How to hire a digital media designer

How to hire a digital media designer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step digital media designer hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a digital media designer job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new digital media designer
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a digital media designer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The digital media designer hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A digital media designer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, digital media designers 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 presents digital media designer salaries for various positions.

   Type of Digital Media Designer	Description	Hourly rate
   Digital Media Designer	Graphic designers create visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. They develop the overall layout and production design for various applications such as advertisements, brochures, magazines, and corporate reports.	$19-36
   Graphic Designer, Marketing	A graphic designer of marketing specializes in developing creative imagery as part of a company's marketing efforts. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating with the marketing team to share insights and strategies, conceptualizing designs in adherence to objectives and deadlines, and preparing presentations... Show more	$16-33
   Lead Graphic Designer	A lead graphic designer is responsible for creating, designing, and updating the company's visual aspects. The lead graphic designer works closely with the branding department alongside the advertising and marketing team... Show more	$21-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Graphic Design
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Client Websites
   • HTML
   • CSS
   • Video Production
   • Animation
   • Motion Graphics
   • WordPress
   • Photography
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Multimedia
   • Visualization

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Design logos, graphics, software user interfaces, LMS templates, and manage the multi media asset library.
   • Manage data migrations and SharePoint integration for corporate Intranet with external consultants.
   • Develop the website using HTML and CSS.
   • Develop email marketing campaigns implementing HTML and CSS, adhering to email program parameters, i.e.
   • Establish corporate identity package and produce press-ready marketing collateral, including brochures, presentation folders, sales packets and direct mail.
   • Conduct advanced filmmaking class for young adult Saudi women and instruct theory and production of narrative and documentary films.

   More digital media designer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, digital media designers' average salary in south dakota is 51% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level digital media designers 46% less than senior-level digital media designers.
   • Certifications. A digital media designer 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 digital media designer's salary.

   Average digital media designer salary

   $56,476yearly

   $27.15 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level digital media designer salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average digital media designer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$73,910	$36
   2	California	$71,202	$34
   3	Maryland	$69,420	$33
   4	Massachusetts	$64,633	$31
   5	New York	$63,880	$31
   6	Pennsylvania	$56,354	$27
   7	Arizona	$54,864	$26
   8	Michigan	$52,171	$25
   9	Minnesota	$51,728	$25
   10	Texas	$51,175	$25
   11	Florida	$50,641	$24
   12	Georgia	$49,043	$24
   13	Indiana	$47,578	$23
   14	Puerto Rico	$44,848	$22

   Average digital media designer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	FNB	$71,414	$34.33
   2	ARA	$62,991	$30.28
   3	Global Health Strategies	$62,043	$29.83
   4	VIVA USA	$61,812	$29.72
   5	Highspot	$59,937	$28.82
   6	Parker Global Strategies	$59,426	$28.57	8
   7	Invenshure	$58,980	$28.36
   8	Endeavor	$58,612	$28.18
   9	The University of Texas at El Paso	$57,303	$27.55	1
   10	Corporate Office Properties Trust	$54,350	$26.13	2
   11	Cox Automotive	$50,906	$24.47
   12	University of Michigan	$48,587	$23.36	5
   13	Florida Gulf Coast University	$45,282	$21.77	3

4. Writing a digital media designer job description

   A digital media designer 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 digital media designer job description:

   Digital media designer job description example

   The Organization: Endeavor is the leading global community of, by, and for High-Impact Entrepreneurs - those who dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward. Driven by our belief that High-Impact Entrepreneurs transform economies, Endeavor is on a mission to build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging and underserved markets around the world.
   
   Endeavor creates a Multiplier Effect by inspiring high-growth founders to dream bigger, supporting and investing in them to scale faster, and providing a platform pay it forward - thereby compounding their individual impact.
   
   To sustain Endeavor's long-term operations in a mission-aligned way, Endeavor created Endeavor Catalyst - a rules-based, co-investment fund, set up to invest in the same High-Impact Entrepreneurs that Endeavor supports. Today. Endeavor Catalyst is among the world's top early-stage funders of startups-turned $1B+ companies (“Unicorns”) outside of the U.S. and China.
   
   The Position: The Digital Media Designer is an experienced professional with 4+ years of experience, interested in or passionate about the world of innovation and entrepreneurialism. In this position, you will be responsible for bringing our vibrant brand to life through multimedia artifacts - be it short animations, infographics, instagram posts, or playbooks. From ideation to execution, you will create assets to support our global content initiatives - for both online and offline channels.
   
   For this, your challenge will be to translate data, narratives, and institutional communications into visual stories, creative concepts and educational content - coming to life through using audio, video, and graphic design.
   
   Your creative work will serve as a global reference, inspiring and being used by all of our 40+ offices worldwide. One day, you'll turn our entrepreneur stories into snckable Instagram posts. The next, you'll bring our brand manifesto to life through a vibrant animation. Another day, you'll turn educational content into inspiring infographics. Yet, on another day, you'll develop playbook templates to be shared with our 40+ offices.
   
   If you dream of working on a vibrant, global brand, experimenting and creating different digital formats, while taking your abilities to another level, we are waiting for you!
   Requirements
   
   What You Will Do:
   
   Design online graphic content, such as social posts, infographics, and website visual assets;
   
   Design digital editorial materials, such as research reports, and playbooks using
   Adobe InDesign and Google Slides;
   
   Edit multimedia content in diverse formats such as short videos for social media, snackable content formats, and animations;
   
   Master design, animation, and video-editing software including Adobe Photoshop,
   Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere, or similar tools;
   
   Translate creative concepts into key visuals and mood boards for campaigns;
   
   Ensure brand consistency throughout all digital channels, from website to social media;
   
   Create user-friendly pages on the website using WordPress;
   
   Collaborate with the Endeavor MarCom team, including freelancers, to support our initiatives with vibrant and outstanding visual narratives inspired by our brand personality;
   
   What You Will Bring:
   
   A keen eye for aesthetics and details: knowing how to apply our visual identity with coherence and creativity;
   
   A wide range of visual references: from fine arts to pop culture, combining references from other industries to create cutting-edge content for entrepreneurs;
   
   Design versatility: well-established experience working with diverse content formats, such as infographics and videos;
   
   Entrepreneurial bias: experience and predisposition to experiment, test, learn and adapt. An agile approach to iterating on ideas and building executable strategies.
   
   Benefits
   
   Time Frame:
   
   Available for interviews mid-February (Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis)
   
   Preferred March start date
   
   Compensation: Aligned with a leading global non-profit organization, plus bonuses and benefits (fully covered healthcare, 401k matching….)
   
   To apply: Please send link to portfolio
   
   Please format the subject line as follows: Visual Storyteller - Last Name, First Name.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find digital media designers 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 digital media designers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level digital media designers 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 digital media designer job on Zippia to find and attract quality digital media designer candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with digital media designer 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.

   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 digital media designer

   Once you've selected the best digital media designer 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 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 digital media designer first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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