How to hire a legislative analyst

How to hire a legislative analyst, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a legislative analyst, 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 legislative analyst's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, legislative analysts 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 legislative analysts.

   Type of Legislative Analyst	Description	Hourly rate
   Legislative Analyst	Management analysts, often called management consultants, propose ways to improve the efficiency of an organization. They advise managers on how to make organizations more profitable through reduced costs and increased revenues.	$24-45
   Training Developer	A training developer is responsible for organizing process training and development programs for the employees. Training developers coordinate with the management to identify training criteria and processes that would fit the company's goals and objectives... Show more	$21-42
   Training Consultant	A training consultant's job is to prepare, evaluate, and execute an organization's employee education programs. Their duties and responsibilities may include developing instructional materials, identifying knowledge and skills gaps, and organizing learning activities... Show more	$18-40

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Policy Issues
   • Legislative Process
   • DOD
   • Congressional Hearings
   • Legislative Issues
   • Public Policy
   • Committee Hearings
   • Federal Legislation
   • Legislative Proposals
   • Regulatory Issues
   • Federal Agencies
   • Pending Legislation
   • Fact Sheets
   • Federal Government

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
   • Maintain oversight and auditing of all certify organizations and individuals statewide, ensuring regulatory compliance and issue sanctions for violations.
   • Guide surface transportation and water resources infrastructure projects and identify and facilitate appropriations requests.
   • Publish organizational blogposts and other editorial content and manage relations with coalition partners.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, legislative analysts' average salary in arkansas is 55% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level legislative analysts 47% less than senior-level legislative analysts.
   • Certifications. A legislative analyst 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 legislative analyst's salary.

   Average legislative analyst salary

   $69,579yearly

   $33.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level legislative analyst salary

   $50,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 7, 2026

4. Writing a legislative analyst job description

   A legislative analyst 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 legislative analyst job description:

   Legislative analyst job description example

   Strategic Analysis, Inc. (SA) seeks a Legislative Analyst to support senior level executives, technical directors, and staff assistants in accomplishing Congressional reporting requirements, streamlining communications, analyzing the impacts of legislation, and developing proposals related to defense science and technology (S&T).
   
   On-site work with our government clients in Arlington, VA is anticipated. Telework options are available within the Washington, DC area .
   
   As a Legislative Analys t, you will:
   
   •Support legislative and congressional activities and engagements for a large S&T portfolio throughout the DoD PPBE cycle and annual Defense Authorization and Appropriations process.
   
   •Serve as a liaison between senior executives, technical directors, and various stakeholders to accomplish accurate and timely coordination of congressional requirements.
   
   •Track, report, and support the development of Congressional communications and requirements, including correspondence materials, action and info memoranda, white papers, briefings, reports, congressional testimony, and responses to questions for the record or advanced policy questions.
   
   •Develop decision-quality materials for meetings and briefings with DoD leadership, members of Congress, and other stakeholders utilizing inputs from various senior level engagements and reports, and coordinating with appropriate subject matter experts, OSD Legislative Affairs, General Counsel, and Public Affairs.
   
   •Research and evaluate legislation to determine programmatic and operational impacts to the S&T programs.
   
   •Assist in developing impact statements, reclamas, and proposals for activities of interest to the S&T directorates.
   
   •Assist in developing and coordinating responses to GAO reports and other statutory/regulatory requirements.
   
   •Provide quick and accurate research, technical and analytical support by identifying, evaluating, and sharing relevant programmatic, legislative, or departmental information.
   
   •Make recommendations for improvement of effectiveness and efficiency of business processes.
   
   QUALIFICATIONS:
   
   Clearance : An active DoD SECRET level clearance is required.
   
   Education: A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required. A master's degree is preferred. Degree requirement waived in lieu of significant recent and relevant work experience, to include a minimum of five (5) years' active duty military experience or minimum of ten (10) years' experience working for civilian/industry.
   
   Skills/Experience :
   
   •Minimum five (5) years' recent and relevant work experience.
   
   •Knowledge of DoD organization(s) and structure, Congressional budget process, and related terms.
   
   •Strong written and oral communication skills.
   
   •Ability to interact effectively with staff at all levels of DoD, Congressional staff members, foreign government officials, industry, academia, and the public.
   
   •Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and perform at a high-level with minimal guidance under short deadlines.
   
   •Proficient in MS Office Suite to include PowerPoint, Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Teams.
   
   •Experience using Congressional Hearings and Reporting Requirements Tracking System (CHARRTS) and/or Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) websites is preferred.
   
   You will be required to adhere to all COVID guidelines and regulations in place for any location where you will perform work. These guidelines and regulations may change over time or may be different for each location so you will be need to stay up to date on these changes and differences during your employment.
   
   SA is an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action Plan employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right legislative analyst 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 legislative analyst job on Zippia to find and recruit legislative analyst candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting legislative analysts 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 analyst

   Once you have selected a candidate for the legislative analyst position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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 legislative analyst. 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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