How to hire a Resident Assistant

How to hire a resident assistant, step by step

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

What does a Resident Assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the resident assistant you need to hire. Certain resident assistant 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

   Hiring the perfect resident assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents resident assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type Of Resident Assistant	Description	Hourly Rate
   Resident Assistant	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$10-18
   Resident	A resident, often known as a resident physician, is a medical doctor who just graduated from medical school and pursued the residency program for further training. Residents work with health care team members to provide direct medical care by diagnosing medical problems and devising appropriate treatment plans... Show More	$21-39
   Resident Advisor	A resident advisor is responsible for protecting the residents' welfare by promoting healthy leadership and community coordination. Resident advisors' duties include conducting scheduled lifestyle counseling, evaluating opportunities for each resident, resolving conflicts between residents calmly, planning community programs, and encourage everyone's participation... Show More	$7-18

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Home Health
   • CPR
   • Vital Signs
   • Residential Life
   • Compassion
   • Memory Care
   • Cleanliness
   • Educational Programs
   • English Language
   • Medication Administration
   • ADL
   • Incident Reports
   • Blood Pressure
   • Administrative Tasks

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage pediatrics emergencies, indoor & outdoor patients, neonatal & intensive care units.
   • Assist 3rd stage Alzheimer's residents with ADL'S, housekeeping, ROM, provide residents with daily medications at specify times
   • Used Hoyer lift when need.
   • Assist in safety transfers including hoyer lifts and wheel chair.
   • General care giving (elderly disable), food prep., activity assistant, CPR certify.
   • Maintain compliance with procedures and schedules, maintain safety of all residents as according to HIPAA regulations.

   More Resident Assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your resident assistant job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A resident assistant can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, resident assistants' average salary in louisiana is 38% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level resident assistants 44% less than senior-level resident assistants.
   • Certifications. A resident assistant with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a resident assistant's salary.

   Average resident assistant salary

   $14.41hourly

   $29,971 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level resident assistant salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 14, 2025

   Average resident assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	California	$35,909	$17
   2	Oregon	$32,672	$16
   3	Minnesota	$32,107	$15
   4	New York	$30,537	$15
   5	Wisconsin	$29,947	$14
   6	Colorado	$29,156	$14
   7	Illinois	$28,945	$14
   8	Arizona	$28,898	$14
   9	Indiana	$26,819	$13
   10	Michigan	$26,451	$13
   11	Ohio	$26,259	$13
   12	Mississippi	$26,122	$13
   13	North Carolina	$25,532	$12
   14	Nebraska	$25,184	$12
   15	Texas	$25,166	$12
   16	South Dakota	$24,529	$12
   17	Tennessee	$23,251	$11
   18	Georgia	$21,756	$10

   Average resident assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Mount St. Mary's University	$53,801	$25.87
   2	Waters	$48,998	$23.56
   3	Grand View Health	$48,091	$23.12	1
   4	University of Nevada, Reno	$41,878	$20.13	2
   5	Northwell Health	$41,224	$19.82	20
   6	Good Shepherd Lutheran School	$38,925	$18.71
   7	Nebraska Medicine	$38,830	$18.67
   8	Hackensack Meridian Health	$38,156	$18.34	5
   9	New Jersey Institute of Technology	$35,526	$17.08	4
   10	Holzer Health System	$35,210	$16.93
   11	Legacy Health	$34,925	$16.79	2
   12	ACC Health	$34,564	$16.62
   13	Kisco Senior Living	$34,385	$16.53	10
   14	Washington County	$34,069	$16.38
   15	Bank of America	$33,851	$16.27
   16	Minnesota State Fair	$33,594	$16.15	3
   17	Five Points Washington	$33,322	$16.02
   18	Aspirus	$33,312	$16.02	3
   19	SIERRA HEALTH SERVICES INC	$32,882	$15.81	1
   20	Fairview Health Services	$32,846	$15.79	61

4. Writing a Resident Assistant Job Description

   A resident 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a resident assistant job description:

   Resident Assistant job description example

   You're going to love it here. That's not just a promise to our residents; it's a promise to our employees as well. As passionate as we are about helping students succeed, we're just as passionate about creating rewarding careers for our team members. Here you'll find a hardworking, motivating culture with unlimited potential for contribution and growth. We are hiring driven students with entrepreneurial spirits looking to begin their career today!
   
   Our people are our strength, and at American Campus, our Community Assistants are the primary facilitator in providing our prospective and current residents with a dynamic and enhanced leasing and living experience.
   
   As a part-time Community Assistant, you'll gain valuable work experience while developing the critical professional skills top employers want to hire. This is an opportunity to have an impact in the lives of fellow students and get paid to make a difference.
   
   As a student employee, we will work with your class schedule to maximize your professional and academic growth. You will work a structured administrative shift in the apartment leasing office which may include evenings, weekdays, weekends, and/or holidays. Here is what your typical day may look like:
   
   Help students find their home away from home by making appointments, conducting tours, maintaining show rooms, and completing marketing follow-up processes needed to secure leases.
   
   Provide unparalleled customer service and respect for residents while supporting all American Campus Communities policies and procedures.
   
   Enthusiastically assist with the implementation of off-site marketing efforts on-campus, in the community, and at special events.
   Assist with the preparation and administration of Turn, Move-In, and Move-Out. Work scheduled “Community Assistant On-Call” shifts, which may include, weekdays, weekends, and/or holidays. These shifts are a required part of the Community Assistant position and may take place at any point during the day, evening, and/or overnight. We are passionate about our work and building community. Our people are devoted to a culture of inclusion, diversity, and equality in the workplace and our communities. We are committed to intentionally executing an evolving set of goals specific to inclusion, diversity, and accountability, driven by empathetic leadership, and embraced by all. The core of American Campus culture involves everyone being fully invested in everything that we do down to picking up the smallest piece of trash. No matter their position or duration at any given property, everyone picks up trash because we take pride in our community. Certain activities involved in this position may be photographed and/or video and audio recorded for quality control and/or training purposes. Compliance with the Photo, Video and Voice Recording Policy is a condition of employment. Your background and experience needed to excel in this role should include: A high school diploma and diploma in progress from an accredited college or university A desire to develop your leadership, problem solving, and conflict resolution skills. The ability to act as customer relations liaison for residents, prospective residents, and parents. A desire to impact your community with marketing strategy and vision. ACC is now hiring - Join us and see just how far your ambition can advance your career before you even graduate!

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find resident 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 resident assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit resident assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting resident 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. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   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 resident assistant

   Once you've selected the best resident assistant candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the 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 resident assistant 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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How much does it cost to hire a resident assistant?