How to hire a recruiting assistant

How to hire a recruiting assistant, step by step

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

What does a recruiting assistant do?

Post a recruiting assistant job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your recruiting 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 recruiting 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 recruiting 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 recruiting assistant that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of recruiting assistants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Recruiting Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Recruiting Assistant	Information clerks perform routine clerical duties such as maintaining records, collecting data, and providing information to customers.	$14-27
   Human Resources Clerk	A human resources clerk's role focuses on assisting in the hiring process within a company or organization. Most of the responsibilities will revolve around posting hiring notices on various platforms, handling job applications, arranging schedules and appointments for interviews, verifying requirements, and responding to calls and inquiries... Show more	$12-21
   Human Resources Internship	A human resources intern is responsible for assisting the human resources department in daily operations under a direct supervisor. Duties of a human resources intern include reviewing job postings and qualifications, updating employees' information in the database, scheduling candidate interviews, responding to employees' concerns, processing payroll disputes, and reiterating the company's policies and procedures... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Background Checks
   • HR
   • Data Entry
   • Phone Screens
   • PowerPoint
   • Interview Process
   • Taleo
   • Recruitment Process
   • Payroll
   • Applicant Tracking Systems
   • Reference Checks
   • Linkedin
   • Interview Schedules

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Schedule interviews with managers booking conference rooms and manage conflicting schedules and calendars.
   • time to fill, cost per hire for the best ROI.
   • Oversee vacation schedule, e-verify employees.
   • Maintain staffing attendance and changes in KRONOS system
   • Use Facebook to offer information session details and summary.
   • Evaluate and implement business tools to deliver strong ROI.

   More recruiting assistant duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $42,207yearly

   $20.29 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level recruiting assistant salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

   Average recruiting assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$59,425	$29
   2	Washington	$49,486	$24
   3	District of Columbia	$48,348	$23
   4	New York	$47,715	$23
   5	Colorado	$45,163	$22
   6	Oregon	$44,826	$22
   7	Massachusetts	$44,435	$21
   8	Utah	$43,368	$21
   9	Maryland	$43,259	$21
   10	Arizona	$42,839	$21
   11	North Dakota	$41,976	$20
   12	Texas	$41,530	$20
   13	Pennsylvania	$41,363	$20
   14	Virginia	$40,808	$20
   15	Wisconsin	$40,499	$19
   16	Illinois	$40,356	$19
   17	Georgia	$38,576	$19
   18	Oklahoma	$38,373	$18
   19	Florida	$37,463	$18
   20	Alabama	$36,751	$18

   Average recruiting assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton	$91,542	$44.01	2
   2	Diamond Offshore Drilling	$80,416	$38.66
   3	Kent Daniels & Associates	$72,165	$34.69
   4	A.T. Kearney	$62,647	$30.12	3
   5	Chesapeake Regional Healthcare	$62,289	$29.95
   6	North Arkansas Regional Medical Center	$60,832	$29.25
   7	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	$58,197	$27.98
   8	Dechert	$58,025	$27.90	4
   9	Aya Healthcare	$57,868	$27.82	9
   10	Cooley	$54,685	$26.29	5
   11	Foley & Lardner	$52,816	$25.39
   12	Perkins Coie	$52,265	$25.13
   13	University of Southern California	$51,613	$24.81
   14	University of California-Berkeley	$49,880	$23.98
   15	Northrop Grumman	$49,648	$23.87
   16	Davis Wright Tremaine	$49,531	$23.81
   17	Beacon Hill Staffing Group	$48,868	$23.49
   18	Blue Raven Solar	$47,853	$23.01
   19	Trident Seafoods	$46,854	$22.53
   20	Medical University of South Carolina	$46,769	$22.49	1

4. Writing a recruiting assistant job description

   A recruiting assistant 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 recruiting assistant job description:

   Recruiting assistant job description example

   Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is seeking a Recruiting Assistant for Rutgers Football. This position is responsible for assisting the Rutgers football staff in all aspects of the recruiting process.
   Among the key duties of this position are the following:
   Coordinates and executes a system of mailings and general correspondence for prospective student-athletes and high school coaches. Assists the football staff with the planning, organization and execution of all major recruiting functions, including both official and unofficial visits. Maintains a large database of prospective student-athletes, with an emphasis placed on updating and manipulating the information to suit the needs of the coaching staff. Records a detailed log of all videotapes submitted to the football office by prospective student-athletes, high school coaches and scouting services. Communicates with members of a student hostess group and coordinating their involvement in different recruiting functions. Monitors the Internet for any information about prospective student-athletes that could assist the coaching staff in the recruiting process. Serves as host to high school coaches, prospective student-athletes and other important persons during practice sessions.
   
   Minimum Education and Experience
   
   A bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
   
   Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
   
   Computer literate. Knowledge of Big Ten Conferences and NCAA rules and regulations.
   
   Overview
   
   The Rutgers Division of Intercollegiate Athletics sponsors 24 intercollegiate sports, comprised of 14 women's and 10 men's programs, that compete at the Division I level. The Scarlet Knights are members of the prestigious Big Ten Conference, the nation's premier academic and athletic conference, after officially joining the league on July 1, 2014. Known as "The Birthplace of College Football, Rutgers hosted Princeton on Nov. 6, 1869 in the first intercollegiate football game, with RU earning a 6-4 victory.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find recruiting assistants for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your recruiting assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit recruiting assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting recruiting 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 recruiting assistant

   Once you've found the recruiting 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 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 recruiting assistant. 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 a recruiting assistant?