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How to hire a lead help desk technician

Lead help desk technician hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring lead help desk technicians in the United States:

  • There are a total of 210,599 lead help desk technicians in the US, and there are currently 83,479 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a lead help desk technician is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per lead help desk technician on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Chicago, IL, has the highest demand for lead help desk technicians, with 2 job openings.

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

To hire a lead help desk technician, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a lead help desk technician:

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

    First, determine the employments status of the lead help desk technician you need to hire. Certain lead help desk technician 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?

    Hiring the perfect lead 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.

    This list presents lead help desk technician salaries for various positions.

    Type of Lead Help Desk TechnicianDescriptionHourly rate
    Lead Help Desk TechnicianComputer 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$21-37
    Technician Support Team LeaderThe Technician Support Team Leader is tasked with leading and training the technical support team. As a team leader, you will be required to organize scheduled staff reviews and communicate new procedures and policies with them... Show more$30-58
    Technical Team LeadThe responsibilities of a technical team lead revolve around overseeing the progress and performance of a technical team, ensuring they are functioning efficiently. They mostly delegate tasks, manage schedules, set goals, produce reports and presentations, respond to correspondence, and coordinate with staff, clients, and other department personnel to ensure accuracy and timeliness for all projects... Show more$31-58
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Printers
    • Technical Support
    • Phone Calls
    • Desk Support
    • Remote Desktop
    • Customer Service
    • Troubleshoot
    • Help Desk
    • LAN
    • Switches
    • VPN
    • Provide Technical Assistance
    • Technical Assistance
    • OS
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage user application access through Citrix.
    • Utilize remedy ticket system to create trouble tickets
    • Enter, troubleshoot, update and route trouble tickets for residential internet support customers.
    • Used SQL to test updates to the software.
    • Used active directory to reset VPN passwords.
    • Administer weekly patching of workstations and servers.
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your lead help desk technician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A lead help desk technician can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, lead help desk technicians' average salary in alaska is 40% less than in delaware.
    • Seniority. Entry-level lead help desk technicians 43% less than senior-level lead help desk technicians.
    • Certifications. A lead help desk technician 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 a lead help desk technician's salary.

    Average lead help desk technician salary

    $59,992yearly

    $28.84 hourly rate

    Entry-level lead help desk technician salary
    $45,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 21, 2025
  4. Writing a lead help desk technician job description

    A lead 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a lead help desk technician job description:

    Lead help desk technician job description example

    • Post High School degree in technology, or
    • 3 years Help Desk experience
    • A facility with equipment and software
    • Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, Word)
    • Experience with applications such as Smartsheet, Egnyte, Slack and Asana is preferred
    • On-point, genuine interpersonal and written communication skills
    • A customer service mindset
    • Attention to detail and ability to follow through in a timely manner
    • Strong organizational skills and ability to juggle competing deadlines and projects
    • Capability to self-motivate, work independently and taking ownership of job responsibilities
    • Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with management, employees, vendors, and general public
    • Enthusiasm for fostering an inclusive work environment, leading diverse teams and a commitment to increasing equity for all employees
    • Operate with a high level of integrity, positivity, and emotional intelligence
    • Ability to seek solutions and resolve problems independently
    • A combination of self-reliance, grit, and communicative collaboration
    • US work authorization

    WHAT WE OFFER

    We are a fun, easygoing bunch of professionals who take a lot of pride in the work we do. We acknowledge the contributions and talents of our biggest asset (our team members!) by providing benefits that support you at work and in life:

    • Competitive pay commensurate with skills and experience
    • 100% paid medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance for full-time employees (30% coverage for dependents), first of the month following DOH
    • 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer profit sharing contribution
    • 7 paid holidays each year, no waiting period
    • Paid Time-Off (PTO)
    • Education reimbursement
    • Mentorship and career development opportunities

    WHO WE ARE

    Dowbuilt is a construction company that was founded by top Pacific Northwest builder Jim Dow in 1980, and now our talented teams can be found from coast to coast. We focus on cutting-edge residential projects, innovative new construction, challenging remodels, and additions as well as home service – all of which require precision and impeccable attention to detail. We work with top architects, and our builds have been featured in publications including Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, and Dwell .

    The culture at Dowbuilt is one of care. Care for our people, care for our clients, care for the craftspeople we partner with - all resulting in care for the incredible designs we bring to life.

    HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT

    We’re committed to investing in our team members’ ongoing professional development, and as a supervisor with Dowbuilt, you play a big part in ensuring that your team has equal opportunity to play to their strengths, fill gaps in knowledge and grow professionally.

    Effective career development requires two-way, open communication between employee and manager. This means expectation setting happens on both sides, along with support, mentorship, and goal setting at regular intervals. Find out how you can take your own career to the next level and inspire the next generation of talent with Dowbuilt.

    Dowbuilt is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity within our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

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  5. Post your job

    To find the right lead help desk technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with lead help desk technicians they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit lead help desk technicians who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your lead help desk technician job on Zippia to find and recruit lead help desk technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Recruiting lead help desk technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

    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.

    Sometimes, it's not enough to interview lead help desk technician candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

    • 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 lead help desk technician

    Once you've selected the best lead 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.)
    Sign up to download full list

How much does it cost to hire a lead help desk technician?

Before you start to hire lead help desk technicians, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire lead help desk technicians pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $59,992 per year for a lead help desk technician, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for lead help desk technicians in the US typically range between $21 and $37 an hour.

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