How to hire a business development associate

How to hire a business development associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business development associate hiring guide:

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

What does a business development associate do?

Post a business development associate job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your business development associate 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 a business development associate 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?

   Yes

   No

   A business development associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, business development associates 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 shows salaries for various types of business development associates.

   Type of Business Development Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Development Associate		$18-50
   Business Advisor	Business Advisors are consultants responsible for implementing business strategies to improve financial and operational efficiency. They are involved in preparing financial budgets, recommending a change in the operational process, identifying new business opportunities, evaluating a marketing strategy, and reviewing supplier and labor contracts... Show more	$32-66
   Vice President, Business Development	A vice president of business development is a professional who leads in the execution of business plans and provides new business strategies for an organization. Vice presidents of business development closely work with a team of salespeople, management, and lower-level employees to secure contracts with new customers and manage ongoing agreements... Show more	$50-125

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • PowerPoint
   • Project Management
   • Market Research
   • Lead Generation
   • Sales Process
   • Account Management
   • Client Relationships
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Phone Calls
   • Cold Calls
   • Excellent Time Management
   • Client Facing

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage RFP process including search and qualification of requests and coordinate fulfillment.
   • Manage logistics, control engineering and design, order placement, vendor relationships, customer utilization and technology.
   • Enhance company social media platforms by updating all product information across Facebook and LinkedIn.
   • Utilize LinkedIn as necessary for any recruiting initiatives or research that is needed.
   • Bid on large agency's request for proposals (RFP), by developing, writing and coordinating a technical response.
   • Maintain client/prospect information within billing and CRM database.

   More business development associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the business development associate job description is a good way to get more applicants. A business development associate 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 a business development associate in Alaska may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level business development associate. Additionally, a business development associate with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average business development associate salary

   $65,126yearly

   $31.31 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business development associate salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 24, 2025

   Average business development associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$83,207	$40
   2	Oregon	$82,570	$40
   3	Washington	$80,575	$39
   4	California	$80,334	$39
   5	Massachusetts	$74,306	$36
   6	New York	$73,735	$35
   7	New Jersey	$71,307	$34
   8	Utah	$67,526	$32
   9	Maryland	$67,083	$32
   10	Virginia	$64,652	$31
   11	Arizona	$64,105	$31
   12	Pennsylvania	$64,071	$31
   13	North Carolina	$62,668	$30
   14	District of Columbia	$61,058	$29
   15	Iowa	$60,130	$29
   16	Ohio	$59,922	$29
   17	Colorado	$58,892	$28
   18	Missouri	$58,607	$28
   19	Illinois	$58,073	$28
   20	North Dakota	$57,544	$28

   Average business development associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Kirkland & Ellis	$141,073	$67.82	5
   2	Two Sigma	$125,379	$60.28
   3	Arrowstreet Capital	$121,587	$58.46
   4	PitchBook Data	$120,517	$57.94	1
   5	Google	$120,501	$57.93	33
   6	WorldQuant	$116,999	$56.25
   7	ZERO POINT ZERO	$116,524	$56.02
   8	Invesco	$115,884	$55.71
   9	AQR Capital Management	$115,182	$55.38	3
   10	Goldman Sachs	$109,092	$52.45	18
   11	Envestnet	$108,492	$52.16	1
   12	Royal Bank of Canada	$108,439	$52.13	8
   13	Moody's	$108,280	$52.06	4
   14	BlackRock	$108,096	$51.97	11
   15	HSBC Bank	$107,459	$51.66
   16	Mesirow	$107,344	$51.61
   17	Endemol Shine North America	$107,055	$51.47
   18	Cisco	$107,046	$51.46	216
   19	Blackstone Group	$106,006	$50.96
   20	The Daily Muse	$104,728	$50.35

4. Writing a business development associate job description

   A job description for a business development associate 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 a business development associate job description:

   Business development associate job description example

   Tippett Moorhead & Haden , an Alera Group Company is seeking a Business Development Associate position to join their Wealth Management team.
   
   Alera Group is an independent, national insurance and financial services firm created through the merger of like-minded, high-performing, entrepreneurial firms across the United States. We provide the best of both worlds: national scope and world-class local service.
   
   We have grown tremendously over the past few years and our future looks even brighter. Business Insurance named us the 2 nd fastest growing brokers, with a 76% growth rate . We've lost count of how many of our member firms have earned Best Places to Work honors in their local markets!
   
   Due to our exceptional growth, we're on the hunt for a Business Development Superstar to add to our world-class sales team! We are looking for a best-of-the-best business development professional to help accelerate our growth.
   
   If you:
   
   Have a ‘Hunter' mentality
   Are extremely competitive
   Know how to persevere through a long B2B sales process
   Have experience working within a team environment
   Want a generous, progressive, and uncapped compensation plan with a lucrative life-long career
   
   Alera Group is where you want to be! Responsibilities Utilize multiple prospecting strategies to identify prospects and consistently set appointments with qualified potential clients. Identify and develop relationships directly with key decision-makers. Work closely with Senior Producers. Build your knowledge and understanding of the insurance industry, learn how to effectively convert a prospect into a long-term client, and build your book of business. Deliver consistent new meeting activity that meets and exceeds quarterly targets. Leverage existing relationships via referrals to generate new prospect opportunities. Maintain excellent activity records in CRM that produce accurate reports and forecasts each month. Assist the Senior Producer in ongoing and renewal client meetings. Eventually manage your book of business and lead ongoing client meetings, while still driving new business. Qualifications Bachelor's degree, preferred. Proven B2B sales and/or business development experience preferred. Competitiveness and self-drive required. Experience selling to functional leadership in Finance, Human Resources Operations, or within the C-Suite preferred. Ability to identify the highest-potential target markets. Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and CRM systems; preferably Salesforce Equal Opportunity Employment We're an equal opportunity employer . All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. If you're a California resident, please read the California Consumer Privacy Act prior to applying. #pando IQ

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find business development associates 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 business development associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level business development associates 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 business development associate job on Zippia to find and recruit business development associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with business development associate candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 business development associate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the business development associate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a business development associate?