How to hire a career center director

How to hire a career center director, step by step

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

Post a career center director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your career center director 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 career center director 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

   Hiring the perfect career center director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of career center directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Career Center Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Career Center Director	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.	$13-42
   Job Coach	A job coach is responsible for evaluating people's skills and qualifications, advising them with career paths, helping with their aspirations, and promote employment opportunities. Job coaches help the clients build self-confidence and explore their maximum potentials to develop their professional growth... Show more	$14-21
   Admissions Advisor	The admissions advisor's work involves meeting with potential students and organizing recruitment events in the admissions offices of colleges and universities. Their tasks also include informing students and families about the application process, requirements for admission, financial aid, and enrollment steps... Show more	$12-50

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Support Services
   • Professional Development
   • Career Services
   • Open Positions
   • Career Fairs
   • Career Exploration
   • Employment Trends
   • VUE
   • Employment Reports
   • Student Participation
   • Local Businesses
   • Data Entry
   • Placement Rate

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Counsele law students and alumni regarding legal and alternate career opportunities and job search strategy including resume and cover letter preparation.
   • Conduct instructional/informational PowerPoint presentations to prepare and train graduates for employment.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, career center directors' average salary in maine is 61% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level career center directors 69% less than senior-level career center directors.
   • Certifications. A career center director 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 center director's salary.

   Average career center director salary

   $50,201yearly

   $24.14 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level career center director salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

4. Writing a career center director job description

   A job description for a career center 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 a career center director job description:

   Career center director job description example

   Our House empowers homeless and near-homeless families and individuals to succeed in the workforce, in school, and in life through hard work, wise decision-making, and active participation in the community. Founded in 1987, Our House is a comprehensive program equipping over 1,700 clients annually with the skills to be successful in the workforce, the community, and their own families. Operating on a 7-acre campus in central Little Rock, Our House provides shelter, housing, job training, education, children's programs, re-entry services, case management, and more. As the Career Center VISTA, you will build sustainable programming to empower our adult clients to succeed in their goals in the workplace, in school, and in life. Plan events, cultivate partners, manage volunteers, track data, and evaluate programs. Build and support programming around the four pillars of the Career Center: Employment and Training, Health and Wellness, Education, and Financial Empowerment. You will align programming to best practices and standards while also ensuring program sustainability through cultivating, training, and sustaining long-term volunteer or partner engagement and meaningful client empowerment. You will coordinate all volunteers, design educational materials, and assist with data collection, data quality, and reporting. You will also lead planning for Health and Wellness Day as well as Be Your Child's Best Advocate series. Your service will empower our adult clients to gain skills necessary to succeed at their goals in the workplace, in school, and in life for themselves and their families. Further help on this page can be found by clicking here.
   
   Member Duties : Our House empowers homeless and near homeless individuals and families to succeed in the workforce, in school, and in life through hard work, wise decision-making, and active participation in the community. The Career Center VISTA will fight poverty by increasing resources for homeless and near-homeless adults to establish and maintain meaningful careers which will provide sustainable income to lift themselves out of poverty so that individuals can succeed in the workforce and in life. This VISTA member will develop systems to increase client attainment of education and workforce-related goals and build relationships with community partners who support the Our House mission.
   
   Program Benefits : Health Coverage* , Choice of Education Award or End of Service Stipend , Childcare assistance if eligible , Living Allowance , Education award upon successful completion of service , Relocation Allowance , Training .
   Terms :
   
   Permits working at another job during off hours , Car recommended , Permits attendance at school during off hours .
   
   Service Areas :
   
   Homelessness , Community Outreach , Community and Economic Development .
   
   Skills :
   
   Community Organization , General Skills , Leadership , Team Work , Conflict Resolution , Communications .

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find career center directors 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 career center directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level career center directors 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 career center director job on Zippia to find and recruit career center director 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 center directors, 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.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 center director

   Once you have selected a candidate for the career center director 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.

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

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a career center director?