How to hire a junior help desk technician

How to hire a junior help desk technician, step by step

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

What does a junior help desk technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your junior help desk technician job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a junior help desk technician for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   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 junior help desk technician 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 junior help desk technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Junior Help Desk Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Junior Help Desk Technician	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	$16-31
   Technician Support Tier	A technician support tier focuses on providing technical support to clients or employees within a company. Typically working in a team setting, a technician support tier addresses technical problems and troubleshoots to identify the root of the issues and perform necessary corrective measures or repairs... Show more	$18-37
   Information Technology/Support Technician	An information technology (IT) support technician is a professional who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members... Show more	$14-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Escalate
   • Help-Desk Support
   • Technical Support
   • PC
   • Mac
   • Troubleshoot Issues
   • LAN
   • Computer System
   • TCP/IP
   • Citrix
   • Routine Maintenance
   • Technical Issues
   • Linux
   • VPN

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage remedy ticket queue to ensure tickets are being handle properly and resolve within SLA.
   • Provide remote support for Citrix applications, VPN log-in portal, and RSA token authentication.
   • Assist with VOIP deployments and configuration.
   • Support VoIP, PPTP and IPSEC and Internet activity.
   • Aid teammates to a better understanding of computer applications such as establishing a VPN connection.
   • Used remote access tools to gain control of laptops on VPN to perform administrative tasks.

   More junior help desk technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your junior help desk technician job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A junior help desk technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a junior help desk technician in Alaska may be lower than in New Hampshire, and an entry-level junior help desk technician usually earns less than a senior-level junior help desk technician. Additionally, a junior help desk technician with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average junior help desk technician salary

   $48,069yearly

   $23.11 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level junior help desk technician salary

   $35,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average junior help desk technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$60,471	$29
   2	Rhode Island	$56,085	$27
   3	New York	$55,789	$27
   4	California	$53,762	$26
   5	Pennsylvania	$53,589	$26
   6	Maryland	$52,253	$25
   7	District of Columbia	$48,508	$23
   8	Illinois	$47,880	$23
   9	Michigan	$47,072	$23
   10	Washington	$45,864	$22
   11	Florida	$45,276	$22
   12	Louisiana	$44,254	$21
   13	Utah	$44,020	$21
   14	Iowa	$42,289	$20
   15	Arizona	$40,882	$20
   16	Nebraska	$40,873	$20
   17	Colorado	$40,374	$19
   18	New Mexico	$39,475	$19
   19	Indiana	$38,896	$19
   20	Georgia	$38,587	$19

   Average junior help desk technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Prolifics	$71,406	$34.33
   2	Nebraska Methodist Health System	$61,284	$29.46
   3	Boeing	$59,580	$28.64	27
   4	All American Group	$56,944	$27.38	2
   5	The City University of New York	$53,664	$25.80	4
   6	Mavis Tire	$52,483	$25.23	5
   7	General Dynamics	$51,034	$24.54	114
   8	Kforce	$45,824	$22.03	37
   9	ConcordRENTS	$45,074	$21.67	2
   10	LAUNCH Technical Workforce Solutions	$43,755	$21.04
   11	Chenega	$43,620	$20.97	23
   12	MKS2 Technologies	$43,570	$20.95
   13	Ceres	$43,548	$20.94
   14	Domtar	$43,473	$20.90
   15	Nes Holdings	$43,066	$20.70
   16	Aldridge Pite	$42,962	$20.65	1
   17	Emory Healthcare	$42,831	$20.59	7
   18	Business Impact Group	$42,776	$20.57	2
   19	Granite Telecommunications	$42,650	$20.50	4
   20	WMSN FOX 47 News, Madison	$42,217	$20.30	9

4. Writing a junior help desk technician job description

   A junior help desk technician 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. Below, you can find an example of a junior help desk technician job description:

   Junior help desk technician job description example

   AutoCrib is the leader in industrial vending technology. We design and create all of the software and hardware in-house to help manage inventory for our customers. Our industry is vast; customers range from manufacturing to government to retail to data centers. We are a growing company that is looking for candidates who are looking for a challenge and like to wear a lot of hats. AutoCrib is big enough to provide the resources you need, but small enough to still feel like a family. Our culture is work hard, play hard. We believe in giving employees autonomy to make their own decisions and actively help them with their career path. Our benefits include healthcare, 401k, life insurance, and PTO.
   
   Candidate will deliver excellent customer experiences in a fast-paced environment. We are looking for candidates who are decisive, confident, and tenacious in their decision making with a high technical aptitude. If you are self-motivated to resolve issues quickly, then we want you to apply!
   Responsibilities • Provide Level 1 product support to resellers and end users.
   • Troubleshoot and assist customers via phone, web based tools and email.
   • Research customer issues and collaborate with Level 2 Systems Analysts in order to provide the best product support possible.
   • Create Return Authorizations for products and items being return for return or credit
   • Maintain detailed records through Help Desk Software and other tracking databases
   • Closely involved in database management, quality reporting and providing metrics to management
   • Work closely with multiple departments including but not limited to: Quality Assurance, Engineering, Accounting, Production, and Repair Technicians
   • Occasionally help with internal technical issues when needed Qualifications • Ability to handle clients professionally and courteously (specifically in a high pressure, fast paced environment).
   • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
   • Strong technical and analytical skills.
   • Solid experience in troubleshooting and resolution of software and hardware problems.
   • Proven ability to function in a self-directed environment.
   • Must excel in a fast-paced, agile environment where critical thinking and strong problem solving skills are required for success.
   • Innovative thinker who is positive, proactive, and readily embraces change.
   • Assist resellers and end users in order to optimize installations and configurations in a complex network environment.
   • Ability to articulate technical information to non-technical users.
   • Must be detail-oriented and self-motivated
   • Must be a team player, organized and have good interpersonal skills
   Preferred Skills
   • Experience working in an IT Service Desk, Help Desk, Desktop Support, or similar position within a high tech, fast paced environment.
   • Documentation skills (ability to clearly and concisely enter detailed information into ticketing application)
   • Proficient with use of Microsoft Office software
   • Computer hardware/software troubleshooting skills • Basic computer hardware knowledge, i.e. USB, VGA, video resolution
   • Basic Windows OS (Windows 7, Windows 10) knowledge
   • Basic network administration skill for software connectivity
   • Knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server & Management Studio

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find junior help desk technicians 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 junior help desk technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level junior help desk technicians 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 junior help desk technician job on Zippia to find and attract quality junior help desk technician 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 junior help desk technicians, 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.

   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.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a junior help desk technician 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 junior help desk technician

   Once you've selected the best junior help desk technician 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been 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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