How to hire a principal secretary

How to hire a principal secretary, step by step

Here's a step-by-step principal secretary hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the principal secretary you need to hire. Certain principal secretary 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 principal secretary's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, principal secretaries 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 presents principal secretary salaries for various positions.

   Type of Principal Secretary	Description	Hourly rate
   Principal Secretary	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-19
   Administrative Coordinator	An Administrative Coordinator oversees the line of communication and schedules within a company, ensuring that every necessary information is delivered and conveyed. An administrative coordinator's responsibilities include responding to inquiries and requests from workforce personnel or client, managing calls and correspondence, maintaining and rotating various forms of documentation, and designing or improving systems that would help the company's operating procedures... Show more	$13-26
   Department Secretary	A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes... Show more	$12-22

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Purchase Orders
   • Schedule Appointments
   • Office Equipment
   • Financial Reports
   • Word Processing
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Clerical Support
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Telephone Calls
   • Office Procedures
   • Office Machines
   • Secretarial Support
   • Student Attendance
   • Staff Attendance

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage high volume of requests and correspondence from executives and colleagues, pharmaceutical representatives, patients and outside physicians.
   • Maintain compliance with HIPPA law.
   • Work closely with Medicare and Medicaid.
   • Maintain confidentiality laws of HIPAA and OSHA.
   • Create spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations for faculty meetings on behalf of the principal.
   • Prepare charts, vital sight, injections, EKG, phlebotomy, fill prescriptions and hospital admitting.

   More principal secretary duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, principal secretaries' average salary in indiana is 43% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level principal secretaries earn 34% less than senior-level principal secretaries.
   • Certifications. A principal secretary 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 principal secretary's salary.

   Average principal secretary salary

   $16.20hourly

   $33,699 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level principal secretary salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average principal secretary salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$45,287	$22
   2	Minnesota	$40,791	$20
   3	Colorado	$37,684	$18
   4	Kansas	$33,347	$16
   5	Texas	$32,874	$16
   6	Arizona	$32,188	$15
   7	Missouri	$31,980	$15
   8	Idaho	$31,677	$15
   9	Iowa	$29,955	$14
   10	New Mexico	$29,325	$14

   Average principal secretary salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Edina Public Schools	$34,818	$16.74
   2	Lodi Unified School District	$33,156	$15.94
   3	Northern Michigan University	$32,130	$15.45
   4	Jeffrey C Still Middle School	$31,516	$15.15	4
   5	Alamogordo Public Schools	$30,819	$14.82	1
   6	Wentzville R Iv School District	$30,339	$14.59	1
   7	Vista Unified	$30,043	$14.44	5
   8	Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25	$24,693	$11.87

4. Writing a principal secretary job description

   A principal secretary 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. Below, you can find an example of a principal secretary job description:

   Principal secretary job description example

   Primary Function: To provide secretarial support to principal performing detailed and routine task of the school office in a confidential manner.
   Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities
   
   (These are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work performed. The omission of specific duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.)
   
   * Provides secretarial support to all areas of the school office with primary emphasis on the clerical operational task for the principal.
   * Acts as liaison for the principal with administration, staff, students, parents and others.
   * Communicates and interacts with and assists administration, staff, students, parents and the public to gather, collect and provide information.
   * Enters, retrieves, uses and maintains informational databases.
   * Receives, reviews, records, reports and verifies employee leave and attendance data.
   * Prepares purchase orders and requisitions for supplies, equipment and materials.
   * Plans and organizes work and works independently with minimal supervision;
   * Prepares correspondence, reports and other documents as directed.
   * Arranges meetings and maintains administrators schedule and appointments
   * Types, files, answer phones, record messages, assists visitors and callers and provide other secretarial duties as assigned.
   
   Other Job Duties
   
   * May provide training and assistance to other office staff.
   * Participates in training and professional development activities to enhance performance.
   
   Minimum Qualifications:
   
   High school diploma or GED with secretarial skills and experience required. Experience working in schools preferred. Possesses good judgment and the ability to work with little supervision. Highly skilled with PC office and other software. Excellent oral and written communication skills, visual acuity, manipulative dexterity and the ability to hear and read are required to perform essential tasks. Must possess the temperament to relate with adults exhibiting a wide range of emotions and have the physical ability to perform the essential duties.
   
   Physical, Sensory Ability and Work Environment Conditions:
   
   * Employee works primarily in a climate controlled office environment except when traveling to other buildings, meetings, training locations and other areas. Tasks are regularly performed with potential exposure to office environmental conditions, such as controlled temperature and equipment noise extremes.
   * Employee performs task involving the regular and, at times, sustained performance of minimally physically demanding work, typically involving some combination of extended sitting, walking, repetitive motions to routinely and intermittently operate a computer, use of hands and fingers to handle or feel objects or controls, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and reaching to access files or supplies, and that may involve the lifting, carrying, or pulling of moderately light objects and materials of 10-15 pounds.
   * Frequent access to and interaction with students. May be exposed to childhood illnesses.
   * Uses varied office equipment including, computers, monitors, copiers, calculators. May use audio and video equipment.
   * Most tasks require the ability to hear, visual perception and discrimination, and oral communication ability.
   * Must have visual acuity to read documents, computer screens to complete task.
   * Ability to perform addition and subtraction, multiplication, division and other simple mathematical calculations and arrange, compare, count, differentiate, measure and/or sort data and/or information accurately.
   * Ability to establish and maintain effective working and cooperative relationships with others.
   * Ability to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagrammatic form that involves semi-routine standardized work with some latitude for independent judgment concerning choices of action.
   * Ability to exercise judgment, discretion, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving a variety of information against sensory, judgment, or subjective criteria, as opposed to that which is clearly measurable or verifiable.
   * Ability to read and interpret documents such procedure manuals; ability to write routine reports and correspondence; and the ability to speak and exchange information effectively to one or more people.
   
   Terms of Employment: In accordance with the MNESPA Agreement

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit principal secretaries, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 principal secretary

   Once you've decided on a perfect principal secretary candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new principal secretary first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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