How to hire a purchasing administrative assistant

How to hire a purchasing administrative assistant, step by step

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

What does a purchasing administrative assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The purchasing administrative assistant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

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

   Type of Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Purchasing Administrative Assistant	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$13-23
   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
   Administrative Staff	As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll... Show more	$27-48

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Purchase Orders
   • Data Entry
   • Customer Service
   • Provides Administrative Support
   • Office Equipment
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Word Processing
   • Vendor Invoices
   • Expense Reports
   • Place Orders
   • ERP
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Delivery Dates
   • Logistics

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
   • Prepare purchase orders, review requisitions, supply requests and MRP purchase reports.
   • Assess and close A/P, A/R monthly.
   • Support A/P by resolving invoice problems.
   • Verify shipments and check into ERP system.
   • Certify to internally audit group for ISO compliance.

   More purchasing administrative assistant duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $37,889yearly

   $18.22 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level purchasing administrative assistant salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average purchasing administrative assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$45,895	$22
   2	Washington	$44,343	$21
   3	New York	$43,645	$21
   4	Texas	$41,607	$20
   5	Wisconsin	$38,513	$19
   6	Michigan	$37,983	$18
   7	Missouri	$37,831	$18
   8	Arizona	$37,423	$18
   9	Pennsylvania	$35,771	$17
   10	Kentucky	$34,692	$17
   11	Virginia	$33,325	$16
   12	Georgia	$32,089	$15
   13	Florida	$31,033	$15

   Average purchasing administrative assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Aspen Snowmass	$48,017	$23.09	1
   2	D.R. Horton	$45,975	$22.10	17
   3	UPS	$42,708	$20.53	10
   4	A.C.Coy	$42,596	$20.48
   5	Leidos	$42,516	$20.44	11
   6	Uline	$42,394	$20.38	4
   7	Chicago Tube & Iron	$40,984	$19.70
   8	ATI - Allegheny Technologies Incorporated	$39,056	$18.78	1
   9	Volt Information Sciences	$38,346	$18.44
   10	Kelly Services	$37,967	$18.25	27
   11	Randstad North America, Inc.	$37,484	$18.02	9
   12	ManpowerGroup	$37,051	$17.81	39
   13	PACE Staffing Network	$36,414	$17.51
   14	Compass Group USA	$34,987	$16.82	117
   15	Gulfeagle Supply	$34,284	$16.48
   16	Rural King	$33,207	$15.96	1
   17	Jordanos	$32,676	$15.71
   18	WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA	$31,894	$15.33	13

4. Writing a purchasing administrative assistant job description

   A job description for a purchasing administrative 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 purchasing administrative assistant job description:

   Purchasing administrative assistant job description example

   Title: Administrative Assistant – Purchasing Department.
   Location : Saline, MI
   Pay Rate : Open
   Additional Benefits : Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k), company paid holidays and more!
   Type of hire : Contract
   Travel: up to 15% of work time
   
   Position Summary :
   An Associate for Purchasing Supplier Development (PSD) will support purchasing groups with administrative tasks, supplier follow-up and system processing. The person in this role will support PSD department's objectives to execute annual hoshin (company annual plan) and division Operation Procedures (OPs).
   
   Position Responsibility :

   • Execute Operating Procedures (OPs) (including issuing invoicing, payment tracking, and reporting)
   • Support Bluegrass Automotive Manufacturers Association (supplier organization for continuous improvement and supplier development) through event coordination, meeting management, and customer support
   • Overall administrative duties (travel, catering, expense reports, meeting scheduling, meeting minutes, tracking, and reporting)
   • Weekly report management
   • Follow-up with suppliers’ contacts to confirm data, request information, and follow-up on status
   • Develop new and kaizen (improve) existing operating procedures, gain consensus and support training for team activity.
   • Support internal PSD wide communication, engagement, and training
   • Contribute input in team environment to expand team collaboration
   • Resolve day-to-day supplier issues related to, payment, late assignments, reporting, etc.
   • Travel up to 15% of work time

   
   Position Requirements :

   • High School Diploma or equivalent
   • Proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel
   • Working experience with Microsoft PowerBI

   
   Position Preferences (Added Bonus) :

   • Bachelor’s Degree or higher
   • Experience with gap analysis and identifying trends with large scale data sets
   • Toyota experience

   Company DescriptionLet Global Technology Associates, LTD take your career search or hiring needs to the next level. As a premier technical and professional staffing company, with over 30 years of industry experience, we have longstanding connections in industries like automotive, aeronautics, information technology, defense, and healthcare. GTA can provide you with a full breadth of diverse candidates from our talent network. GTA is a national full-service provider of both direct and contract professionals and top management talent so whether it is a job you are seeking or a stellar supplier to partner with look no further than to GTA.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with purchasing administrative assistant 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.

   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 purchasing administrative assistant

   Once you've found the purchasing administrative assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new purchasing administrative 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 a purchasing administrative assistant?