How to hire an office support assistant

How to hire an office support assistant, step by step

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

What does an office support assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

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

   Hiring the perfect office support assistant 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 office support assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Office Support Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Office Support Assistant	General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.	$12-20
   Support Clerk	A support clerk is primarily in charge of performing administrative support tasks in an office, making the daily workflow easier. Their responsibilities typically include preparing and processing documentation, answering and forwarding calls, handling correspondence, disseminating and organizing files, and running errands as needed... Show more	$10-25
   Administrative Support	Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries... Show more	$12-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Office Equipment
   • Phone Calls
   • Office Procedures
   • PowerPoint
   • Payroll
   • Front Desk
   • Clerical Support
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Telephone Calls
   • Office Support
   • Fax Machines
   • Computer System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and maintain patients' medical records by utilizing computer applications management database processing system to ensure county compliance.
   • Maintain HIPAA standards and audit secure patient files prior to filing.
   • Make sure all records are store and handle in compliance with HIPAA procedures.
   • Process payroll for administrative and clinical staff.
   • Create PowerPoint presentations for many different project managers.
   • Process payroll correcting entry forms, logging pertinent information into SharePoint spreadsheet for team activity.

   More office support assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the office support assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. An office support assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an office support assistant in South Carolina may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level office support assistant. Additionally, an office support assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average office support assistant salary

   $16.13hourly

   $33,548 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level office support assistant salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average office support assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$40,546	$19
   2	Maryland	$39,048	$19
   3	Colorado	$37,361	$18
   4	Texas	$36,871	$18
   5	California	$36,603	$18
   6	Connecticut	$34,925	$17
   7	Minnesota	$34,709	$17
   8	Washington	$34,643	$17
   9	Arizona	$34,412	$17
   10	North Dakota	$34,026	$16
   11	Pennsylvania	$34,018	$16
   12	Iowa	$32,003	$15
   13	Wisconsin	$31,862	$15
   14	Wyoming	$31,848	$15
   15	Illinois	$31,216	$15
   16	Missouri	$30,388	$15
   17	Utah	$29,455	$14
   18	Georgia	$29,399	$14
   19	Florida	$29,179	$14
   20	North Carolina	$29,129	$14

   Average office support assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Sierra Pacific Industries	$43,548	$20.94	2
   2	Nokia	$41,137	$19.78
   3	New York State Restaurant Association	$40,354	$19.40
   4	Anne Arundel County Public Schools	$39,515	$19.00	27
   5	Bridge Builders USA	$39,327	$18.91
   6	Microsoft	$38,938	$18.72	4
   7	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$38,783	$18.65	100
   8	Washington State University	$38,074	$18.30	2
   9	City of Atlanta	$37,537	$18.05	4
   10	Missouri S&T	$37,377	$17.97
   11	One Medical	$36,622	$17.61	17
   12	City of Dearborn	$36,607	$17.60	2
   13	Ricoh	$36,504	$17.55	38
   14	ARC of Martin County	$36,402	$17.50
   15	Washington County	$35,742	$17.18	2
   16	Blevins	$35,635	$17.13	2
   17	Department of Public Social Services	$35,544	$17.09
   18	Realogy	$35,518	$17.08
   19	Boulder Valley School District	$35,179	$16.91	2
   20	University of North Texas	$35,087	$16.87

4. Writing an office support assistant job description

   A job description for an office support assistant 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 support assistant job description:

   Office support assistant job description example

   Every member of the Team & Family at KIPP Texas Public Schools plays a critical role in ensuring our students have the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose - college, career and beyond. Our educators are passionate advocates for their students and their families, working tirelessly to ensure that our students have access to opportunity. In our classrooms and across the KIPP family we embrace, honor and celebrate our differences across several characteristics that construct our unique identities in our little and big KIPPsters. We are especially committed to attracting and developing individuals who share the life experiences of our students because we believe the best work we do is grounded in the realities and experiences of our families and KIPPsters.
   Responsibilities
   
   Assist in establishing a collaborative working relationship with administrators, faculty, parents and others at the designated school site to help implement Restorative Discipline.
   
   Organize in-school student reflective programs to promote Restorative Discipline.
   
   Together with the responsible site administrator, develop and implement a referral system for Restorative interventions for youth involved in school discipline matters including a protocol for screening to determine the appropriateness of cases for referral to restorative practices.
   
   Prepare progress notes and maintain participant files for each restorative process
   
   Facilitate Restorative Conferences and Circles and conduct intake assessments. prepare participants, send confirmation notices, facilitate process, develop agreed-upon plan, and conduct follow-up to ensure all agreements are upheld.
   
   Prepare written reports and enter data into database on an ongoing basis, to be completed by the end of the month.
   
   Review and maintain familiarity with staff policies and procedures and pertinent documents related to education codes, parent guides and other disciplinary processes.
   
   Providing feedback and problem solving with teachers to strengthen relationships and classroom culture.
   
   Develop a scope and sequence for lesson plans based on Positive Culture building and Conflict Resolution and teach them during in-school reflection.
   
   Other duties as assigned.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit office support assistants, 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.

   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 office support assistant

   Once you have selected a candidate for the office support assistant 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 office support assistant. 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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How much does it cost to hire an office support assistant?