How to hire a senior counselor

How to hire a senior counselor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior counselor hiring guide:

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

What does a senior counselor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior counselor 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a senior counselor 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 senior counselor that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of senior counselor salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Counselor	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Counselor	Recreation workers design and lead recreational and leisure activities for groups in volunteer agencies or recreation facilities, such as playgrounds, parks, camps, aquatic centers, and senior centers. They may lead activities such as arts and crafts, dance, sports, adventure programs, music, and camping.	$38-96
   Program Lead	A program lead is responsible for managing a business program's operation from its conceptualization to implementation. Program leads must have excellent communication and researching skills to monitor current industry trends, adjusting program techniques and strategies to meet society's demands... Show more	$28-82
   Activities Director	An activities director is responsible for planning engaging events for the participants, considering individual interests and the safety of procedures and resources. Activities directors guide the activity staff on assisting the participants, ensuring that they are comfortable with joining the activities... Show more	$12-35

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Legal Advice
   • Legal Issues
   • Patients
   • Legal Support
   • Intellectual Property
   • Legal Research
   • Due Diligence
   • Risk Management
   • Human Resources
   • Customer Service
   • Real Estate
   • Mental Health
   • HIPAA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage team of IP professionals in patent, trademark and copyright protection matters.
   • Provide supervision and manage delinquent youthful offenders, in a secure residential correctional treatment facility.
   • Manage outside counsel in connection with merger/acquisition/business development activity, litigation matters, and the resolution of third party disputes.
   • Lead educational initiatives to patients such as education in safety, assertive communication, appropriate boundaries, personal hygiene and nutrition.
   • Manage the dispute resolution/litigation process; responding to and resolving threaten litigation; responding to subpoenas and regulatory inquiries and investigations.
   • Assist with ADL's, teaching/mentoring, advocating and community integration.

   More senior counselor duties

3. Make a budget

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

   $127,405yearly

   $61.25 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior counselor salary

   $81,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average senior counselor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$182,000	$88
   2	California	$177,959	$86
   3	Mississippi	$170,702	$82
   4	New York	$157,697	$76
   5	District of Columbia	$149,791	$72
   6	Rhode Island	$149,750	$72
   7	New Hampshire	$148,249	$71
   8	Delaware	$143,364	$69
   9	Wisconsin	$140,278	$67
   10	Massachusetts	$139,048	$67
   11	Maryland	$135,705	$65
   12	North Carolina	$134,439	$65
   13	Connecticut	$133,463	$64
   14	Virginia	$131,341	$63
   15	Minnesota	$130,022	$63
   16	Nebraska	$129,441	$62
   17	Pennsylvania	$129,160	$62
   18	South Carolina	$126,543	$61
   19	Arizona	$125,002	$60
   20	Illinois	$122,432	$59

   Average senior counselor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Crowell & Moring	$198,376	$95.37
   2	Netflix	$191,108	$91.88	2
   3	Google	$188,673	$90.71	17
   4	Roku	$183,601	$88.27	9
   5	Wasabi Technologies	$183,522	$88.23
   6	Airbnb	$183,517	$88.23
   7	Course Hero	$183,238	$88.10
   8	Seyfarth Shaw	$182,131	$87.56
   9	Cheniere Energy	$180,024	$86.55
   10	The Walt Disney Company	$179,485	$86.29	66
   11	TripActions	$178,240	$85.69
   12	Databricks	$177,733	$85.45	1
   13	Anaplan	$171,210	$82.31
   14	Atlassian	$170,210	$81.83	2
   15	U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission	$170,200	$81.83
   16	Palo Alto Networks	$166,504	$80.05
   17	Digits Financial	$165,487	$79.56
   18	Twitter	$164,349	$79.01	3
   19	Jackson Walker	$163,487	$78.60
   20	Uber Technologies	$163,283	$78.50

4. Writing a senior counselor job description

   A senior counselor 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 senior counselor job description:

   Senior counselor job description example

   Make banking a Fifth Third better We connect great people to great opportunities. Are you ready to take the next step? Discover a career in banking at Fifth Third Bank.
   GENERAL FUNCTION:
   Attorney for one or more divisions, subsidiaries, or business lines of the Bancorp concentrating on a particular field of practice.
   
   Responsible and accountable for risk by openly exchanging ideas and opinions, elevating concerns, and personally following policies and procedures as defined. Accountable for always doing the right thing for customers and colleagues, and ensures that actions and behaviors drive a positive customer experience. While operating within the Bank's risk appetite, achieves results by consistently identifying, assessing, managing, monitoring, and reporting risks of all types.
   
   ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   Responsible for legal matters affecting the Divisions represented, including contracts, litigation, transactions, regulatory and legal research.Management responsibility for one or more members of a legal team representing the Divisions including hiring, recruiting, development and coaching.Reports to senior management of division. .Represents and manages issues on all material matters and decisions.Proactive surveillance of regulatory changes to the environment.Analyzing and summarizing complicated legal documents, including contracts, and suggesting alterations to those documents.Interpretation of regulatory changes identified.Ongoing guidance of the interpretation for regulatory requirements and impacted changes.Researches and analyzes the law on complex issues and writing briefs for senior review.Anticipating and mitigating potential legal risks and developing strategies to avoid costly litigation and reduce potential areas of risk.Performing due diligence in legal matters concerning contracts, agreements, and mergers and acquisitions.Areas of coverage could include Consumer, Wholesale, WAM, Payments, Employment or Litigation, Corporate Law, Infrastructure Securities and M&A.
   
   MINIMUM KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
   Minimum 5 years' experience preferred.J.D. required.Admission to a state bar.Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.Ability to interface successfully with senior management using diplomacy.Strong negotiation skills.Strong knowledge of the areas of expertise including technical knowledge.Strong issue spotting, risk assessment, and problem solving skills.Extensive research and analytical skills.Team building, leadership skills.
   #LI-BP1
   
   Sr Counsel - Commercial Lending
   
   LOCATION -- Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
   
   Fifth Third Bank, National Association is proud to have an engaged and inclusive culture and to promote and ensure equal employment opportunity in all employment decisions regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, veteran status or any other legally protected status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right senior counselor for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with senior counselors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit senior counselors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior counselor job on Zippia to find and recruit senior counselor 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 senior counselors, 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 senior counselor

   Once you've found the senior counselor 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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 senior counselor?