records, compiles information, and takes appropriate action to ensure timely and efficient license acquisition and renewal.
   
   In addition to provisioning new licenses, the Technical Administrative Assistant is responsible for tracking all previous and current licenses and monitoring, communicating, and processing renewals.
   
   The Technical Administrative Assistant is expected to evaluate, maintain, and look for opportunities to improve license tracking processes, systems, and reporting mechanisms.
   
   Responsible for product licensing and fulfillment administration for the Health Steering Committee funded products.
   Complete the annual, bi-annual and monthly product release fulfillment to clients. Posting the product releases on Health Research SharePoint and the FTP server. Process transfer forms and license agreements as received ensuring the forms are accurately completed and documented. Maintain license log workbook, outstanding reports, and potential license renewals. Maintain the Salesforce site including data entry/administration and email communications. Assist with EFT Server maintenance and client setup. This will include adding product files, maintaining usernames/passwords, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Responsible for the annual posting of the license information on SharePoint which includes the license agreements, transfer forms, pricing for client handouts and other related licensing information. Assist with adhoc reports as needed utilizing the workbooks, EFT server and Salesforce (such as AMA reporting, user lists, license information, etc) Support internal clients with questions and assistance with documentation. Complete routine/non-routine, complex projects, assignments which may include drafting presentations, correspondence, contracts, or other confidential documents. Independently identify and initiate process improvement areas across departments or functions with limited direction. Review and edit operating practices and implement improvements where necessary Responsible for downloading the monthly, quarterly, and annual data files from various vendors.
   
   Desired Skills & Education
   
   College degree in a related field preferred, or equivalent practical experience Detail-oriented with strong organizational and follow up skills Demonstrated ability to work independently and within a collaborative team-oriented environment using sound judgment in decision-making Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion Demonstrated ability to establish and sustain relationships with both internal and external customers Strong computer skills (MS Office, especially Excel and SharePoint, product management-related applications, email, internet) Able to effectively navigate a fast-paced work environment, sometimes balancing multiple priorities and deadlines Strong verbal and written communications skills
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
   
   The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit administrative assistant/technicals, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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/technical

   Once you've selected the best administrative assistant/technical candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new administrative assistant/technical. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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