How to hire a residence life director

How to hire a residence life director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step residence life director hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the residence life director you need to hire. Certain residence life director 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a residence life director 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 residence life director that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of residence life director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Residence Life Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Residence Life Director	Postsecondary education administrators oversee student services, academics, and faculty research at colleges and universities. Their job duties vary depending on the area of the college they manage, such as admissions, student life, or the office of the registrar.	$15-40
   Co-Chair	A co-chair is responsible for supporting the duties and responsibilities under the supervision of a chair. Co-chairs help with the implementation of effective plans and programs that would benefit the organization... Show more	$10-167
   Dean	A dean is responsible for overseeing the educational operations of the assigned department, enforcing school policies, and monitoring the students' progress by coordinating with the teachers and setting up procedures to improve teaching methods. Deans administer educational training and programs for the students, as well as extra-curricular activities to develop the students' social behavior, maximize their potentials, and increase their self-confidence... Show more	$23-72

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Residence Life
   • Phone Calls
   • Student Development
   • Oversight
   • Student Affairs
   • Student Conduct
   • Resident Assistants
   • Staff Development
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Desk Assistants
   • Incident Reports
   • Event Planning
   • Risk Management
   • Emergency Situations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Motivate, train and lead a team of nine ministry coordinators.
   • Provide leadership, oversight, and administration of innovative student-centered activities.
   • Provide clinical oversight of family-centered services that include capacity building, needs assessment, program and policy development and evaluation.
   • Cultivate, coordinate, and assist in the development of student leadership and responsibility through programming and direct involvement with students.

   More residence life director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your residence life director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A residence life director 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 residence life director in Illinois may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level residence life director usually earns less than a senior-level residence life director. Additionally, a residence life director 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 residence life director salary

   $52,520yearly

   $25.25 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level residence life director salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average residence life director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$69,361	$33
   2	District of Columbia	$66,137	$32
   3	California	$63,546	$31
   4	Maryland	$63,415	$30
   5	New York	$62,700	$30
   6	Indiana	$59,629	$29
   7	Massachusetts	$58,752	$28
   8	New Jersey	$58,262	$28
   9	Oregon	$57,504	$28
   10	Ohio	$54,066	$26
   11	Delaware	$53,435	$26
   12	Minnesota	$52,994	$25
   13	Wisconsin	$51,917	$25
   14	Florida	$50,767	$24
   15	Washington	$49,980	$24
   16	Alaska	$49,774	$24
   17	Texas	$49,603	$24
   18	Georgia	$48,740	$23
   19	Alabama	$48,642	$23
   20	Iowa	$47,872	$23

   Average residence life director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Point B	$88,000	$42.31
   2	Silicon Valley Bank	$87,301	$41.97
   3	Emory Healthcare	$78,602	$37.79
   4	Saint Xavier University	$72,602	$34.90	1
   5	Mount Aloysius College	$70,760	$34.02
   6	Emory University	$70,448	$33.87	1
   7	Gilbane Building Company	$68,155	$32.77
   8	Guidehouse	$65,978	$31.72	2
   9	The University System of Maryland Foundation	$62,389	$29.99
   10	Portland State University	$60,890	$29.27
   11	Hood College	$60,286	$28.98
   12	CBRE Group	$59,779	$28.74	2
   13	Houston Baptist University	$59,042	$28.39	2
   14	Valparaiso University	$58,647	$28.20
   15	Wipro Limited	$57,358	$27.58
   16	New York Institute of Technology	$57,032	$27.42
   17	Dickinson College	$56,412	$27.12
   18	North Central College	$56,199	$27.02	1
   19	Loras College	$55,337	$26.60
   20	OAC Services	$55,069	$26.48

4. Writing a residence life director job description

   A residence life director 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 residence life director job description:

   Residence life director job description example

   Reporting to the Associate Dean for Inclusion and Belonging, the Director of the Office of BGLTQ Student Life will direct all initiatives related to supporting bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, queer and questioning (BGLTQ) student life at the College, and will provide leadership to foster respect for BGLTQ life at Harvard College. These duties span leadership, administration, programming and assessment, and advising, and will include:
   
   Supervision, Student Advising, and Organization Advising: Hire, train, and supervise professional staff, and undergraduate and graduate student interns. Advise BGLTQ-related student organizations, and conduct leadership development to equip them to advance their missions. Train and co-supervise CONTACT, the BGLTQ issues peer counseling group. Represent BGLTQ student views in appropriate arenas, and provide continuous feedback between BGLTQ students and the college administration. Play a key role for program development that will enhance the College communitys awareness of and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. Support capacity-building for colleagues in other functional areas to ensure deeper awareness of and greater sensitivity to BGLTQ student needs is continually reflected through their work. Make referrals to related resources as needed.
   
   Programs and Events: Lead office staff, student interns, leaders of the BGLTQ-related student organizations, and various University offices (e.g., Womens Center, Harvard Foundation, House Offices, etc.), to create, coordinate, implement, and evaluate an intersectional array of programs and events which account for students various, fluid identities. Ensure that programs reflect the intersectionality of identities (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, faith and religion, etc.). Develop ongoing mechanisms for feedback from current undergraduates and from alumnx to inform program development and implementation. Share responsibility for budget oversight for programs and events. Collaborate closely with campus partners and act as liaison to other College offices and programs responsible for student organization advising, planning, and events. Assess student and community needs routinely, and adjust programming priorities in response to changing needs.
   
   Residential Staff Training: Coordinate, implement, and evaluate training for residential staff identified as BGLTQ advisers; develop additional trainings and resources for all residential staff.
   
   Planning and Goal Setting: Develop a strategic vision and establish long-range goals and priorities in alignment with the mission of the College and the Dean of Students Office. Collaborate with the BGLTQ advisory board and the Associate Dean for Inclusion and Belonging to embed goals and strategy into broader DSO goals.
   
   Alumnx Relations: Act as liaison to the Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus and the Open Gate Foundation.
   
   Policy Development: Inform the Colleges approach to bias response and respond meaningfully to bias-related incidents involving students who are, or are perceived to be, BGLTQ.
   Other duties assigned according to the changing needs of the community.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find residence life directors 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 residence life director job on Zippia to find and recruit residence life director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting residence life directors 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 residence life director

   Once you've decided on a perfect residence life director 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new residence life director. 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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