How to hire a furniture sales associate

How to hire a furniture sales associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step furniture sales associate hiring guide:

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

What does a furniture sales associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The furniture sales associate 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 furniture sales associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, furniture sales associates 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of furniture sales associates and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Furniture Sales Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Furniture Sales Associate	Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.	$17-32

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Sales Associates
   • Sales Floor
   • Furniture Sales
   • Customer Service
   • POS
   • Basic Math
   • Math
   • Retail Sales
   • Stock Merchandise
   • Product Knowledge
   • Delivery Truck
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Credit Card
   • Customer Orders

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage teal (register), maintain cleanliness and appearance of the outside lawn & garden area.
   • Process POS and return transactions, applying sales techniques to encourage customers to enroll in the company customer loyalty program.
   • Assist customers with questions and concerns with merchandise, handling POS transactions and returns.
   • Update daily records of sales orders and maintain familiarity with dealership fleets including staying update regarding competitor products and offerings.
   • Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.

   More furniture sales associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the furniture sales associate job description is a good way to get more applicants. A furniture sales associate salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a furniture sales associate in Tennessee may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level furniture sales associate. Additionally, a furniture sales associate with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average furniture sales associate salary

   $49,717yearly

   $23.90 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level furniture sales associate salary

   $36,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 29, 2025

   Average furniture sales associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Virginia	$56,717	$27
   2	Oregon	$56,638	$27
   3	New York	$54,457	$26
   4	California	$52,947	$25
   5	Pennsylvania	$52,761	$25
   6	Maryland	$52,690	$25
   7	Rhode Island	$51,976	$25
   8	Utah	$50,503	$24
   9	Minnesota	$50,337	$24
   10	Ohio	$49,283	$24
   11	Illinois	$48,902	$24
   12	Wisconsin	$47,874	$23
   13	Colorado	$47,785	$23
   14	Florida	$46,392	$22
   15	Texas	$45,685	$22
   16	Massachusetts	$45,241	$22
   17	Washington	$44,388	$21
   18	Nevada	$43,261	$21
   19	Alaska	$40,710	$20
   20	North Carolina	$38,883	$19

   Average furniture sales associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sadler's Home Furnishings	$56,467	$27.15
   2	Bob's Discount Furniture	$50,210	$24.14	200
   3	IKEA North America Services, LLC	$48,651	$23.39	9
   4	Affordable Homes	$46,881	$22.54
   5	Down East Community Hospital	$46,825	$22.51
   6	Cardi's Furniture	$45,720	$21.98
   7	Wood Design, Inc.	$45,356	$21.81
   8	Fischer Technology	$45,234	$21.75
   9	CORT	$44,868	$21.57	8
   10	Cincinnati Dentist	$43,192	$20.77
   11	Lancaster	$42,752	$20.55	2
   12	La-Z-Boy	$42,263	$20.32	22
   13	RC Willey	$41,769	$20.08
   14	OFFICE FURNITURE SERVICES	$41,255	$19.83
   15	NEX	$40,991	$19.71
   16	Bachman's	$40,880	$19.65
   17	Rooms To Go	$40,274	$19.36	20
   18	Slumberland Furniture	$40,273	$19.36	1
   19	Crate and Barrel	$39,597	$19.04	32
   20	CITY Furniture	$38,990	$18.75	31

4. Writing a furniture sales associate job description

   A good furniture sales associate job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a furniture sales associate job description:

   Furniture sales associate job description example

   At Ashley HomeStore, we've created a work environment that supports what drives you personally and professionally. Our Retail Sales Associate culture that is inspirational and fulfilling. Flexible work schedules, world-class training, and benefits that don't just say we care, but demonstrate it!
   Retail Sales Associate Benefits:
   • Unlock your potential - we encourage professional development and pursuit of a degree.
   • Make some serious cash - not only do we provide our Retail Sales Associates with a good salary, but also significant rewards in terms of incentive dollars.
   • Focus on your wellness - we offer a sweet suite of medical, dental and other life-related benefits.
   • Inspire your own dream home - we offer a generous employee discount on home furnishings sold in our stores
   
   Retail Sales Associate Job Requirements:
   
   Our Ashley HomeStore Retail Sales Associates transform store guests into loyal customers. When guests enter the store, you're the person who guides them. As the expert on home furnishings, you create inspiration, enthusiasm and excitement about Ashley's products. You help our guests discover the styles that reflect their lives and help them design rooms they will love to live in. This is an excellent opportunity for an entrepreneurial, focused, and ambitious sales professional who has a passion for lifestyle retail and thrives in a fast paced, high energy environment.
   
   To be a successful Retail Sales Associate at Ashley HomeStore, you must be someone who:
   • Is outgoing, friendly and easy to talk to,
   • Gets charged up by interacting with others,
   • Conveys information in a way that inspires action,
   • Gets excited by developing and sharing fresh ideas, and
   • Thrives in an environment that rewards for delivering world-class service and delighting our guests.
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and provide a drug free working environment. While Ashley appreciates the interest of all candidates, only those meeting specific position requirements may be contacted. Principals only.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right furniture sales associate 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 furniture sales associate job on Zippia to find and attract quality furniture sales associate candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with furniture sales associate 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 furniture sales associate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the furniture sales associate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new furniture sales associate. 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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