How to hire a communications associate

How to hire a communications associate, step by step

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

What does a communications associate do?

Post a communications associate job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a communications associate, 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a communications associate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a communications associate that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of communications associates.

   Type of Communications Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Communications Associate	Public relations specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent. They design media releases to shape public perception of their organization and to increase awareness of its work and goals.	$13-31
   Publicist	Public Relations Supervisors are responsible for implementing the media and public relations strategy of an organization. Their duties include developing public relations campaigns, organize public relations events, assist in emergency response planning, updating documentation, monitoring media, improve management of press office, and manage media databases... Show more	$14-39
   Media Coordinator	A media coordinator acts as a communications professional in charge of developing and implementing target communications and advertising for various media platforms. Media coordinators plan, implement, and monitor the social media strategy of an organization... Show more	$16-30

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Patients
   • PowerPoint
   • Project Management
   • Press Releases
   • Facebook
   • Web Content
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Blog Posts
   • Event Planning
   • Photoshop
   • Twitter
   • Booking
   • Community Outreach

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage several internal communications SharePoint sites and survey tools.
   • Save $60K annually by administering digital asset management system and managing migration of externally-host system to internal SharePoint solution.
   • Co-developed regional, national and international trade show strategy including logistics, management, qualifying leads, communications and ROI tracking.
   • Establish and moderate a Facebook group for a youth sports league.
   • Maintain school's website, including writing/editing content, and official Facebook page.
   • Write and produce weekly HTML newsletters that are distribute to corporate and enterprise-wide audiences.

   More communications associate duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, communications associates' average salary in mississippi is 51% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level communications associates 56% less than senior-level communications associates.
   • Certifications. A communications associate 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 communications associate's salary.

   Average communications associate salary

   $44,477yearly

   $21.38 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level communications associate salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average communications associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$60,355	$29
   2	District of Columbia	$59,484	$29
   3	California	$59,006	$28
   4	Maryland	$57,720	$28
   5	New York	$55,115	$27
   6	Virginia	$54,091	$26
   7	Washington	$50,847	$24
   8	Massachusetts	$50,844	$24
   9	Michigan	$50,161	$24
   10	Delaware	$49,709	$24
   11	Pennsylvania	$48,817	$23
   12	Ohio	$45,766	$22
   13	Illinois	$43,169	$21
   14	Colorado	$41,853	$20
   15	Minnesota	$41,775	$20
   16	Wisconsin	$39,683	$19
   17	Arizona	$39,152	$19
   18	Indiana	$37,972	$18
   19	North Carolina	$37,296	$18
   20	Georgia	$35,127	$17

   Average communications associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$115,434	$55.50	4
   2	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$114,794	$55.19
   3	Google	$107,774	$51.81	16
   4	Goldman Sachs	$104,749	$50.36
   5	Eli Lilly and Company	$103,659	$49.84	1
   6	Ernst & Young	$93,479	$44.94
   7	Lazard	$91,298	$43.89
   8	Morgan Stanley	$90,222	$43.38	1
   9	BlackRock	$89,076	$42.83	3
   10	Bloomberg	$88,122	$42.37	5
   11	Dropbox	$87,465	$42.05
   12	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$86,331	$41.51	26
   13	Earthjustice	$82,593	$39.71	2
   14	ZS	$82,291	$39.56
   15	Raymond James Financial	$75,813	$36.45	4
   16	Anaplan	$74,089	$35.62
   17	Young & Rubicam	$69,357	$33.34
   18	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$69,071	$33.21	13
   19	Guidehouse	$68,476	$32.92	23
   20	Flatiron School	$68,148	$32.76

4. Writing a communications associate job description

   A good communications 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 communications associate job description:

   Communications associate job description example

   Does the thought of associating with the best and brightest in the technical and creative world get your heart pumping? Do you look for ways to process improvement? Are you always thinking of a more innovative or tech-savvy approach? If you've answered yes to these questions, let's chat!
   
   Marketing is everywhere: it offers diverse opportunities and its cutting edge is being redefined every day. Effective marketing is critical in large corporations, small companies, and for-profit and nonprofit organizations. In a world of fast-paced media that ranges from TV to Twitter, the demand for outstanding marketing professionals has never been stronger.
   
   Arena Management's principles make us powerful and one of the leading marketing firms in our industry. These values include community, vision, and hard work.
   
   Community: Our team members and our customers are apart of our family; the community our team has built is continuously supported and honored.
   
   Vision: To sustain focus on a vision, one must be willing and able to innovate. Our team’s vision stays clear and our innovative culture is embraced by our top management and flows through the organization effortlessly.
   
   Hard work: Hard-work, grit, relentlessness; these are merely just a few characteristics of the team here.
   Responsibilities: Support in developing client presentations Help and attend client-facing roles and/or visit job sites as needed Assist in the development and execution of proposals, as needed Format documents, spreadsheets, and presentations as requested Participate in the development and execution of a marketing campaign Reliable Transportation to the office and client meetings required Interested applicants must submit a resume with salary requirements & available start-date! Powered by JazzHR AD3EBm6Apl

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right communications associate 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 communications associate job on Zippia to find and recruit communications associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit communications 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.

   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 communications associate

   Once you've decided on a perfect communications associate candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your 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.

   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 communications associate?