How to hire an Office Administrator

How to hire an office administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step office administrator hiring guide:

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

What does an Office Administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the office administrator you need to hire. Certain office administrator 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

   An office administrator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, office administrators 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 office administrator salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Office Administrator	Description	Hourly Rate
   Office Administrator	General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.	$13-23
   Office Secretary	An office secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to ensure the smooth flow of operations and prevent delays with project deliverables. Office secretaries also welcome guests, respond to their inquiries and concerns, and direct them to the appropriate department or personnel for their appointments... Show More	$12-20
   Administrative Professional	An administrative professional specializes in performing administrative support and clerical tasks in a company or office, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around managing schedules, arranging appointments and meetings, producing progress reports and presentations, delegating tasks, and attending meetings on behalf of executives or staff... Show More	$11-31

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Patients
   • Data Entry
   • Office Equipment
   • Front Desk
   • PowerPoint
   • Purchase Orders
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Financial Reports
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Human Resources
   • Office Operations
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Administrative Functions

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Monitor calls, manage calendars, travel, meeting arrangements, video conference and teleconferencing.
   • Formulate various procedures to assure efficient operation of the SharePoint system is managed properly for CFWB and BOS.
   • Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
   • Pull patients charts for doctors using EMR system as well as pulled chart from medical records room.
   • Create and update all departmental ISO documents.
   • Collect all outgoing FedEx overnight packages and ship with accurate tracking and conformation information.

   More Office Administrator duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $37,423yearly

   $17.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level office administrator salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 16, 2025

   Average office administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	District of Columbia	$46,045	$22
   2	Washington	$42,132	$20
   3	New York	$42,117	$20
   4	Colorado	$41,743	$20
   5	California	$41,271	$20
   6	Massachusetts	$40,734	$20
   7	Oregon	$39,608	$19
   8	Maryland	$39,062	$19
   9	Minnesota	$39,047	$19
   10	Illinois	$38,604	$19
   11	Pennsylvania	$38,290	$18
   12	Nevada	$38,235	$18
   13	Texas	$37,630	$18
   14	Wisconsin	$37,470	$18
   15	Arizona	$36,944	$18
   16	Michigan	$36,667	$18
   17	Missouri	$36,623	$18
   18	Virginia	$36,202	$17
   19	Ohio	$35,661	$17
   20	Georgia	$35,495	$17

   Average office administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	$62,545	$30.07	12
   2	ZS	$59,438	$28.58	11
   3	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp	$57,197	$27.50	4
   4	Cloudflare	$55,646	$26.75	1
   5	Meta	$55,618	$26.74	7
   6	Arup	$52,668	$25.32
   7	The Williams Companies	$51,029	$24.53
   8	Point B	$50,647	$24.35
   9	New York University	$50,180	$24.13	59
   10	Encore Capital Group	$50,119	$24.10	3
   11	Stantec	$50,090	$24.08	51
   12	Tesoro	$48,968	$23.54
   13	Morgan Stanley	$48,142	$23.15	32
   14	Ambarella	$47,853	$23.01
   15	University of California-Berkeley	$47,851	$23.01
   16	ARA	$47,384	$22.78	4
   17	Clean Harbors	$46,988	$22.59	16
   18	RAND	$46,870	$22.53	10
   19	Princeton University	$46,764	$22.48	13
   20	UC Santa Barbara	$46,614	$22.41

4. Writing an Office Administrator Job Description

   A job description for an office administrator 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 an office administrator job description:

   Office Administrator job description example

   Responsibilities · To communicate clearly with Corps Officers and perform these and other duties as required. · Dress appropriately for the office environment · Answer and direct all calls professionally and correctly · Check voicemail and emails daily and return/ forward correspondence promptly · Manage and maintain Volunteer and Donor information · Responsible for issuing of purchase orders; keeping receipts or invoices for verification of expenses. · Manage office mail · Complete call logs, referrals, incident reports and other official documents as needed · Update, discard and maintain all files and records kept in front office · Prepare and print documents as requested by Corps Officers · Greet and interview clients to determine social service needs. · Order food and submit monthly stats to Food Bank · Assist with food pantry, clothing assistance or other Social Service needs. · Drive a 12-passenger van when needed · Help make appointments with contracted vendors for building maintenance and upkeep · Participate in staff meetings, divisional training, and any local training as applied · Assist Officers in whatever other administrative areas needed if not outlined above · Ensure that all clients are served efficiently, equitably and with dignity. · Required to render direct casework and/or group work service to clients recognizing their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs-making full use of agency and community resources. · Additional casework duties and recording keeping. · Assures that all services provided are recorded as directed, keeping accurate records of Food Pantry files. · Maintains food pantry inventory, prepare food baskets as per need. · Supervises and trains volunteers for both stockings the pantry and helping with distribution schedules and provides daily supervision of food pantry volunteers. · Manager all aspects of the Food Pantry operation (client appointments, organization, and cleanliness) · Responsible for implementing food pantry policies and procedures. · Oversee volunteers during distribution and ensure that clients are adhering to guidelines. · Coordinate the annual Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. · Maintains primary Corps files, calendar, meetings minutes, contracts, contact addresses etc. · Flexibility to perform other's duties as needed such as Backpack Program, Summer, Thanksgiving & Christmas program. · Assist Officers in whatever other administrative areas needed if not outlined above Qualifications

   • Must have a High School Diploma or Associates Degree
   • Must have prior experience in Office Administration
   • Must Possess a valid New York State Driver's License
   • Must be Bilingual: Spanish/ English and possess good verbal communication skill
   • Must have good understanding of the mission of The Salvation Army
   • Must be able to lift at least 30 pounds
   • Must conduct oneself in a manner which reflects credit to The Salvation Army
   • Must have a high level of initiative and flexibility in the work atmosphere
   • Must be organized, kind and have a positive attitude.
   • Must have experience with Microsoft office-word, Excel, Power Point Presenter and Publisher
   • Must have strong management and organizational skills

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit office administrators, 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 office administrator

   Once you've selected the best office administrator 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 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new office administrator. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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 an office administrator?