How to hire a career assistant

How to hire a career assistant, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The career assistant 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

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

   Here's a comparison of career assistant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Career Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Career Assistant	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$7-24
   Career Advisor	A career advisor inspects the clients' career uncertainties, concerns, and aspirations and guides them through the adjacent test completion, personality, and aptitude test completion. They review the clients' educational undertaking and personal undertakings and how their manifestation can affect their job choices... Show more	$14-25

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Career Services
   • Assistance Program
   • Mock Interviews
   • Alumni
   • Customer Service
   • Career Exploration
   • Financial Aid
   • Career Fairs
   • Front Desk
   • Career Development
   • Professional Development
   • PowerPoint
   • Veterans

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Interact with admissions tours, students, and alumni with a high caliber of customer service.
   • Assist veterans apply for VA educational benefits.
   • Administer workshop surveys and assist with Microsoft PowerPoint demonstrations.
   • Work with coordinator of center on educational and alumni placement.
   • Call non-member veterans, explain organization's mission and perform intake process, entering data in computer database.
   • Verify accuracy of data by combining data from various systems and compiling in spreadsheets, incorporate data into PowerPoint presentations.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your career assistant job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A career assistant can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, career assistants' average salary in georgia is 38% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level career assistants 69% less than senior-level career assistants.
   • Certifications. A career assistant with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a career assistant's salary.

   Average career assistant salary

   $13.99hourly

   $29,098 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level career assistant salary

   $16,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a career assistant job description

   A good career assistant 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 assistant job description:

   Career assistant job description example

   Join BAL as a college new graduate and be trained into a role with immense growth opportunities. You will participate in a 8-week paid training program to become well versed in procedures, visa types, and documentation requirements. Once training is complete, you will be placed as an Immigration Assistant responsible for working with attorneys and case managers in the preparation, filing, and monitoring of various immigration and law matters.
   This training class will start on October 24,2022.
   
   Responsibilities
   
   * Supports Paralegals, Senior Paralegals, and Attorney in email/phone communications.
   * Provides limited guidance to assignees regarding proprietary systems and case processing.
   * Develops understanding of client communication procedures and requirements.
   * Input client services rendered and sends to Accounting for processing.
   * Begins to learn procedures and documentation requirements for case types (simple and advanced); executes case processing tasks as assigned.
   * Processes basic corporate immigration cases.
   * Relays concerns and proactively escalates to the appropriate BAL team member(s).
   * Utilizes templates and prepared materials when completing documents for attorney review; begins learning BAL best practices.
   * Manages status of all filed applications and petitions and finalizes documents after attorney review.
   * Utilizes document and data management systems to prepare, monitor, and record all aspects of client casework as per BAL policy.
   * Learns how to prepare internal caseload reports for management.
   * Shares process flow (based on templates) with assignees.
   * Performs research to obtain information such as background on a company or industry, current wages, processing procedures, standard processing times, etc.
   * Initiates contact with government agencies to obtain necessary information; alerts Senior Paralegal and/or attorney regarding potential process delays/problems.
   
   Qualifications
   
   Skills and Abilities:
   
   * Superb organizational skills.
   * Ability to follow instructions and take actions independently.
   * Ability to manage cases and work within strict timelines.
   * Excellent English language skills, both verbal and written.
   * Ability to proofread and edit one's own work product.
   * General computer knowledge and typing skills, including word-processing, email, and forms software.
   * Professional, respectful attitude towards all coworkers.
   * Ability to receive and analyze information.
   * Ability to share information with office members.
   * Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
   * MS Office, Scan/Copy; learns to effectively utilize VB and Cobalt.
   
   Physical Requirements:
   
   * Able to maintain a sedentary position for up to 90% of the workday.
   * Able to type, grasp, grip, push and pull file drawers and doors.
   * Able to walk and climb stairs or use the elevator to coordinate with other departments.
   * Able to bend, stoop, kneel and/or stand to access files and documents.
   * Able to lift up to 25 lbs. of files and/or boxes.
   
   Education and Experience:
   
   * Bachelor's degree.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find career assistants for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit career assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 assistant

   Once you've selected the best career assistant candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new career assistant. 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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