How to hire an information support specialist

How to hire an information support specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step information support specialist hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the information support specialist you need to hire. Certain information support specialist 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an information support specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an information support specialist that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of information support specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Information Support Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Information Support Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$21-45
   Systems Support	A systems support agent is responsible for resolving system applications and network issues, performing technical configuration, and upgrading systems infrastructure. A systems support representative conducts regular maintenance and diagnostic tests on the computer applications to ensure its optimal performance and efficiency to support business operations and avoid delays in deliverables... Show more	$21-42
   Technical Support Engineer	A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting... Show more	$29-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PC
   • Technical Support
   • Desktop Support
   • Troubleshoot
   • Computer System
   • SharePoint
   • Software Problems
   • Workstations
   • User Accounts
   • Mobile Device Management
   • LAN
   • SQL
   • Software Support
   • Network Connectivity

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
   • Gather data and authore requirements documents for DOD appropriations necessary to establish and maintain long short-term technology funding plan.
   • Provide web development services to faculty, through the use of languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
   • Work on Internet development including graphics preparation and HTML and JavaScript code
   • Have experience with government data security requirements using commercial data encryption software and security certificate management for email and data access.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your information support specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An information support specialist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, information support specialists' average salary in nebraska is 42% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level information support specialists 54% less than senior-level information support specialists.
   • Certifications. An information support specialist 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 an information support specialist's salary.

   Average information support specialist salary

   $65,414yearly

   $31.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level information support specialist salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

4. Writing an information support specialist job description

   An information support specialist 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 an information support specialist job description:

   Information support specialist job description example

   PDS Tech is currently seeking an **Information Catalog Support Specialist** for our client in Tempe, AZ
   
   Our client's Information Governance function has a need for a resource to support Business Stewards/Data Stewards with Structured Data in the development of an Information Catalog. The Information Catalog consists of directories for reports, system to system integrations, glossary of business terms, report maturity measures, and database schemas. Much of the work is to maintain the Information Catalog with findings provided by Data Stewards and Business Stewards as they work with critical system projects.
   
   We are seeking an Information Catalog Specialist to support the Information Management department with information analysis, including generating information products for internal audiences, investigating sources of operational reports, as well as helping manage data modeling tools and utilize systems such as Information Catalog (ie.Collibra) and Data Quality tools.
   
   Additionally, the Information Catalog Support Specialist supports the Information Governance Analyst as they work closely with information stewards, clients, project managers, core technical team members, and other project stakeholders in the development of the information catalog. This individual must possess solid business acumen, strong oral and written communication skills, strong organization skills, flexibility, self-motivation, and social skills. They also must have the ability to bridge the business/IT divide in a way that establishes rapport, persuades others, and gains understanding and trust.
   **The selected candidate will need to be able to:**
   
   • Develop methods of analysis, on-the-fly
   
   • Learn new tools we use in Information Governance (Collibra, Information Steward, Erwin) to be able to utilize them as an administrator and super user to support our business users.
   
   • Juggle many deliverables at one time prioritizing greatest need on an ongoing basis.
   
   • Understand metadata and use of metadata for descriptive classification of files.
   
   **Responsibilities and Essential Job Functions:**
   
   • Support Data Stewards and Information Analyst in the development of the Information Catalog: Report Catalog, Data Catalog, Report Maturity Measures, Integration Catalog, Enterprise Business Glossary, etc.
   
   • Manually index data entities and attributes collected from existing business application data structures against the client's Common Information Model.
   
   • Build structures in the Information Catalog that represent the client's Information Asset structure.
   
   • Own a service offering - define the service process, engagement with the business, understand the service to perform the work efforts involved.
   
   • Work with internal stakeholders to understand existing data structures and represent this in the Information Catalog.
   
   • Provide operational assistance in support of the information management function and
   
   technological related solutions: SAP Information Steward and Collibra
   
   • Collaborates on the development of information models.
   
   • Communicate status to project managers, team members and management
   
   • Other duties as assigned.
   
   **Experience Requirements:**
   
   • Experience in adhering to information management standards and best practices.
   
   • Experience successfully producing information products for various audiences, utilizing a
   
   mixture of text, charts, graphs, and other visual displays of information to effectively
   
   communicate the state of their information assets.
   
   • Ability to maintain confidentiality and always protect sensitive information.
   
   • Proficient in the use of office productivity tools, such as the MS Office Suite.
   
   • Positive learning and working attitude; a growth mindset.
   
   • Team player with good interpersonal, communication skills.
   
   • Self-starter, quick learner, able to handle multiple concurrent assignments.
   
   • Works well independently and with little direction.
   
   • Ability to adhere to organizational and department specific safety standards and guidelines.
   
   • Flexible, versatile, courteous, and conscientious.
   
   • Familiar with different work management methodologies.
   
   • Ability to listen; practices attentive and active listening; has the patience to hear people out; can
   
   accurately restate the opinions of others even if disagreeing.
   
   • Excellent writing, editing and analytical skills.
   
   • Ability to work collaboratively and support efforts of all team members.
   
   • Ability to work in an Agile environment (Kanban board methodology-Service Now)
   
   The successful candidate will also need to have active listening skills, proactive planning and actions on work efforts, manage multiple tasks, provide customer service support- customer service training experience required. Ability to learn quickly and apply knowledge.
   
   **Tool proficiency** : Outlook, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint, MS365, Sharepoint, Teams/Zoom/webex.
   
   **_Nice to have_** : PowerBI, Collibra.
   
   All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or other legally protected status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right information support specialist 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 information support specialist job on Zippia to find and attract quality information support specialist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit information support specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up 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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with an information support specialist applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 information support specialist

   Once you've selected the best information support specialist 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 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 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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