How to hire a senior information technology administrator

How to hire a senior information technology administrator, step by step

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

What does a senior information technology administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior information technology administrator you need to hire. Certain senior information technology administrator 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 senior information technology administrator 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 senior information technology administrator salaries for various positions.

   Type of Senior Information Technology Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Information Technology Administrator	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$39-64
   LAN Administrator	LAN administrators are responsible for maintaining the local area network of an organization. These administrators manage the server that connects an organization's network to computers and equipment that need them... Show more	$20-41
   Systems Administrator Lead	A systems administrator lead is responsible for planning, designing, and implementing procedures for critical enterprise systems. Typical duties of systems administrators include managing the day-to-day operations of a company's computer and network systems, developing new application and system implementation plans, and establishing guidelines for installing and managing the organization's computer operating systems... Show more	$37-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Linux
   • SAN
   • Unity
   • Windows Server
   • Troubleshoot
   • Unix
   • VoIP
   • VMware
   • Network Security
   • DOD
   • DNS
   • PowerShell
   • SCCM
   • OS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain accurate VOIP phone inventory to manage costs.
   • Manage installation of SharePoint farm OS security patches and SharePoint & SQL CUs and SP updates.
   • Network administration utilizing Dell/ Force10 manage switches, as well as Aruba and FortiNet wireless devices.
   • Manage SharePoint permissions and configuration of SharePoint accounts and sites.
   • Design and install the SAN environment to support the VMWare infrastructure.
   • Audit and enforce systems security standards for the UNIX and Linux operations environment.

   More senior information technology administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior information technology administrator job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A senior information technology administrator salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, senior information technology administrators' average salary in illinois is 33% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior information technology administrators earn 39% less than senior-level senior information technology administrators.
   • Certifications. A senior information technology administrator with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a senior information technology administrator's salary.

   Average senior information technology administrator salary

   $105,357yearly

   $50.65 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior information technology administrator salary

   $82,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average senior information technology administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$130,446	$63
   2	Washington	$115,837	$56
   3	New York	$112,848	$54
   4	Indiana	$109,848	$53
   5	District of Columbia	$107,370	$52
   6	Florida	$106,613	$51
   7	North Carolina	$100,623	$48
   8	Texas	$100,437	$48
   9	Virginia	$100,223	$48
   10	Oregon	$99,467	$48
   11	Ohio	$95,877	$46
   12	Maryland	$95,361	$46
   13	Minnesota	$94,759	$46
   14	Tennessee	$94,725	$46
   15	Missouri	$93,832	$45
   16	Pennsylvania	$93,057	$45
   17	Colorado	$90,344	$43
   18	Wisconsin	$88,015	$42
   19	Georgia	$86,087	$41
   20	Illinois	$82,239	$40

   Average senior information technology administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cohesity	$137,924	$66.31
   2	PlayStation	$136,387	$65.57	6
   3	Vista Equity Partners	$133,485	$64.18	2
   4	Bank of the West	$127,135	$61.12
   5	Darden Restaurants	$126,602	$60.87	1
   6	Mayo Clinic	$124,464	$59.84	36
   7	Maxim Integrated	$121,988	$58.65
   8	Sony Electronics	$119,546	$57.47	7
   9	Hitachi Vantara	$117,407	$56.45	1
   10	Battelle	$116,775	$56.14	7
   11	BJ's Wholesale Club	$114,504	$55.05	2
   12	Ashley HomeStore	$114,101	$54.86	9
   13	Salesforce	$113,960	$54.79	25
   14	Ivanti	$113,015	$54.33	2
   15	Incyte	$112,818	$54.24
   16	First Citizens Bank	$112,600	$54.13	13
   17	Dana Incorporated	$112,011	$53.85	3
   18	QuantumScape	$111,560	$53.63	1
   19	Diodes Incorporated	$111,543	$53.63	1
   20	The RealReal	$111,363	$53.54

4. Writing a senior information technology administrator job description

   A job description for a senior information technology administrator role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior information technology administrator job description:

   Senior information technology administrator job description example

   Cennox is progressive and ambitious, providing numerous services to the Banking & Financial Services Industry, including Managed Services, ATM Installation & Maintenance, ATM Security, along with Smart Safe Manufacturing and Service. With 1,000+ staff globally, Cennox is on a path of rapid growth.

   Position Summary:

   The primary focus of this position will be providing global system administration for our IT infrastructure as we acquire new companies. This is the ideal role for a candidate who loves delivering technical solutions in an ever-expanding environment. Equally important is keeping all stakeholders informed of current statuses with the projects you are working on. If you like to manage projects while implementing the latest technology, this job is for you. This position works normal office hours, however there will be a need for after-hours and weekend work to fit in with project demands. Based in Atlanta, travel to other offices within the US are required.

   Primary Responsibilities:

   • Analyze, plan, develop and implement an overall schedule to migrate newly acquired companies into the Cennox IT architecture.
   • Identify short term priorities and other longer-term initiatives.
   • Perform duties in a highly professional manner, always considering costs and approach.
   • Assign, oversee and immerse yourself in the daily technical tasks while ensuring the highest quality to reach established milestones
   • Join regular technical team meetings to determine progress and address any questions or challenges regarding projects
   • Determine and define clear deliverables, roles and responsibilities for specific projects or initiatives
   • Research and evaluate hardware and software technology options for integrations and weigh the cost/benefit when making large purchases on behalf of the company.
   • Report progress, escalate where necessary and represent Cennox in all forums in a professional manner.

   Skills and Requirements:

   • A strong background in technical infrastructure and implementation
   • Experience mentoring, coaching, and developing rising talent in an IT department
   • Excellent time management and organizational skills
   • Strong sense of personal accountability
   • Experience working in a high-level collaborative environment and promoting a teamwork mentality
   • Ability to predict challenges and seek to proactively head-off obstacles
   • Experience with Office365 administration, basic understanding of IT networks, and experience managing ERP systems are preferred

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5. Post your job

   To find senior information technology administrators for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior information technology administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior information technology administrators with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior information technology administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit senior information technology administrator 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

   Your first interview with senior information technology administrator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with senior information technology administrator applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • 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 information technology administrator

   Once you've found the senior information technology administrator 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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