How to hire a project assistant

How to hire a project assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step project assistant hiring guide:

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

What does a project assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your project assistant 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 project assistant 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a project assistant to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a project assistant that fits the bill.

   This list presents project assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Project Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Project Assistant	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-27
   Project Coordinator	Project coordinators act as the liaising body between different departments involved in a specific project. They are members of the group assigned to work together for special projects or undertakings that will benefit the organization... Show more	$15-36

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Data Entry
   • PowerPoint
   • Customer Service
   • Project Management
   • Meeting Minutes
   • Data Collection
   • Purchase Orders
   • Word Processing
   • General Contractors
   • Office Equipment
   • Assist Project
   • HR
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Financial Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage SharePoint document repository and ensure that project managers comply with PMO policies.
   • Manage facilities by coordinating relocation of departments by using the facilities management database and VISIO.
   • Compose and balance departmental grants, tabulate and process payroll distribution, manage and maintain office routine during supervisor's absence.
   • Manage QA budget for assign projects by identifying actual and potential budget over-runs and under-runs, develop and monitor project/program plans.
   • Create a useful project tracking tool call JIRA.
   • Communicate with donors via phone, email, and twitter.

   More project assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your project assistant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A project assistant 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 project assistant in Florida may be lower than in Oregon, and an entry-level project assistant usually earns less than a senior-level project assistant. Additionally, a project assistant 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 project assistant salary

   $38,564yearly

   $18.54 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level project assistant salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average project assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Oregon	$53,609	$26
   2	California	$53,457	$26
   3	New York	$50,000	$24
   4	Washington	$48,726	$23
   5	Massachusetts	$47,008	$23
   6	District of Columbia	$46,427	$22
   7	Maryland	$44,235	$21
   8	Nevada	$41,933	$20
   9	Pennsylvania	$40,991	$20
   10	Alaska	$39,991	$19
   11	Minnesota	$38,454	$18
   12	Illinois	$36,845	$18
   13	Texas	$36,238	$17
   14	New Mexico	$36,064	$17
   15	Colorado	$35,678	$17
   16	Utah	$35,411	$17
   17	Arizona	$34,114	$16
   18	Wisconsin	$33,800	$16
   19	Missouri	$33,716	$16
   20	Iowa	$33,701	$16

   Average project assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	AstraZeneca	$95,585	$45.95	1
   2	Rosendin Electric	$72,445	$34.83	33
   3	Sidley Austin	$68,947	$33.15	2
   4	BWX Technologies	$65,467	$31.47	2
   5	EDC	$64,911	$31.21
   6	AECOM	$62,674	$30.13	33
   7	HDR	$62,579	$30.09	25
   8	Smithsonian Institution	$62,534	$30.06
   9	RS&H	$62,524	$30.06	4
   10	APCO Worldwide	$60,605	$29.14
   11	Design Workshop	$59,714	$28.71
   12	TriMet	$58,961	$28.35
   13	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	$58,860	$28.30
   14	Hawaii Pacific Health	$58,157	$27.96	1
   15	Black & Veatch	$58,087	$27.93	9
   16	Pharmacyclics	$57,956	$27.86
   17	Moody Nolan	$57,544	$27.67
   18	Stantec	$56,956	$27.38	51
   19	New York State Restaurant Association	$56,799	$27.31
   20	City of Baltimore	$56,770	$27.29	3

4. Writing a project assistant job description

   A job description for a project 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 a project assistant job description:

   Project assistant job description example

   Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is seeking a Research Project Assistant for The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology ( GSAPP ). This position will contribute to a multidisciplinary research team across multiple federally funded grants focused on large-scale school-based instructional coaching studies and school implementation projects (e.g., students at risk for or with reading disabilities or disruptive behavior disorders).
   Among the key duties of this position are the following:
   Assist in the development of data collection measures and materials. Perform field-based data collection in school settings. Assist in the development and maintenance of all project databases. Coordinate and perform data entry, quality control, and analytics. Conduct literature searches and review empirically supported publications to assist with manuscript, journal article, and conference presentation preparation. Assist with training and monitoring students in data collection methods.
   
   Minimum Education and Experience
   
   B.A. or B.S. in psychology, education, or related scientific field, or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
   
   Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
   
   Experience working in the areas of education and/or psychology research Basic proficiency and skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and IBM SPSS . Excellent interpersonal, organizational, verbal and written communication skills
   
   Overview
   
   At the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, we provide the nation's highest quality doctoral education and training, which develops outstanding practitioners and fosters personal leadership to advance the practice and field of professional psychology. Since the establishment of our Psychological Clinic in 1929 and the school's founding in 1974, we have become the "gold standard" in the education and training of qualified and competent direct-service psychologists.
   
   The mission of GSAPP is threefold: education, research/scholarship, and public service. Its goal is to prepare well-educated, qualified, and competent direct-service psychologists who have a special commitment to direct community involvement and to underserved populations-professionals who can integrate scientific knowledge with innovation in the delivery of psychological services to individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Professionals receiving a doctoral degree in psychology should be capable of extending psychological knowledge and exhibiting the high level of analytic skills and theoretical understanding needed to use existing and emerging psychological knowledge.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting project assistants 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 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 project assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect project assistant 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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 a project assistant?