How to hire an administrative staff

How to hire an administrative staff, step by step

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

What does an administrative staff do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the administrative staff you need to hire. Certain administrative staff 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 staff 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 staff that fits the bill.

   This list presents administrative staff salaries for various positions.

   Type of Administrative Staff	Description	Hourly rate
   Administrative Staff	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$27-48
   Secretary	Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department... Show more	$12-24
   Department Secretary	A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes... Show more	$12-22

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Telephone Calls
   • Word Processing
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Payroll
   • Personnel Actions
   • Financial Reports
   • Front Desk
   • Administrative Functions
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Resource Management
   • Hard Copy
   • Purchase Orders
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Expense Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
   • Prepare PowerPoint presentations for management distribution.
   • Maintain payroll information by collect, calculate and enter data.
   • Prepare briefing slides and presentation material using PowerPoint and Visio.
   • Maintain accounting statements, databases, and other financial information such as payroll coding and budget preparation
   • Provide cloud base customer relationship management with Salesforce for optimization in coordination of the workforce development program and other community orient events

   More administrative staff duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your administrative staff job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An administrative staff can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, administrative staff' average salary in indiana is 36% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level administrative staff 43% less than senior-level administrative staff.
   • Certifications. An administrative staff with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an administrative staff's salary.

   Average administrative staff salary

   $77,101yearly

   $37.07 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level administrative staff salary

   $58,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average administrative staff salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$109,072	$52
   2	Washington	$90,229	$43
   3	Connecticut	$86,364	$42
   4	Massachusetts	$79,324	$38
   5	District of Columbia	$78,677	$38
   6	Arizona	$78,417	$38
   7	New York	$76,699	$37
   8	New Jersey	$75,733	$36
   9	Texas	$75,648	$36
   10	Colorado	$74,091	$36
   11	Maryland	$73,582	$35
   12	Virginia	$72,384	$35
   13	Florida	$72,192	$35
   14	Illinois	$72,050	$35
   15	Missouri	$71,642	$34
   16	North Carolina	$70,696	$34
   17	Minnesota	$70,328	$34
   18	Michigan	$68,903	$33
   19	Pennsylvania	$68,386	$33
   20	Ohio	$67,502	$32

   Average administrative staff salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	NVIDIA	$120,588	$57.98	1
   2	Twilio	$116,825	$56.17
   3	Bio-Rad Laboratories	$96,620	$46.45	1
   4	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$84,980	$40.86	8
   5	Thrivent	$83,013	$39.91	20
   6	Ascent Group	$82,329	$39.58
   7	Planned Systems International	$80,521	$38.71	2
   8	Live Nation Entertainment	$76,288	$36.68	13
   9	Regent Management Services Limited Partnership	$75,214	$36.16
   10	I.h.c.	$75,136	$36.12
   11	RGA Environmental, A Terracon Company	$75,088	$36.10	58
   12	Ernst & Young	$73,673	$35.42	143
   13	Witt O'Brien's	$72,292	$34.76
   14	Us Army Reserves	$71,946	$34.59
   15	Crowe	$71,328	$34.29	2
   16	Brite	$70,151	$33.73
   17	eHealth	$70,104	$33.70
   18	Honda	$69,547	$33.44	3
   19	IDP	$69,194	$33.27
   20	University of Kentucky	$62,155	$29.88	29

4. Writing an administrative staff job description

   An administrative staff 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 staff job description:

   Administrative staff job description example

   The dynamic administrative support team at Marcus & Millichap Palo Alto is seeking a new team member to join our innovative, collaborative team. We're seeking a personable, professional individual who will not only serve as a great first impression for our clients and visitors, but importantly, who desires a stable, professional office environment providing growth and challenge. Ideal candidates for this role are passionate about providing top customer service, always looking for ways to improve self and team, and making a difference in the office's overall success.
   
   The Administrative Assistant is a full-time, non-exempt (hourly), in-office position - not remote or work from home.
   
   We will train you in this pivotal position and support you as you grow. Commercial real estate is competitive and fast paced. Bring the mindset of “no job too big or small”.
   
   Some of the interesting things you'll be doing:Learning real estate transaction administrative support - we teach you how to use Marcus & Millichap's proprietary software which will help you assist our agents throughout the life cycle of their transactions Management of the front office where your great first impression counts both in office and over the phone - tasks range from reporting facilities issues to ensuring supplies are stocked to assembling sales meeting presentations and more Becoming a valuable team member working closely with and supporting your home office as well as team members across your geographic area with an interesting variety of tasks which often include software training, technology troubleshooting and special projects Once you're ready, typically a few months into the Administrative Assistant role, you'll go through a challenging program where we teach you how to train our applications and support new sales agents, staff and management (see Advancement Path below) You'll become the Palo Alto office's highly visible representative in firmwide tech launches and onsite tech support of our applications
   
   What you'll bring:Intermediate computer skills including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook*. Strong organizational, interpersonal and communication skills as well as proofreading and editing abilities Quick learner and you enjoy learning/working with software and technology Possess great soft skills; collaborative, proactive, and approachable and a strong desire to learn and grow Excellent attention to detail Reliable and punctual, take pride in owning your responsibilities and contributing to the team2+ years administrative experience desired and if you've trained others, that's a big plus but not required Some experience in Adobe Creative Suite is a plus but not required.*Candidates are tested for competency in software and office skills.Advancement Path:Administrative Assistants will enroll in Marcus & Millichap's Certified Agent Support Specialist program within the first few months of employment in this role. The Administrative Assistant will successfully complete the program and obtain the title of Certified Agent Support Specialist.
   
   Our mission is to help our clients create and preserve wealth by providing the best real estate investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services available.
   
   Founded in 1971, Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI) is a leading commercial real estate brokerage firm focusing exclusively on investment sales, financing, research, and advisory services, with nearly 2,000 investment sales and financing professionals in 80+ offices throughout the United States and Canada.
   
   Marcus & Millichap closes more transactions than any other real estate investment brokerage firm in the nation. In 2021, the firm closed 13,255 transactions with a sales volume of approximately $84.4 billion.
   
   The firm has perfected a powerful property marketing system that integrates broker specialization by property type and market area; the industry's most comprehensive investment research; a long-standing culture of information sharing; relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors; and state-of-the-art technology that matches buyers and sellers.
   Marcus & Millichap provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without discrimination with regard to race, religious belief (including dress or grooming practices), color, sex, sex stereotype, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (including breast feeding), age, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identification and expression, transgender status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics, genetic information, family care, marital status, enrollment in any public assistance program, status as military, a veteran or qualified disabled veteran, status as an unpaid intern or volunteer, or any other classification protected by law. We also prohibit discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. In addition to federal law requirements, Marcus & Millichap complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

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5. Post your job

   To find administrative staff for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any administrative staff they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level administrative staff with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your administrative staff job on Zippia to find and recruit administrative staff candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit administrative staff, 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.

   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 staff

   Once you've decided on a perfect administrative staff candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new administrative staff 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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How much does it cost to hire an administrative staff?