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How to hire an Administrative Support

Administrative support hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring administrative supports in the United States:

  • There are a total of 1,076,955 administrative supports in the US, and there are currently 114,480 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire an administrative support is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per administrative support on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Columbus, OH, has the highest demand for administrative supports, with 27 job openings.

How to hire an administrative support, step by step

To hire an administrative support, consider the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Follow these steps to hire an administrative support:

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

What does an Administrative Support do?

Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.

Learn more about the specifics of what an administrative support does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you post your administrative support job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an administrative support for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

    Determine Employee vs Contractor Status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    An administrative support's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, administrative supports 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.

    This list presents administrative support salaries for various positions.

    Type Of Administrative SupportDescriptionHourly Rate
    Administrative SupportSecretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.$12-25
    Support ClerkA support clerk is primarily in charge of performing administrative support tasks in an office, making the daily workflow easier. Their responsibilities typically include preparing and processing documentation, answering and forwarding calls, handling correspondence, disseminating and organizing files, and running errands as needed... Show More$10-25
    SupportA support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department... Show More$11-25
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common Skills:
    • Customer Service
    • Administrative Tasks
    • Data Entry
    • Payroll
    • Phone Calls
    • Patients
    • PowerPoint
    • Excellent Organizational
    • Human Resources
    • Administrative Functions
    • Database Management
    • Word Processing
    • Provides Administrative Support
    • Math
    Check All Skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage company finances using QuickBooks software, including monitoring the operating budget and collecting on unpaid invoices.
    • Interview veterans to determine issues/concerns and recommend services.
    • Mail VA benefits correspondence to veterans and various organizations.
    • Prepare payroll packages for distribution and delivery, including collating and packing of documents.
    • Research and maintain reference library with ADAPCP in support of prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
    • Develop SharePoint training of project personal and create operating procedures, training documents and briefings.
    More Administrative Support duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the administrative support job description is a good way to get more applicants. An administrative support 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 support in Oklahoma may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level administrative support. Additionally, an administrative support with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average administrative support salary

    $37,692yearly

    $18.12 hourly rate

    Entry-level administrative support salary
    $26,000 yearly salary
    Updated May 18, 2025

    Average administrative support salary by state

    RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
    1District of Columbia$53,304$26
    2Massachusetts$49,353$24
    3California$49,036$24
    4Washington$47,064$23
    5Minnesota$45,935$22
    6New York$43,809$21
    7Arizona$43,065$21
    8Oregon$42,099$20
    9North Carolina$40,985$20
    10Virginia$39,661$19
    11Wisconsin$39,522$19
    12Montana$38,823$19
    13Texas$37,211$18
    14Colorado$37,096$18
    15Illinois$36,911$18
    16Missouri$35,468$17
    17Ohio$34,774$17
    18Tennessee$33,996$16
    19Florida$33,568$16
    20Georgia$27,308$13

    Average administrative support salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
    1Pacific Investment Management Company LLC$75,737$36.415
    2Barclays$75,667$36.381
    3Bradley University$68,119$32.756
    4Sandia National Labs$59,801$28.758
    5Emerson College$56,886$27.351
    6Johnson & Johnson$55,359$26.6110
    7Accenture$53,410$25.6812
    8NetApp$52,538$25.26
    9Applied Materials$52,304$25.156
    10Harvard University$50,497$24.281
    11The University of Chicago$49,784$23.9333
    12National Renewable Energy Laboratory$49,252$23.68
    13GCR$49,123$23.62
    14University of California$49,039$23.5823
    15Rockwell Automation$48,463$23.304
    16PROLIM$48,025$23.09
    17UC Merced$47,240$22.71
    18Realogy$47,224$22.70
    19Chubb$46,895$22.5511
    20HSBC Bank$46,742$22.472
  4. Writing an Administrative Support Job Description

    An administrative support 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. To help get you started, here's an example of an administrative support job description:

    Administrative Support job description example

    End Using Computing (EUC) Solutions Support Administrator - Dublin, Ireland
    Would you like to be part of the Global IT support team that helps our employees at Western Union stay at the forefront of technology and innovation? Do you have experience and talent for dealing with a wide range of people and solving different problems in an innovative way? Join Western Union as an EUC Solutions Support Administrator.

    Motivated by our values: purpose driven, globally minded, and trustworthy & respectful
    We're a FinTech that's using insight from customers and colleagues worldwide to improve financial services for families, small businesses, multinational corporations, and non-profit organizations. We're a team of over 8,000 people spanning 200 countries and territories. We believe when money moves, better things happen.

    Relentless pursuit of better
    We'll be looking to you to maintain our current IT systems as well as assist in designing, testing, and troubleshooting of hardware and software issues for computers and mobile devices. You'll be required to provide crucial end-user IT support including diagnosing and resolving technology problems. Further responsibilities include the installation and maintenance of Microsoft Windows and Apple operating systems-based hardware and software, video conferencing and printing solutions support for local office, and users working from home.

    We expect you to have a strong knowledge of Microsoft Operating systems and solid experience supporting Windows 10 in an enterprise environment. You'll have knowledge as well as experience with device management and software deployment tools (i.e., Tanium, SCCM), MDT, and various mobile devices enterprise support together with their management systems like MobileIron. Experience with Active Directory, remote support tools, printers and ticketing systems is needed. Understanding Mac OS in an enterprise environment would be an advantage.

    We hope you'll be a skilled problem solver, with a strong technology background. Ideally, you will also possess a basic understanding of supported business functions and have a significant and substantial amount of related IT experience. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent working experience is preferred.

    Join us, and let's connect the world
    Western Union is transforming its business and shaping the financial services sector by driving quality, convenience, and customer service to new levels of excellence. It's an exciting time for our organization, as the largest cross-border money transfer operator, trusted by millions of consumers around the world. If you're ready to unleash your potential to help drive change through bottom-up innovation, apply now.
    We're a company on the move, and we want our people to grow and develop. You'll have plenty of opportunities to learn new skills and build a career, as well as a great salary and benefits package.

    We are passionate about our diversity. Our commitment is to provide an inclusive culture that celebrates the unique backgrounds and perspectives of our global teams, while reflecting the communities we serve. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, political affiliation, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, marital status, or veteran (U.S.) status. The company will provide accommodation to applicants, including those with disabilities, during the recruitment process, in accordance with applicable laws.

    #LI-MS6
  5. Post your job

    To find administrative supports 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 supports they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level administrative supports 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 support job on Zippia to find and recruit administrative support candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit administrative supports, 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.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 support

    Once you've found the administrative support candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  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 support?

Before you start to hire administrative supports, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire administrative supports pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $37,692 per year for an administrative support, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for administrative supports in the US typically range between $12 and $25 an hour.

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