How to hire a school secretary

How to hire a school secretary, step by step

Here's a step-by-step school secretary hiring guide:

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

What does a school secretary do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The school secretary 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 school secretary's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, school secretaries 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of school secretaries and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of School Secretary	Description	Hourly rate
   School Secretary	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$12-23
   Administrative Professional	An administrative professional specializes in performing administrative support and clerical tasks in a company or office, ensuring accuracy and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around managing schedules, arranging appointments and meetings, producing progress reports and presentations, delegating tasks, and attending meetings on behalf of executives or staff... Show more	$11-31
   Administrative Clerk	An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments... Show more	$12-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Word Processing
   • Payroll
   • Math
   • Purchase Orders
   • Data Entry
   • PowerPoint
   • Office Equipment
   • Lawson
   • Telephone Calls
   • Office Machines
   • Clerical Support
   • Schedule Appointments
   • Report Cards
   • Attendance Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
   • Coordinate department payroll, electronic share files, and general office operations.
   • Compose all correspondence and prepare presentations via PowerPoint.
   • Create PowerPoint presentations used for teachers professional development.
   • Perform all secretarial duties including attendance, payroll reports and conference arrangements/billing.
   • Prepare discharges, enter all updates into OASAS system and review patient information to verify patients eligibility to receive transportation reimbursement.

   More school secretary duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, school secretaries' average salary in delaware is 51% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level school secretaries 49% less than senior-level school secretaries.
   • Certifications. A school secretary 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 school secretary's salary.

   Average school secretary salary

   $35,126yearly

   $16.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level school secretary salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average school secretary salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$43,064	$21
   2	Minnesota	$33,762	$16
   3	Nevada	$33,129	$16
   4	Colorado	$32,521	$16
   5	Massachusetts	$32,231	$16
   6	Idaho	$30,802	$15
   7	Montana	$29,932	$14
   8	Connecticut	$29,378	$14
   9	Arizona	$29,264	$14
   10	New Jersey	$28,823	$14
   11	Illinois	$28,515	$14
   12	New Mexico	$27,790	$13
   13	New York	$27,204	$13
   14	Missouri	$26,197	$13
   15	Michigan	$25,781	$12
   16	Maryland	$25,439	$12
   17	Ohio	$25,083	$12
   18	Oklahoma	$24,757	$12

   Average school secretary salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95	$59,642	$28.67	4
   2	Boston Public Schools	$49,491	$23.79	13
   3	Eureka Ergonomic	$45,473	$21.86	3
   4	Grossmont College	$43,644	$20.98	4
   5	Oak Grove School	$41,374	$19.89	1
   6	The University of Chicago	$40,615	$19.53	9
   7	Athlos Academies	$40,228	$19.34
   8	Santa Rosa City Schools	$39,714	$19.09
   9	Topeka Public Schools	$39,692	$19.08	16
   10	Robbinsdale Area Schools	$39,643	$19.06	9
   11	Mount Zion Christian Schools	$39,624	$19.05
   12	Akron Municipal Court	$39,313	$18.90
   13	Legacy Traditional Schools	$39,196	$18.84	17
   14	St. Augustine Preparatory Academy	$38,591	$18.55	9
   15	Montgomery County Public Schools	$38,481	$18.50	16
   16	Castro Valley USD	$37,924	$18.23
   17	Anne Arundel County Public Schools	$37,450	$18.00	14
   18	Baldwin Park Unified School District	$37,429	$17.99
   19	Culver City Unified School District	$37,264	$17.92	3
   20	Sterling High School	$37,219	$17.89

4. Writing a school secretary job description

   A good school secretary job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a school secretary job description:

   School secretary job description example

   Secretarial/Clerical
   
   Date Posted:
   8/29/2022
   
   Location:
   LISA Academy Rogers-Bentonville
   
   Date Available:
   09/12/2022
   School Secretary/School Child Nutrition Coordinator
   
   Position Purpose
   The secretary/school child nutrition coordinator serves a dual purpose, providing front office assistance to students, staff and families and carrying out all functions of the nutrition services on campus, including planning, serving, and billing.
   
   Essential Functions
   o Assists the campus registrar and families in the application and registration process for LISA Academy.
   
   o Greets visitors who arrive at school, providing requested information or directing visitors to staff to assist them.
   
   o Sells uniform shirts and accepts payments for shirts, field trips and other campus needs.
   
   o Assists with the copying and distribution of documents and other materials (e.g., correspondence, bulletins, and reports) for administrative, instructional and clerical staff.
   
   o Assists in maintaining documents, files and records for the purpose of providing up-to-date reference.
   
   o Assists with answering telephone calls, and provides information and assistance to callers.
   
   o Documents all aspects of the school's nutrition program, including ordering, counting meals served and documentation regarding meal applications.
   
   o Assists in distributing incoming mail appropriately.
   
   o Assists in maintaining inventories of supplies and materials for the purpose of ensuring items' availability.
   
   o Assists in supervising and managing students in non-classroom activities such as cafeteria, recess, and busing, as assigned.
   
   o Other duties as assigned.
   
   Additional Duties
   Performs other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and effective functioning of the school.
   Note: The above description is illustrative of tasks and responsibilities. It is not meant to be all inclusive of every task or responsibility.
   
   Equipment
   Uses standard office equipment such as personal computer, copy machine, fax machine, telephone.
   High School Diploma or equivalent required, some college courses preferred. Prior school nutrition and clerical experience is preferred. Fluent in Spanish and English is preferred.
   Qualification Profile
   Any combination of education and experience providing the required skill and knowledge for successful performance would be qualifying.
   Typical qualifications would be equivalent to:
   
   FLSA Status: Non-exempt

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right school secretary for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit school secretaries, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 school secretary

   Once you've found the school secretary 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 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 school secretary 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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