How to hire a client associate

How to hire a client associate, step by step

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

What does a client associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your client 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 client 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 client associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, client 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 client associates.

   Type of Client Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Client Associate	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$13-35
   Client Liaison	Client Liaisons support client service representatives in matters related to clients. They plan and make a schedule for the monthly meetings with their clients... Show more	$11-32
   Client Advisor	A client advisor is responsible for managing and maintaining healthy business relationships with clients to achieve long-term business goals and objectives. Client advisors advise the senior management in building strategic techniques and identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profits... Show more	$19-59

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Client Service
   • Wealth Management
   • Sales Support
   • Investment Products
   • Customer Service
   • Branch Management
   • PowerPoint
   • Client Facing
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Research Reports
   • Securities
   • Telephone Calls
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Client Accounts

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage business development of electronic trading services for cash equities.
   • Process payroll and payroll taxes, generate financial statements, compute taxes owe and file corporate tax returns
   • Enter client trade orders, respond to client inquiries, research questions, troubleshoot problems, and maintain accurate client records.
   • Coordinate the conversion of data base from mainframe to windows base application
   • Establish advanced CRM skills that can be used through any interactions with clients.
   • Greet high profile clients, and act a liason between them and their attorney.

   More client associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your client associate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A client associate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, client associates' average salary in wyoming is 53% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level client associates earn 62% less than senior-level client associates.
   • Certifications. A client associate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a client associate's salary.

   Average client associate salary

   $45,992yearly

   $22.11 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level client associate salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average client associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$77,908	$37
   2	Massachusetts	$72,400	$35
   3	District of Columbia	$71,118	$34
   4	Maine	$60,933	$29
   5	Rhode Island	$60,197	$29
   6	Pennsylvania	$57,905	$28
   7	Illinois	$56,432	$27
   8	Ohio	$56,098	$27
   9	California	$55,016	$26
   10	Georgia	$54,133	$26
   11	Michigan	$52,930	$25
   12	Missouri	$52,788	$25
   13	Indiana	$49,856	$24
   14	Oregon	$49,619	$24
   15	Wisconsin	$49,453	$24
   16	North Carolina	$48,949	$24
   17	Florida	$48,818	$23
   18	Nebraska	$48,334	$23
   19	Washington	$47,947	$23
   20	Texas	$47,185	$23

   Average client associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Arrowstreet Capital	$107,628	$51.74
   2	Ernst & Young	$104,547	$50.26	328
   3	SEI Investments	$103,696	$49.85	4
   4	Goldman Sachs	$98,161	$47.19	4
   5	Silicon Valley Bank	$97,387	$46.82
   6	Barclays	$93,607	$45.00
   7	GLG	$93,469	$44.94	2
   8	Northern Trust	$92,627	$44.53	9
   9	Credit Suisse	$92,219	$44.34
   10	DTCC	$91,514	$44.00	4
   11	BlackRock	$88,720	$42.65	23
   12	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$86,901	$41.78	10
   13	State Street	$85,771	$41.24	17
   14	HarbourVest	$84,730	$40.74
   15	Balyasny Asset Management L.P.	$83,414	$40.10
   16	Citi	$79,847	$38.39	17
   17	Weber Shandwick	$78,048	$37.52	6
   18	Neuberger Berman	$78,017	$37.51	12
   19	Raymond James Financial	$76,968	$37.00	139
   20	Deutsche Bank	$75,538	$36.32	8

4. Writing a client associate job description

   A good client associate 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 client associate job description:

   Client associate job description example

   Responsibilities
   • Process EDI (electronic) orders submitted by the customer and work with our EDI support to team address any issues preventing orders from being received.
   • Print manual POs sent by customers via email or fax, confirm receipt with the customer and manually enter each line ensuring accuracy with product, quantity and price. For controlled product POs, review the 222 form that is required in order to ship controlled substances, to ensure all required licenses and documentation are accounted for.
   • Review orders to determine what lines can be processed as is, and what lines need to be held for review by order monitoring. Upon review, either run the line, edit the line, or cancel the line by setting it to the appropriate Lost Sales category within SAP. Notify the customer of any changes to their order.
   • Relay requests for invoice by the customer to the Finance team and respond accordingly
   • Address customer packing slip requests by pulling up the slip in SAP, printing, scanning and emailing back to the customer
   • All manual POs, once processed, need to be scanned and filed in the Sales drive, and the physical document filed in the appropriate file cabinet by date
   • Run the open order report in SAP by customer on a weekly basis, export it to excel, format it according to customer requirements and email every Friday
   • Upon request of new customer or new ship to for an existing customer, create the new account in SAP, ATTP and Compliance Risk system based on the information provided by the customer as well as confirming valid licensing is received prior to creation
   • Update customer master records in SAP upon request by either the customer, the account rep or the Finance department
   • Work with Clients within the ATTP system to verify serialization codes for verifying saleable returns.
   • Respond to all documentation requests from Audit
   • Add to and update the Client Relations Manual, the manual used for all directions and processes within Client Relations, as needed for training and reference
   • Request updated, valid state and DEA licenses from customers and enter the required information into SAP to allow for efficient order processing
   
   Skills
   • Must have strong organizational skills as well as attention to detail
   • Must be able to multi-task effectively
   • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, strong skill set specifically in Excel
   • Must have strong time management skills
   • Possess a high level of comfort interacting with a variety of people at different levels and in different departments within the organization
   
   Experience
   • Bachelor's degree required or 2-4 years related job experience minimum

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right client associate for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with client associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit client associates who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit client associates, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 client associate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the client 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new client associate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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.)

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