How to hire an associate creative director

How to hire an associate creative director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step associate creative director hiring guide:

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

What does an associate creative director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The associate creative director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An associate creative director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, associate creative directors 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 associate creative director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Associate Creative Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Associate Creative Director	Art directors are responsible for the visual style and images in magazines, newspapers, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They create the overall design of a project and direct others who develop artwork and layouts.	$41-108
   Designer/Art Director	An art director collaborates with the design and art staff for books, public relations firms, advertising agencies, or newspaper publishers. Art directors create designs and layouts that embody the organization and send the message they want the audience to get... Show more	$28-75
   Studio Director	A studio director is a multi-disciplined leader with a depth of experience and pragmatic skills. They are responsible for running the studio and work in a team.	$22-101

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Graphic Design
   • Digital Marketing
   • Creative Concepts
   • ACD
   • Art Direction
   • Creative Direction
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Creative Briefs
   • Creative Solutions
   • Fine Arts
   • Creative Strategy
   • Copywriting
   • Project Management
   • Integrated Marketing

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead and manage team of visual designers responsible for online creative and HTML.
   • Manage XD team members and oversee their work to create conceptual and detail deliverables.
   • Manage staff of senior copywriters, copywriters (including SEO writer), proofreaders, freelance writers and interns.
   • Lead and supervise creative teams and create award-winning advertising campaigns and programs that target physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
   • Develop global digital menu board design strategy, highlighting company's food quality story using proprietary food photography and animation.
   • Create marketing decks and client presentations using Powerpoint.

   More associate creative director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your associate creative director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An associate creative director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, associate creative directors' average salary in arkansas is 49% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level associate creative directors earn 62% less than senior-level associate creative directors.
   • Certifications. An associate creative director 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 associate creative director's salary.

   Average associate creative director salary

   $141,099yearly

   $67.84 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level associate creative director salary

   $87,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average associate creative director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$180,879	$87
   2	New York	$149,553	$72
   3	Oregon	$142,915	$69
   4	Washington	$137,425	$66
   5	Illinois	$134,447	$65
   6	New Jersey	$132,697	$64
   7	Louisiana	$130,147	$63
   8	Massachusetts	$128,908	$62
   9	North Carolina	$128,551	$62
   10	Georgia	$123,811	$60
   11	Florida	$122,609	$59
   12	Minnesota	$120,320	$58
   13	Michigan	$120,036	$58
   14	District of Columbia	$115,956	$56
   15	Texas	$109,636	$53
   16	Ohio	$108,113	$52
   17	Missouri	$102,797	$49
   18	Colorado	$101,312	$49
   19	Pennsylvania	$97,360	$47
   20	Tennessee	$97,160	$47

   Average associate creative director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	The Howard Hughes	$194,309	$93.42
   2	Apple	$185,421	$89.14	6
   3	Airtable	$180,946	$86.99
   4	The Walt Disney Company	$178,261	$85.70	23
   5	Walmart	$177,757	$85.46	12
   6	Citi	$177,105	$85.15	1
   7	FleishmanHillard	$176,306	$84.76	1
   8	The TJX Companies	$173,566	$83.45
   9	Amazon	$172,959	$83.15	34
   10	Adobe	$172,681	$83.02	1
   11	Shutterstock	$172,637	$83.00
   12	Fossil	$168,375	$80.95
   13	Wayfair	$167,846	$80.70	2
   14	Starbucks	$165,629	$79.63	4
   15	VICE	$164,243	$78.96
   16	Gap Inc.	$163,132	$78.43
   17	BuzzFeed	$163,031	$78.38
   18	Expedia Group	$162,635	$78.19
   19	One Workplace	$160,127	$76.98
   20	Clear Choice Health Care	$158,557	$76.23

4. Writing an associate creative director job description

   A job description for an associate creative director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an associate creative director job description:

   Associate creative director job description example

   Job DescriptionSalary:
   

   Gupta Media was founded 20 years ago on the idea that advertising could create huge leverage in our client's business. Our early work was focused on the entertainment industry, specifically live events (Boston Calling, among others) and recorded music (Sony Music, Universal Music & Disney are all clients). More recently, we have dramatically grown our work with big brands (Amazon, Fender) and cult/challenger brands (Island Creek Oysters, Walden Local). We have a global client base with a growing local roster across B2B and B2C brands across campaign, content and branding assignments.

   
   

   As an Associate Creative Director with our growing creative team, you’ll be working to conceptualize and craft bold and compelling campaigns that strategically drive connection and engagement across paid media channels, social platforms, and OOH. Our ideal candidate is skilled at creating engaging visual content that connects with social audiences with a deep native understanding of these platforms.

   
   

   Who you are:

   • Your portfolio showcases a strong design aesthetic with an extensive background in crafting campaigns that spans advertising across digital and social channels, video & motion, print, and OOH. Awarded work is a plus!
   • You have a related 4 year degree and 5+ years of agency experience;
   • You are able to clearly and confidently present work in front of both internal and external audiences, selling them on the idea;
   • You are collaborative and enjoy mentoring and inspiring junior team members to produce their very best work both conceptually and in execution through coaching and feedback;
   • You are a proactive learner with the passionate to keep up with ever-changing trends and drive innovative work in the marketplace.

   
   

   Said differently, you are a person who wakes up early with their hair on fire with the next great idea, loves the work and wants to be a part of the next great agency. To apply, please share your resume and portfolio.

   
   

   At Gupta Media, we work hard every day to be better at all that we do — and that includes fostering a diverse and inclusive community that encourages and respects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences and ideas. Gupta Media is an office-first (with flexibility) organization and we are excited to have our team working together again.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right associate creative director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with associate creative directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit associate creative directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your associate creative director job on Zippia to find and recruit associate creative director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting associate creative directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 associate creative director

   Once you've found the associate creative director 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.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new associate creative director. 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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