How to hire a legislative aide

How to hire a legislative aide, step by step

Here's a step-by-step legislative aide hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the legislative aide you need to hire. Certain legislative aide 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

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

   Here's a comparison of legislative aide salaries for various roles:

   Type of Legislative Aide	Description	Hourly rate
   Legislative Aide		$10-25
   Aide	Aides are personal employees of their clients who commonly have health issues that render them unable to do certain tasks. They help out their clients with activities they may need assistance in... Show more	$10-16

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Policy Issues
   • Press Releases
   • Committee Hearings
   • Legislative Process
   • Constituent Services
   • Legislative Session
   • Legislative Research
   • State Agencies
   • Constituent Issues
   • Policy Research
   • Constituent Inquiries
   • Pending Legislation
   • Legislative Issues
   • Constituent Correspondence

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the editorial content, design and distribution of the representative's newsletter.
   • Manage website and social media content (Facebook) and write weekly blog for local media outlets.
   • Take rigorous notes during committee meetings in order to provide the caucus with a succinct breakdown of important events.
   • Research developing legislation on agriculture and education policy, and participate in strategy discussions regarding caucus message and legislative action.
   • Verify and update exiting editorial content and write new editorial for revise statutes.
   • Manage website and social media content (Facebook) and write weekly blog for local media outlets.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, legislative aides' average salary in florida is 53% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level legislative aides earn 58% less than senior-level legislative aides.
   • Certifications. A legislative aide 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 legislative aide's salary.

   Average legislative aide salary

   $16.60hourly

   $34,528 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level legislative aide salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

4. Writing a legislative aide job description

   A job description for a legislative aide role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a legislative aide job description:

   Legislative aide job description example

   Summary of Position: Provides office support for a representative. Provides scheduling, mail and telephone handling and file maintenance services and handles constituent inquiries. May draft legislation. Tracks progress of legislation for representative.
   
   Essential functions include:
   
   1. Manages the daily operations of the district office at the Riffe Center
   
   2. Answers and screens telephone calls to the district office at the Riffe Center
   
   3. Staffs member for committee, session, and legislative meetings at the Riffe Center and the Statehouse
   
   4. Prepares documents and copies materials for member and constituents for legislative meetings
   
   5. Organizes and plans meetings and attends with member when needed
   
   6. Greets visitors in the Riffe lobby on behalf of the member and escorts them to the members office
   
   7. Opens, sorts and responds to district mail delivered to the House and coordinates outgoing mailings
   
   8. Drafts various writing assignments on behalf of the representative (e.g., letters, speeches, press releases, general correspondence)
   
   9. Organizes and maintains files, both electronic and paper, per the record retention schedule
   
   10. Takes notes of meetings, prepares minutes and writes reports
   
   11. Handles constituent information requests and constituent problems with state and local officials and employees and tracks them in the CMS database
   
   12. Schedules member and makes travel arrangements
   
   13. Processes commendations in coordination with LSC, retrieves them from the Clerk's Office at the Statehouse and mails them through the House mailroom at the Riffe Center
   
   14. Assists with legislative research, coordinates the drafting of bills with LSC and tracks legislation sponsored by or of interest to the member
   
   15. Serves as a contact between his/her assigned member and caucus policy and communication staff
   
   16. Assists with constituent outreach to the member's district, including traveling to the member's district
   
   17. Completes other duties as assigned
   
   The Ohio House of Representatives is an equal opportunity employer.
   
   Qualifications
   Knowledge Skills and Abilities:
   
   •Interacts professionally with members, peers, constituents and the general public
   
   •Maintains a professional demeanor in any and all circumstances
   
   •Understands legislative process and terminology
   
   •Tactfully handles sensitive issues and maintain confidentially
   
   •Understands state government
   
   •Communicates effectively both orally and in writing
   
   •Multitasks and prioritize work to meet deadlines
   
   •Understands supervisory/management concepts and principles
   
   •Travels
   
   •Experience with Microsoft Office
   
   Minimum Qualifications
   
   •Bachelor's degree or two years of relevant legislative experience
   
   Benefits
   
   We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees. Our benefits package includes:
   
   Medical Coverage

   • Quality, affordable, and competitive medical benefits are offered through the Ohio Med PPO plan

   Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance

   • Dental, vision and basic life insurance premiums are free

   Time Away From Work and Work/Life Balance

   • Paid time off, including vacation, personal, and sick leave
   • 11 paid holidays per year
   • Childbirth/Adoption leave

   Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

   • OPERS is the retirement system for State of Ohio employees. The employee contributes 10% of his/her salary towards his/her retirement. The employer contributes an amount equal to 14% of the employee's salary. Visit the OPERS website for more information.

   Downtown Parking
   
   Childbirth/Adoption leave
   
   Deferred Compensation

   • The Ohio Deferred Compensation program is a 457(b) voluntary retirement savings plan. Visit the Ohio Deferred Compensation website for more information.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find legislative aides 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 legislative aides they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level legislative aides 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 legislative aide job on Zippia to find and recruit legislative aide candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with legislative aide 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.

   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.

   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 legislative aide

   Once you've found the legislative aide 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.

   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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How much does it cost to hire a legislative aide?