How to hire a career advisor

How to hire a career advisor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step career advisor hiring guide:

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

What does a career advisor do?

Post a career advisor job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a career advisor, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A career advisor's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, career advisors 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 career advisors.

   Type of Career Advisor	Description	Hourly rate
   Career Advisor	School counselors help students develop academic and social skills and succeed in school. Career counselors assist people with the process of making career decisions by helping them develop skills or choose a career or educational program.	$14-25
   Academic Coordinator	An academic coordinator is primarily in charge of spearheading and overseeing the development of curriculums in public and private learning institutions. They may also participate in the creation of effective teaching materials and programs in adherence to the educational standards... Show more	$16-34
   Student Coordinator	A student coordinator is responsible for supporting the school administration in running daily operations and disseminating necessary information across the institution. Student coordinators serve as a liaison between the student body and the school management to address inquiries and concerns and process requests... Show more	$13-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Career Development
   • Professional Development
   • Social Work
   • Career Services
   • Career Planning
   • Supportive Services
   • Management System
   • Career Exploration
   • Career Fairs
   • Community Resources
   • Mock Interviews
   • Employment Services
   • Financial Aid

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Develop and facilitate outplacement programs across healthcare, scientific research and higher education sectors.
   • Contract to provide MBTI workshops for corporations.
   • Identify personal abilities, individual strengths and transferable skills for government, private and non-profit sectors.
   • Perform system conversion from Quickbooks to Yardi accounting and property management software.

   More career advisor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your career advisor job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A career advisor salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a career advisor in Michigan may be lower than in California, and an entry-level career advisor usually earns less than a senior-level career advisor. Additionally, a career advisor with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average career advisor salary

   $40,067yearly

   $19.26 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level career advisor salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2026

   Average career advisor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$53,475	$26
   2	Massachusetts	$47,343	$23
   3	Washington	$42,022	$20
   4	Texas	$41,580	$20
   5	Alaska	$40,120	$19
   6	New York	$39,731	$19
   7	Florida	$38,557	$19
   8	Pennsylvania	$38,416	$18
   9	Colorado	$38,402	$18
   10	South Carolina	$38,355	$18
   11	Connecticut	$38,347	$18
   12	Iowa	$38,224	$18
   13	Tennessee	$38,164	$18
   14	Missouri	$38,070	$18
   15	Oregon	$36,398	$18
   16	North Carolina	$35,523	$17
   17	Ohio	$35,491	$17
   18	Utah	$33,794	$16
   19	Rhode Island	$33,139	$16
   20	Maine	$32,345	$16

   Average career advisor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Emerson College	$57,124	$27.46
   2	Ohlone College	$51,423	$24.72
   3	Cornell University	$50,401	$24.23	6
   4	Syracuse University	$50,322	$24.19	5
   5	University of California-Berkeley	$49,996	$24.04	2
   6	Binghamton University	$49,927	$24.00	4
   7	University of Colorado Boulder	$48,213	$23.18	6
   8	Research Foundation of The City University of New York	$48,117	$23.13
   9	COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND	$48,012	$23.08	3
   10	University of Southern California	$47,521	$22.85	16
   11	University of California	$47,417	$22.80	15
   12	UC Santa Barbara	$47,317	$22.75
   13	Harcum College	$46,983	$22.59
   14	University of Alaska	$46,858	$22.53	9
   15	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$46,820	$22.51	5
   16	University of Pennsylvania	$46,495	$22.35	5
   17	Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania	$46,289	$22.25
   18	Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute	$45,637	$21.94
   19	American University of the Caribbean	$45,595	$21.92
   20	Northern Essex Community College	$45,465	$21.86	5

4. Writing a career advisor job description

   A good career advisor job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a career advisor job description:

   Career advisor job description example

   Kaman Aerospace Jacksonville Early Career Program is designed to provide Leadership Development Candidates with the opportunity to develop leadership skills and learn key organizational processes across multiple business functions.
   
   The program lasts 18-24 months and consists of rotations through Operations, Supply Chain, and Program Management functions. In addition to spending time in each of these functions, the Leadership Development Candidate will gain exposure to each of the support functions. The support functions include Quality, EH&S, Human Resources, Contracts, Proposals, Business Development, Engineering and Finance.
   
   The successful completion of this experience will culminate in a full time position within one of the specified rotational functions. The goal is that this individual will be on an expedited track to assume a critical role leadership position within the chosen function.
   This program is scheduled to begin in January 2023.
   
   + Working alongside department management to learn key processes pertaining to KAJ Operations, Program Management and Supply Chain.
   
   + Acting as a contributor to daily activities on the assigned team - driving change and making a positive difference. Developing a thorough knowledge of manufacturing processes, program management systems and supply chain processes.
   
   + Learning systems and procedures within each department.
   
   + Observe and participate in key leadership activities while learning how to lead others directly and indirectly.
   
   + Becoming a student and practitioner of Lean and Continuous Improvement, which would include participating in and leading Kaizen activities, Continuous Improvement
   
   + Workshops and 5S activities.
   
   + Participating in departmental meetings and engaging in ongoing projects and initiatives within each department. Completing all required program phases within the timeframes allotted.
   
   + Completing all classroom and e-learning trainings as required.
   
   + Delivering a presentation (three total) to the Sr. Leadership Team at the conclusion of each phase.
   
   + Perform special projects and other duties, as assigned.
   
   + Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Business or similar degree program.
   
   + 1-3 years of experience including time as an intern or co-op preferred
   
   + Strong leadership skills and ability to communicate well with others.
   
   Job Posting Title: Early Career Rotational Candidate
   
   
   Name: Shift 1
   
   Street: Imeson Industrial Park

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right career advisor for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting career advisors 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 career advisor

   Once you've found the career advisor 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 career advisor 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a career advisor?