How to hire a department assistant

How to hire a department assistant, step by step

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

What does a department assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a department assistant, 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 department assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, department 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of department assistants.

   Type of Department Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Department Assistant	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$11-32
   Transit Department Clerk	It's the job of a Transit Department Clerk to process and verify all shipment documents that are both inbound and outbound. Your primary job will be to perform a ton of clerical duties in a transportation environment/organization... Show more	$12-21
   Department Secretary	A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes... Show more	$12-22

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Word Processing
   • Purchase Orders
   • Payroll
   • Patient Care
   • PowerPoint
   • Provides Administrative Support
   • Financial Reports
   • Clerical Support
   • Office Equipment
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Front Desk

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and develop the daily clinical schedule for the in-patient rehabilitation staff taking into consideration Medicare guidelines and staffing ratios.
   • Team player/adaptable HIPPA compliant, CPR certify.
   • Maintain and process Kronos time and attendance records for department employees.
   • Perform CPR and assist in critical care room with traumas and arrests.
   • Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners.
   • Prepare and submit time to Kronos system biweekly and Lawson swift maker schedule for staff.

   More department assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your department assistant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A department assistant 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 department assistant in Kansas may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level department assistant usually earns less than a senior-level department assistant. Additionally, a department assistant 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 department assistant salary

   $40,698yearly

   $19.57 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level department assistant salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average department assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$75,745	$36
   2	District of Columbia	$74,264	$36
   3	Connecticut	$72,125	$35
   4	New Hampshire	$66,279	$32
   5	Maryland	$65,809	$32
   6	Virginia	$64,826	$31
   7	Ohio	$55,465	$27
   8	Illinois	$53,900	$26
   9	Maine	$53,698	$26
   10	Tennessee	$46,913	$23
   11	California	$45,461	$22
   12	Iowa	$44,816	$22
   13	Washington	$44,550	$21
   14	Georgia	$41,257	$20
   15	Texas	$40,864	$20
   16	Nebraska	$40,659	$20
   17	Colorado	$39,986	$19
   18	Alabama	$39,789	$19
   19	Missouri	$39,480	$19
   20	Nevada	$37,730	$18

   Average department assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Dorsey & Whitney	$97,538	$46.89
   2	Rowan University	$75,438	$36.27	5
   3	Burns & McDonnell	$70,750	$34.01	14
   4	General Atomics	$63,089	$30.33	7
   5	University of Houston-Clear Lake	$60,081	$28.89	3
   6	California Polytechnic State University	$58,021	$27.89
   7	Loudoun Water	$56,172	$27.01
   8	City of Baltimore	$53,388	$25.67	7
   9	New York University	$52,315	$25.15	9
   10	Kean University	$49,790	$23.94	1
   11	City of Huntington, WV	$49,709	$23.90	1
   12	University of California-Berkeley	$49,545	$23.82	1
   13	The George Washington University	$47,947	$23.05	2
   14	VIVA USA	$47,688	$22.93
   15	Cornell University	$46,361	$22.29	28
   16	The Navigators	$45,791	$22.01	3
   17	UMass Memorial Health	$45,727	$21.98	13
   18	California Institute of Technology	$45,272	$21.77	3
   19	The University of Chicago	$45,141	$21.70	18
   20	Univ Of Colorado-Colorado Spgs	$44,542	$21.41

4. Writing a department assistant job description

   A job description for a department assistant 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 department assistant job description:

   Department assistant job description example

   Department Assistant - Oncology 2 - Days - (2200036M) Description Facility Profile
   
   TGH is the area's only level I trauma center and one of just two ABA-verified adult & pediatric burn centers in Florida. With five medical helicopters*, we transport critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. The hospital is home to one of the busiest solid organ transplant centers in the country. TGH is a nationally designated comprehensive stroke center, and has a 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit. Other outstanding centers include cardiovascular, orthopedics, high-risk and normal obstetrics, urology, ENT, endocrinology, and the Children's Medical Center, which features a nine-bed pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric kidney transplant services. As the region's leading safety net hospital, Tampa General is committed to providing area residents with world-class and compassionate health care ranging from the simplest to the most complex medical services.
   
   Tampa General Hospital was named the #1 hospital in Tampa Bay by U.S. News & World Report, 2020-2021, and recognized as one of America's Best Hospital's in five medical specialties: Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Diabetes & Endocrinology, Gastroenterology & GI Surgery, Nephrology, and Orthopedics. Tampa General Hospital has been designated a Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest recognition for nursing excellence, for the fourth consecutive time - an accomplishment that fewer than one percent of hospitals nationwide have earned. TGH is accredited by The Joint Commission and was awarded disease-specific certification in five medical specialties. TGH is also accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). *Air transport provided by Metro Aviation, Inc.
   
   Department Profile
   
   The Medical-Surgical/Telemetry Units include: complex medicine, joint replacement, orthopedics, observation, neuroscience, oncology, primary care, specialty surgery, nursing rehab units, acute care for the elderly (ACE), cardiac telemetry, cardiovascular telemetry, vascular, trauma, short stay and dialysis units. These units value the art and science of nursing and offer a high level of interaction with patients and families.
   
   Job Summary
   
   Reports to Manager, or assigned to department. Provides administrative support to Hospital departments. Exercises independent judgment; however, works under general supervision. Responsible for providing secretarial and basic administrative support services such as receiving visitors, answers phone calls, providing customer service with inquiries, scheduling meetings, and maintaining supervisor's calendar, prepares correspondence, tracks spreadsheets, may assist with payroll, and creates presentations, and conducts special projects, as assigned. May handle sensitive information and is expected to maintain confidentiality at all times. Responsible for performing job duties in accordance with the mission, vision and values of Tampa General Healthcare.
   
   Qualifications Qualifications
   High school graduate or GED. Two years clerical or administrative support experience and proficiency in the use of MS Office, Word and Excel software. Will be supporting the needs of up to three managers.
   Primary Location: TampaWork Locations: TGH Main Campus 1 Tampa General Circle Tampa 33606Job: Nursing (Technical/Clerical) Organization: TGH - HospitalSchedule: Full-time Scheduled Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, FridayShift: Day JobJob Posting: Oct 7, 2022, 8:46:04 PM

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find department assistants 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 department assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level department assistants 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 department assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit department assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit department assistants, 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 department assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect department assistant 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.)

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How much does it cost to hire a department assistant?