How to hire a finance aid officer

How to hire a finance aid officer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finance aid officer hiring guide:

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

What does a finance aid officer do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the finance aid officer you need to hire. Certain finance aid officer 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 finance aid officer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, finance aid officers 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.

   Here's a comparison of finance aid officer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Finance Aid Officer	Description	Hourly rate
   Finance Aid Officer		$13-23
   Finance Service Advisor	A finance service advisor provides clients with recommendations on taxes, college savings accounts, retirement, estate planning, and investments. Finance service advisors collaborate with the executives for profitability and efficiency through project management strategy and accounting procedure restructuring... Show more	$13-42
   Finance Aid Coordinator	Students are granted educational aid with the help of a finance aid coordinator. A finance aid coordinator's responsibilities include assisting students in filling application forms, following up missing documents, delivering documents, and maintaining data security... Show more	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Financial Aid
   • Customer Service
   • FAFSA
   • Title IV
   • Student Loans
   • Financial Aid Packages
   • Financial Aid Programs
   • NSLDS
   • Student Aid
   • Professional Judgment
   • Financial Aid Eligibility
   • State Regulations
   • Federal Regulations
   • Financial Aid Awards

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage project for the development and implementation of a university-wide scholarship database, STAARS.
   • Update CampusVue portal with detail notes concerning briefings, issue students thumb drive and review financial aid documentation in detail.
   • Assist students and parents in the financial aid application procedure, process and prepare all student-funding requests using CampusVue software.
   • Review and evaluate ISIR information to ensure accurate financial aid processing.
   • Coordinate with the appropriate campus personnel to ensure accurate and timely disbursement of scholarship and federal work-study disbursements.
   • Verify loan periods, order quarterly loans and check NSLDS on eligibility for students.

   More finance aid officer duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, finance aid officers' average salary in new mexico is 39% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level finance aid officers earn 41% less than senior-level finance aid officers.
   • Certifications. A finance aid officer 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 finance aid officer's salary.

   Average finance aid officer salary

   $38,163yearly

   $18.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finance aid officer salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average finance aid officer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$48,507	$23
   2	District of Columbia	$46,712	$22
   3	California	$44,149	$21
   4	Missouri	$41,883	$20
   5	Massachusetts	$41,064	$20
   6	Nevada	$40,733	$20
   7	Utah	$39,801	$19
   8	Pennsylvania	$39,790	$19
   9	Florida	$38,390	$18
   10	Colorado	$37,762	$18
   11	Michigan	$35,916	$17
   12	Virginia	$35,116	$17
   13	North Carolina	$34,799	$17
   14	Texas	$33,996	$16
   15	Louisiana	$32,426	$16
   16	Arizona	$31,713	$15
   17	Georgia	$31,238	$15
   18	Idaho	$30,511	$15
   19	Montana	$29,514	$14
   20	New Mexico	$29,317	$14

   Average finance aid officer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Columbia University in the City of New York	$54,475	$26.19	24
   2	New York University	$53,718	$25.83	2
   3	Georgetown University	$50,443	$24.25
   4	UC Merced	$50,123	$24.10
   5	University of California-Berkeley	$48,831	$23.48
   6	Princeton University	$48,158	$23.15	4
   7	Education Affiliates	$47,760	$22.96
   8	University of California	$47,378	$22.78	29
   9	University of Colorado Boulder	$44,076	$21.19	1
   10	Arizona College	$43,116	$20.73	7
   11	Central State University	$42,011	$20.20	2
   12	LA State University Continuing	$41,393	$19.90	24
   13	Pima Medical Institute	$40,506	$19.47	3
   14	Aaniiih Nakoda College	$40,407	$19.43
   15	The University of Texas at San Antonio	$40,345	$19.40	16
   16	Allianz of America, Inc.	$39,925	$19.19
   17	Allianz Life	$39,771	$19.12	2
   18	University of Michigan	$39,630	$19.05	9
   19	Missouri State University	$39,480	$18.98
   20	Daymar College	$39,383	$18.93

4. Writing a finance aid officer job description

   A finance aid officer 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 finance aid officer job description:

   Finance aid officer job description example

   The Financial Aid Officer position is responsible for providing a wide range of counseling and processing services to students requesting financial assistance at Sinclair Community College. In addition this position participates in recruitment and outreach activities, as well as collaborates with other departments and offices to support activities in student retention and goal attainment. This position also interprets and enforces institutional, state, and federal policies and regulations.
   Principal Accountabilities
   
   Provide individual counseling services to current and prospective students and their parents, resolve concerns of both a personal and financial nature, and exercise professional judgment authority granted by the US Department of Education
   Collaborate with faculty, staff, enrollment services, and external agencies to conduct outreach activities such as workshops, presentations, and high school and college days/nights.
   Coordinate, monitor, and carry out all activities related to a special program within the office, as well as serve as a resource and back up to critical office processes
   Manually package federal and institutional aid as needed, including the review of NSLDS and COD, and calculating student loan eligibility
   Interpret and administer federal mandates
   Communicate with other departments and staff throughout the college to resolve financial aid issues, such as the Welcome Center staff and Academic Advisors
   Strong customer service and/or student advocacy as demonstrated through a positive attitude of approachability, ability, strong problem-solving and desire to identify and support student success. Engage in behaviors that create an inclusive environment in which all people are valued and supported
   Does not stop with the first or easiest answer to a customer but gets to the root of the cause of the problem, question, or issue to solve it as quickly and professionally as possible
   Other duties as assigned
   
   Requirements
   
   Minimum of a Bachelor's level degree required; Master's degree preferred
   Minimum of 3 years work experience in a Financial Aid Office or similar/related office required
   Current working knowledge of federal, state and institutional aid programs required
   Professional oral and written communication skills required
   Previous work experience to include counseling responsibilities required
   Previous work experience in researching federal and state regulations preferred

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find finance aid officers 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 finance aid officers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level finance aid officers 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 finance aid officer job on Zippia to find and recruit finance aid officer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with finance aid officer 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.

   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 finance aid officer

   Once you've found the finance aid officer 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   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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