Research Summary. Here are some key points about hiring associates in the United States:
Hiring an associate comes with both the one-time cost per hire and ongoing costs. The cost of recruiting associates involves promoting the job and spending time conducting interviews. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider the cost of associate recruiting as well the ongoing costs of maintaining the new employee.
The median annual salary for associates is $69,556 in the US. However, the cost of associate hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring an associate for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $16 and $67 an hour.
To hire an associate, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a associate:
The first step to find associates for hire is determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.
Before you hire an associate, you should also consider the ideal background you'd like them to have. For example, what industry or field they have experience in, what level of seniority or education the job requires, and how much it'll cost to hire a candidate that fits the bill.
This list provides information on the salaries of different associate roles.
Type Of Associate | Description | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Associate | Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments. | $16-67 |
Before creating an associate job description, imagine the ideal employee for this position and begin creating a profile. What skills do they have and what responsibilities do they have to be proficient in?
Here are some of the most common associate skills:
Here is a list of common responsibilities that associates may be expected to fulfill:
Cultural fit is also an essential factor that you shouldn't overlook. Consider how your perfect associate will contribute to the team dynamic and help grow the team's culture in a positive way. If you can include a clear vision of this in your associate job description, it'll help attract candidates who are better suited for the position.
Rank # | State | # Of Jobs | % of Population | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pennsylvania | 14,508 | 113% | $57,790 |
2 | Illinois | 13,436 | 105% | $47,860 |
3 | North Carolina | 11,435 | 111% | $49,152 |
4 | New Jersey | 11,003 | 122% | $69,901 |
5 | Massachusetts | 10,945 | 160% | $73,855 |
Including a salary range in the job description is a good way to get more applicants. An associate salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, their level of experience, education and certifications, and the prestige of the employer. For example, the average salary for an associate in Wyoming may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level associate. Additionally, an associate with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | District of Columbia | $93,302 | $45 | 115 |
2 | New York | $90,902 | $44 | 446 |
3 | California | $82,294 | $40 | 2 |
4 | Connecticut | $75,612 | $36 | 5 |
5 | Massachusetts | $73,450 | $35 | 113 |
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | $267,834 | $128.77 | 2 |
2 | Reed Smith | $255,348 | $122.76 | |
3 | Latham & Watkins | $247,914 | $119.19 | 3 |
4 | Hughes Hubbard & Reed | $246,455 | $118.49 | |
5 | Sidley Austin | $246,445 | $118.48 | |
6 | Mayer Brown | $246,388 | $118.46 | |
7 | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | $244,531 | $117.56 | 18 |
8 | Fried Frank | $243,628 | $117.13 | |
9 | Kramer Levin | $243,449 | $117.04 | |
10 | Nixon Peabody | $242,958 | $116.81 | |
11 | Ropes & Gray | $242,592 | $116.63 | |
12 | K&L Gates | $242,368 | $116.52 | |
13 | Paul Hastings | $242,342 | $116.51 | |
14 | Boies Schiller Flexner | $241,241 | $115.98 | |
15 | Munger, Tolles & Olson | $240,546 | $115.65 | |
16 | Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | $240,234 | $115.50 | |
17 | Cooley | $239,709 | $115.24 | |
18 | Alston & Bird | $239,654 | $115.22 | |
19 | Kirkland & Ellis | $239,030 | $114.92 | |
20 | Skadden | $238,600 | $114.71 |
A good associate job description should include a few things:
To find associates for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
To find associate candidates, you can consider the following options:
Recruiting associates involves bringing your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they introduce 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.
Don't forget to include a few questions that give a candidate chance to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their special skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, candidates who are good enough 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.
Once you've found the associate 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, as well as the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer needs to be competitive if you really 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 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 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.