How to hire a federal account executive

How to hire a federal account executive, step by step

Here's a step-by-step federal account executive hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the federal account executive you need to hire. Certain federal account executive 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

   Hiring the perfect federal account executive also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   Here's a comparison of federal account executive salaries for various roles:

   Type of Federal Account Executive	Description	Hourly rate
   Federal Account Executive		$30-92
   Navigator	Navigators are responsible for a ship or aircraft's navigation requiring positional awareness. Their duties include mapping out for the journey, avoiding any hazards during travel, and advising the captain or commander on estimated time en route to the destination... Show more	$13-25
   Home Service Consultant	A home service consultant offers expertise and advice to businesses to help improve their organizational performance in terms of profitability, management, operations, strategy, and structure. Your tasks may vary depending on the sector but generally includes identifying problems and looking for ways to solve them, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of strategies, and providing recommendations for improvements... Show more	$16-41

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Account Management
   • Cloud
   • Business Development
   • DOD
   • Professional Services
   • CRM
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Sales Cycle
   • Enterprise Sales
   • Client Relationships
   • C-Level
   • Logistics
   • OEM
   • DHS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage national VA and DoD contracts with individual institutions.
   • Manage day-to-day activity of client relate projects including IP voice, MPLS infrastructures and CPE implementations in a deadline-orient high-pressure environment.
   • Identify and capture numerous DoD and SI projects.
   • Prepare and adhere to sales forecasts using SIEBEL CRM software.
   • Utilize CRM software and tactics to ensure customer service and satisfaction
   • Provide account leadership on the development of responses to RFP's, RFI's and unsolicite proposals.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, federal account executives' average salary in hawaii is 54% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level federal account executives earn 67% less than senior-level federal account executives.
   • Certifications. A federal account executive 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 federal account executive's salary.

   Average federal account executive salary

   $110,539yearly

   $53.14 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level federal account executive salary

   $63,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 17, 2026

4. Writing a federal account executive job description

   A job description for a federal account executive 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 federal account executive job description:

   Federal account executive job description example

   Confluent is pioneering a fundamentally new category of data infrastructure focused on data in motion. Have you ever found a new favorite series on Netflix, picked up groceries curbside at Walmart, or paid for something using Square? That's the power of data in motion in action-giving organizations instant access to the massive amounts of data that is constantly flowing throughout their business. At Confluent, we're building the foundational platform for this new paradigm of data infrastructure. Our cloud-native offering is designed to be the intelligent connective tissue enabling real-time data, from multiple sources, to constantly stream across the organization. With Confluent, organizations can create a central nervous system to innovate and win in a digital-first world.
   
   We're looking for self-motivated team members who crave a challenge and feel energized to roll up their sleeves and help realize Confluent's enormous potential. Chart your own path and take healthy risks as we solve big problems together. We value having diverse teams and want you to grow as we grow-whether you're just starting out in your career or managing a large team, you'll be amazed at the magnitude of your impact.
   About the Role:
   
   The Enterprise Account Executive will play a key role in driving Confluent's sales activities focused on Public Sector National Intelligence programs.
   
   This role includes activities developing and executing the go-to-market strategy within the Federal space. The ideal candidate needs to have experience selling complex Database, Messaging, Big Data, Open Source, and/or Cloud solutions.
   
   What you will do:Build awareness for Kafka and Confluent within federal agencies Aggressively prospect, identify, qualify and develop sales pipeline Close business to exceed monthly, quarterly, and annual bookings objectives Build strong and effective relationships, resulting in growth opportunities Build and maintain relationships with new and existing Confluent partners Create and execute go to market plans that are based on viral methods and organic growth
   What you will bring:Candidates located in DC, MD, and VA preferred but not required Active Security Clearance Required3-5 years of successful data integration/analytic sales experience to Intelligence agencies Deep experience selling within the Database, Open Source, Messaging, Cloud, and/or Big Data space.Significant experience in a Sales or Sales Engineering role within a similar start-up and high-growth organization An ability to articulate and sell the business value of big data and the big impact on businesses of all sizes Impeccable planning and methodology-driven AEs (MEDDIC/MEDDPIC), with a high level of Empathy for our clients.
   #LI-Remote
   #LI-DO2
   
   Come As You Are
   
   At Confluent, equality is a core tenet of our culture. We are committed to building an inclusive global team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, beliefs, and experiences. The more diverse we are, the richer our community and the broader our impact. Employment decisions are made on the basis of job-related criteria without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
   
   Confluent requires all employees (in office and remote) in the U.S. to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Consistent with federal, state, and local requirements, Confluent will consider requests for reasonable accommodation based on medical conditions/contraindications or sincerely-held religious beliefs where it is able to do so without undue hardship to the company.
   
   Click here to review our California Candidate Privacy Notice, which describes how and when Confluent, Inc., and its group companies, collects, uses, and shares certain personal information of California job applicants and prospective employees.
   
   #LI-Remote

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right federal account executive 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 federal account executive job on Zippia to find and recruit federal account executive candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit federal account executives, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 federal account executive

   Once you've found the federal account executive candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new federal account executive 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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