How to hire a department secretary

How to hire a department secretary, step by step

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

What does a department secretary do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the department secretary you need to hire. Certain department secretary roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

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

   Type of Department Secretary	Description	Hourly rate
   Department Secretary	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-22
   Administrative Clerk	An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments... Show more	$12-19
   Administrative Support	Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Medical Terminology
   • Patient Care
   • Word Processing
   • Office Equipment
   • Payroll
   • Secretarial Support
   • Telephone Calls
   • PowerPoint
   • Provides Administrative Support
   • Meeting Minutes
   • Travel Arrangements

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
   • Volunteer for ISO auditor duties to ensure ISO procedures are followed for certification.
   • Perform payroll functions, including maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
   • Prepare materials for monthly board of directors meetings including PowerPoint presentations, agendas and minutes.
   • Complete all payroll documentation, enter all payroll documentation into computer program, and submit to payroll department.
   • Create PowerPoint presentations used for business development, organize files and develop spreadsheets, fax reports and scan documents.

   More department secretary duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $35,473yearly

   $17.05 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level department secretary salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average department secretary salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$44,796	$22
   2	Massachusetts	$43,195	$21
   3	New Jersey	$41,561	$20
   4	Florida	$40,213	$19
   5	Arizona	$39,941	$19
   6	Virginia	$39,144	$19
   7	New Hampshire	$38,479	$19
   8	Tennessee	$38,194	$18
   9	New York	$38,188	$18
   10	Colorado	$37,295	$18
   11	Texas	$36,930	$18
   12	Indiana	$36,390	$18
   13	Missouri	$36,349	$17
   14	Illinois	$36,297	$17
   15	Ohio	$35,861	$17
   16	Iowa	$33,368	$16
   17	Utah	$31,993	$15
   18	Montana	$30,579	$15
   19	Kansas	$30,348	$15
   20	Oklahoma	$29,622	$14

   Average department secretary salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$54,916	$26.40	23
   2	Mount Auburn Hospital	$49,644	$23.87
   3	Broward County Public Schools	$44,630	$21.46	20
   4	University of Mary Hardin-Baylor	$43,101	$20.72
   5	County of Riverside	$39,154	$18.82	4
   6	Health Alliance	$38,289	$18.41	17
   7	University of Pennsylvania	$37,847	$18.20	9
   8	New Brunswick Public Schools	$37,805	$18.18	5
   9	Community College System of New Hampshire	$37,583	$18.07
   10	California Baptist University	$36,592	$17.59	4
   11	Sutter Health	$35,795	$17.21	22
   12	Brigham Young University	$35,595	$17.11	6
   13	Milford Regional Medical Center	$35,266	$16.95
   14	Holy Name Medical Center	$35,109	$16.88
   15	Weld RE-4 School District	$34,828	$16.74
   16	Ball State University	$34,782	$16.72	1
   17	Chapters Health System	$34,487	$16.58	2
   18	St. Louis Community College	$34,466	$16.57
   19	Garnet Health	$34,219	$16.45	1
   20	Prime Healthcare	$34,118	$16.40	19

4. Writing a department secretary job description

   A department secretary job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a department secretary job description:

   Department secretary job description example

   Department Secretary
   
   Department: Physical Therapy - Moline
   
   Purpose: Provides secretarial and receptionist support for the Physical Rehabilitation Department. Performs a high level of independent technical and computer skills with judgment and initiative. Ensure maintenance of closed medical record and charge entry. Serves as first contact for information for patients, families and medical providers. Monitors patient accounts. Responsible for scheduling of multi-disciplinary therapy sessions. Coordinates and organizes office activates to ensure completion of all clerical and secretarial functions of Physical Rehabilitation Department.
   
   Report To: Manager, Rehabilitation Services
   
   Supervisory Responsibility: Guidance: The job requires the provision of occasional guidance and training to others. The job does not have formal or official supervisory responsibilities.
   
   Materials Responsibility: Very Limited. Work requires very limited responsibility for material resources. Examples of resources could include personal work materials, supplies or equipment, or very small amounts of cash. The employee has a very limited or indirect amount of control over these resources. Although human error might require the repair or replacement of materials, usually the cost of correcting these errors is minor. The variety and volume of resources is also very limited. Problems associated with material resources are very uncomplicated.
   
   Key Relationship: Co-workers/Health System Employees, General Public/Visitors/Volunteers, Physicians/Medical Office Staff, Students/Interns/Residents/Outside Instructors, Patients, Families, and Significant Others
   
   POSITION SPECIFICATION
   
   Education: High school graduation or equivalent
   
   Field Of Study:
   
   Special Training: Basic Life Support; Word processing with a minimum of 60 wpm; medical terminology, shorthand, or speedwriting
   
   Training Preferred: PBT (ASCP) or CMA certification
   
   Licensure/Registration:
   
   Experience: More than 1 year experience required.
   
   Interpersonal Skills: Interaction is with a variety of people. These may be fellow employees, customers, the public or others outside the organization. Communications are of limited difficulty. Interactions usually involve short, straightforward exchanges of information. The job requires a limited amount of interpersonal skills. Interactions are non-stressful encounters and dealing with uncomplicated problem situations.
   
   Working Conditions: There are little or no adverse environmental conditions to consider.
   
   Possible Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens: None
   
   Miscellaneous:

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find department secretaries 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 department secretary job on Zippia to find and recruit department secretary candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with department secretary candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 department secretary

   Once you've selected the best department secretary 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new department secretary. 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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How much does it cost to hire a department secretary?