How to hire a senior help desk specialist

How to hire a senior help desk specialist, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your senior help desk specialist 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 senior help desk specialist 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

   A senior help desk specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior help desk specialists 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.

   Here's a comparison of senior help desk specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Help Desk Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Help Desk Specialist	Computer support specialists provide help and advice to people and organizations using computer software or equipment. Some, called computer network support specialists, support information technology (IT) employees within their organization... Show more	$17-37
   Help Desk Manager	A help desk manager oversees and coordinates the daily performance of help desk teams, ensuring clients get to receive optimal support and services. They are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, performing assessments and inspections, and monitoring the progress of operations, resolving issues or conflicts should any arise... Show more	$35-60
   Help Desk Representative	A help desk representative mainly provides client support services through face-to-face interactions, aiming to resolve issues and concerns to ensure client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include answering inquiries, assisting clients in filling up forms, identifying their needs, providing detailed solutions, and referring them to other services as needed... Show more	$13-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Help-Desk Support
   • Technical Support
   • Desk Support
   • Troubleshoot
   • Network Troubleshooting
   • Phone Calls
   • Help Desk
   • Computer System
   • VPN
   • User Accounts
   • Network Printers
   • Customer Service
   • SharePoint
   • Remedy

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Improve efficiency and reduce risk by developing managing concepts and projects for ITIL process development for service delivery.
   • Assist users using laptops with RAS setup, VPN connections, and troubleshot network connectivity issues.
   • Resolve issues with VPN connectivity and remote user access to network resources.
   • Help to keep documents and files up to date on the company's SharePoint intranet.
   • Improve efficiency and reduce risk by developing managing concepts and projects for ITIL process development for service delivery.
   • Perform maintenance in Novell and NT servers including monitoring usage, applying patches and updating hardware.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, senior help desk specialists' average salary in nebraska is 39% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior help desk specialists 54% less than senior-level senior help desk specialists.
   • Certifications. A senior help desk specialist 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 senior help desk specialist's salary.

   Average senior help desk specialist salary

   $53,425yearly

   $25.69 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior help desk specialist salary

   $36,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 1, 2026

4. Writing a senior help desk specialist job description

   A senior help desk specialist 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 help desk specialist job description:

   Senior help desk specialist job description example

   100% REMOTE
   
   US citizenship required per government contract
   
   DIRECT HIRE
   
   $75-85K plus benefits
   
   An experienced Senior Help Desk Specialist with experience providing user support for a wide range of technologies for a newly created position in Baltimore, MD (or otherwise remote within the United States).
   
   An ideal candidate will join a growing company and serve as the primary escalation point for our Help Desk team and will closely interface with other IT teams to resolve issues, take the lead interfacing with our international partners providing support outside of the United States, provide end user support to our users worldwide. This role would report to and be supported by an experienced Team Lead and would work closely with other IT and InfoSec teams to accomplish organizational goals.
   
   Responsibilities:
   
   • Work closely with our internal Help Desk Team and act as their primary point of escalation for end user support issues and should have experience with supporting Windows Operating Systems, Office 365, Active Directory, and CAD and BIM products
   
   • Interfacing with other IT teams on escalated issues to find resolutions
   
   • Manage our international support partners and act as their primary point of escalation
   
   • Produce internal documentation for use by both IT teams and end users including how-to guides or configuration documentation
   
   • Monitor inventory levels for computers and other supplies and replenish as necessary
   
   • Multi-task and prioritize various IT issues and projects
   
   Qualifications:
   
   • 5 Years' experience providing technical support in a Windows enterprise-level environment
   
   • Strong customer service skills
   
   • Strong verbal and written communication skills
   
   • Strong troubleshooting skills to resolve problems with unfamiliar or specialty software
   
   • Experience supporting engineering software including CAD and BIM tools
   
   • Experience supporting Mobile Device Management tools
   
   • Experience with Information Security and Change Control is a plus
   
   • Project management experience is a plus
   
   System One, and its subsidiaries including Joulé, ALTA IT Services, CM Access, TPGS, and MOUNTAIN, LTD., are leaders in delivering workforce solutions and integrated services across North America. We help clients get work done more efficiently and economically, without compromising quality. System One not only serves as a valued partner for our clients, but we offer eligible full-time employees health and welfare benefits coverage options including medical, dental, vision, spending accounts, life insurance, voluntary plans, as well as participation in a 401(k) plan.
   
   System One is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, family care or medical leave status, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right senior help desk specialist 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 senior help desk specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit senior help desk specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit senior help desk specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview senior help desk specialist candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   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 help desk specialist

   Once you've found the senior help desk specialist 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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