How to hire a media buyer

How to hire a media buyer, step by step

Here's a step-by-step media buyer hiring guide:

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

What does a media buyer do?

Post a media buyer job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your media buyer 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 media buyer 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

   A media buyer's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, media buyers 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 media buyer salaries for various roles:

   Type of Media Buyer	Description	Hourly rate
   Media Buyer	Buyers and purchasing agents buy products and services for organizations to use or resell. They evaluate suppliers, negotiate contracts, and review the quality of products.	$26-47
   Purchasing Agent	A purchasing agent's general task is keeping purchase records and making sure that there won't be any discrepancies with the handling of orders. The purchasing agent should be responsible for the order processing and payment collection... Show more	$17-34
   Procurement Agent	A procurement agent develops profitable measures to save the client money and ensure the quality of goods supplied. Procurement agents obtain the purchased items through suppliers, monitor them, and expedite the orders... Show more	$23-50

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Campaign Performance
   • Media Buying
   • Facebook
   • Google Analytics
   • Media Planning
   • ROI
   • PowerPoint
   • Google Adwords
   • Target Audience
   • Direct Response
   • Twitter
   • CPA
   • Marketing Campaigns

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage both PPC and display buys across a network of clients.
   • Manage day to day performance expectation of SEO, SEM, and outside vendors.
   • Manage the client's Youtube page and report monthly on all social media platforms.
   • Manage the @ RCIHelp twitter account and provide RCI consumers with direct responses and posts.
   • Implement, alter and write algorithms using SQL in order to increase efficiency within the portfolios manage.
   • Negotiate, develop, monitor and manage delivery of book campaigns on CPA, CPC and CPM models.

   More media buyer duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your media buyer job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A media buyer 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 media buyer in South Dakota may be lower than in Vermont, and an entry-level media buyer usually earns less than a senior-level media buyer. Additionally, a media buyer 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 media buyer salary

   $74,390yearly

   $35.76 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level media buyer salary

   $56,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 3, 2026

   Average media buyer salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Vermont	$82,779	$40
   2	Massachusetts	$81,808	$39
   3	Washington	$81,477	$39
   4	Connecticut	$78,599	$38
   5	Arizona	$77,423	$37
   6	West Virginia	$77,018	$37
   7	Alabama	$74,799	$36
   8	Nevada	$74,679	$36
   9	Maryland	$73,278	$35
   10	California	$73,104	$35
   11	Georgia	$72,935	$35
   12	Rhode Island	$72,781	$35
   13	District of Columbia	$72,571	$35
   14	New York	$72,237	$35
   15	Pennsylvania	$72,127	$35
   16	Oregon	$71,896	$35
   17	Illinois	$71,784	$35
   18	Virginia	$71,620	$34
   19	Ohio	$70,505	$34
   20	North Carolina	$69,917	$34

   Average media buyer salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Bloomberg	$102,997	$49.52
   2	Yahoo	$94,004	$45.19
   3	Upwork	$83,275	$40.04
   4	Amazon	$82,961	$39.89	71
   5	Brill Media Holdings	$82,436	$39.63	1
   6	ICF	$79,875	$38.40
   7	Townsquare Interactive	$79,501	$38.22
   8	Wintrust Financial	$79,263	$38.11
   9	AmeriHealth Caritas	$79,164	$38.06
   10	Sonobi	$77,896	$37.45
   11	CMP	$77,730	$37.37
   12	Spark Foundry	$77,410	$37.22	6
   13	The Motley Fool	$77,079	$37.06
   14	Connors Group	$76,660	$36.86
   15	J.B. Hunt Transport Services	$75,101	$36.11
   16	Trilia Media	$75,070	$36.09
   17	Zeta Global	$74,582	$35.86	2
   18	Red-Spark.com	$74,098	$35.62
   19	Fisher Investments	$73,997	$35.58
   20	Serta Simmons Bedding	$73,534	$35.35	3

4. Writing a media buyer job description

   A media buyer 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 media buyer job description:

   Media buyer job description example

   The short answer? We're looking to keep a good thing going. An independently owned full-service marketing agency, Pinckney Hugo Group has grown consistently over the past 20 or so years.

   We've created bigger and better work, added to our capabilities and expanded to serve a wider range of regional, national and international clients. It's all happened because we've been able to bring in incredibly talented and dedicated people to help build something special. And because we don't plan on slowing down anytime soon, we're posting career opportunities like this one.

   WHY PHG?

   For starters, you'll have the chance to work on some of the biggest brands and most exciting projects in the world — all from right here in Upstate New York, and in some cases, from the comfort of your home.

   You'll be challenged, but you'll never be on your own. What we offer takes a full team. And we're just that — a team. A group of complementary talents that, when unleashed together, can do anything we set our minds to.

   Some of our comprehensive and competitive benefits include:

   • Hybrid work – split your week between working in our office or at home
   • Generous PTO policy, including flex time
   • Paid parental leave
   • Medical, vision, dental benefits
   • Resources for savings and investments such as our 401(k) plan with company match
   • Company-sponsored events and swag
   • Dog friendly work environment
   • Opportunities to learn, develop, network, and connect

   OUR HIRING PHILOSOPHY

   At Pinckney Hugo Group, we believe that diversity improves our agency and helps us to better serve our clients by offering different views, perspectives and experiences. We are committed to creating a diverse environment and team, and aspire to better reflect the brands and people we serve. We strongly encourage people of color, members of the LGBTQAI+ community, people with disabilities and other underrepresented groups to apply to join our team. No matter who you are, you'll find opportunity here. We'll empower you to work on amazing brands with incredible teams, all while giving you the space you need to make this time whatever you want it to be. Apply today and explore all the ways you can grow with us. You'll be glad you did — and we will too.

   We'd like to know more about you and why you're interested in PHG. Please be sure to include a cover letter with your resume submission.

   Powered by JazzHR

   WVacFIb46J

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right media buyer 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 media buyers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit media buyers 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 media buyer job on Zippia to find and recruit media buyer candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with media buyer 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.

   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 media buyer

   Once you have selected a candidate for the media buyer 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.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new media buyer. 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.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a media buyer?