How to hire a junior associate

How to hire a junior associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step junior 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 junior associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new junior associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a junior associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a junior associate, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   This list shows salaries for various types of junior associates.

   Type of Junior Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Junior Associate	Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents connect buyers and sellers in financial markets. They sell securities to individuals, advise companies in search of investors, and conduct trades.	$21-63
   Phone Banker	As the name entails, phone bankers work for banks, financial institutions, or even at call centers whose primary job is to assist banking customers' needs and inquiries via telephone. Their duties and responsibilities may include handling concerns about bank transactions, keeping customers informed of bank policies and procedures, and processing financial applications... Show more	$12-20
   Finance Sales Consultant	A finance sales consultant helps sell financial products and services. They can work in various industries, such as home, automotive, or banking... Show more	$16-28

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PowerPoint
   • Litigation
   • Financial Statements
   • Press Releases
   • Due Diligence
   • Twitter
   • Facebook
   • JR
   • Law Firm
   • Legal Research
   • Collective Bargaining
   • Capital Markets
   • Corporate Clients
   • Business Development

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Construct and execute portfolios of interest rate and credit derivatives to manage duration and credit risk of loan and bond portfolios.
   • Perform extensive data and segmentation analyses to identify trends and help clients create new strategies to achieve growth and ROI goals.
   • Collect, organize, and analyze data relating to securities class action litigation in preparation for leading and managing projects.
   • Used basic HTML processes to quickly locate problems.
   • Implement innovative digital tactics resulting in a positive ROI and sales lift.
   • Promote the client's product through Facebook posts, tweets, and community chats.

   More junior associate duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, junior associates' average salary in hawaii is 62% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level junior associates earn 67% less than senior-level junior associates.
   • Certifications. A junior associate 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 junior associate's salary.

   Average junior associate salary

   $77,094yearly

   $37.06 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level junior associate salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average junior associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$118,272	$57
   2	Massachusetts	$95,268	$46
   3	Connecticut	$89,167	$43
   4	New Jersey	$81,924	$39
   5	California	$80,376	$39
   6	District of Columbia	$78,822	$38
   7	Kansas	$77,784	$37
   8	Missouri	$74,427	$36
   9	Illinois	$73,826	$35
   10	Washington	$73,626	$35
   11	Texas	$71,873	$35
   12	Michigan	$69,903	$34
   13	Oregon	$68,142	$33
   14	Tennessee	$67,731	$33
   15	Louisiana	$66,068	$32
   16	Arizona	$65,588	$32
   17	Pennsylvania	$64,924	$31
   18	Maryland	$58,749	$28
   19	Florida	$58,109	$28
   20	Georgia	$54,954	$26

   Average junior associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Ropes & Gray	$194,333	$93.43
   2	Linklaters	$190,043	$91.37	4
   3	DLA Piper	$160,833	$77.32	35
   4	Davis Wright Tremaine	$147,926	$71.12
   5	Goodwin	$129,679	$62.35
   6	Morgan Stanley	$112,989	$54.32	18
   7	Goldman Sachs	$105,694	$50.81	20
   8	University of California	$101,954	$49.02
   9	HSBC Bank	$99,363	$47.77	2
   10	Wellpath	$98,325	$47.27
   11	Royal Bank of Canada	$97,374	$46.81	17
   12	StoneX Group	$90,579	$43.55
   13	Fenwick & West	$89,909	$43.23	30
   14	SG Americas Securities Holdings, LLC	$87,134	$41.89
   15	SPS Consulting	$86,739	$41.70
   16	BKF Engineers	$85,724	$41.21
   17	Yieldstreet	$85,084	$40.91
   18	WADE WEISSMANN ARCHITECTURE	$85,069	$40.90
   19	Argos Holdings Inc.	$85,069	$40.90
   20	St James Episcopal Church	$85,069	$40.90

4. Writing a junior associate job description

   A junior associate 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 junior associate job description:

   Junior associate job description example

   • JD and 2 - 4 years of substantive experience

     
     

   • 
     

   • 
     

     The ideal candidate will have transactional tax experience dealing with real estate, REITs, fund formation, Section 892 investors, income tax treaties, and cross border transactions.

     
     

   • 
     

   • 
     

     We seek candidates with immediately transferable skills and strong academic backgrounds.

     
     

   • 
     

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     Bar admission (or eligibility to obtain admission promptly) in the resident office’s location is required.

     
     

   Primary Location: United States-Illinois-Chicago

   Other Locations: United States-Washington-Seattle, United States-California-East Palo Alto, United States-Virginia-Reston, United States-District of Columbia-Washington, United States-Florida-Miami, United States-California-San Diego, United States-California-San Francisco, United States-New Jersey-Short Hills,United States-California-Sacramento, United States-California-Los Angeles, United States-Pennsylvania-Philadelphia, United States-Texas-Houston, United States-Arizona-Phoenix, United States-Texas-Dallas, United States-Georgia-Atlanta, United States-New York-New York, United States-Maryland-Baltimore, United States-Delaware-Wilmington, United States-Minnesota-Minneapolis, United States-North Carolina-Raleigh, United States-Texas-Austin, United States-Massachusetts-Boston

   Job: Lawyer

   Organization: Finance

   Schedule: Regular

   Employee Status: Individual Contributor

   Full-time

   Job Posting: Sep 8, 2022, 1:24:45 PM

   About Infinity Consulting Solutions
   At Infinity Consulting Solutions our mission is to cultivate successful long term relationships with candidates and clients matching the right candidate with the right client. We believe technology cannot replace the real personal relationships we cultivate. We reject the notion that technology alone is the answer to staffing which is why we our successful partnerships rely on collaboration NOT automation. ICS has been providing flexible staffing solutions for over 20 years in Information Technology, Compliance, Accounting / Finance and Corporate Support. Our staffing solutions include Contract, Temp to Perm and Permanent Placement.
   ICS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right junior 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 junior associate job on Zippia to find and recruit junior associate 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

   To successfully recruit junior associates, 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 junior associate

   Once you've found the junior associate 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new junior 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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