How to hire a student support counselor

How to hire a student support counselor, step by step

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

What does a student support counselor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a student support counselor, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   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 student support counselor 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 shows salaries for various types of student support counselors.

   Type of Student Support Counselor	Description	Hourly rate
   Student Support Counselor	School counselors help students develop academic and social skills and succeed in school. Career counselors assist people with the process of making career decisions by helping them develop skills or choose a career or educational program.	$13-27
   Counselor Internship	When it comes to Counselor Internship, among the primary responsibilities is to assist in dealing with various activities such as preparing and verifying necessary documentation, observing consultations and outreach programs, guide clients and help develop multiple helpful strategies, and provide assessments. Furthermore, one can conduct counseling and consultation only under supervision... Show more	$14-31
   Student Advisor	A student advisor is responsible for supporting the students' personal growth and development by guiding them on their learning processes and educational goals. Student advisors provide regular counseling for the students to analyze their career aspirations, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and strategize learning plans to address those difficulties... Show more	$14-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Student Support
   • Mental Health
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Professional Development
   • Behavioral Issues
   • Financial Aid
   • Support Services
   • Group Therapy
   • PowerPoint
   • Direct Care
   • Conflict Resolution
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Community Resources
   • Substance Abuse

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain confidentiality relating to treatment while keeping organize and up to date IEP's, and medical records file accordingly.
   • Attend IEP meetings of students on caseload and present to the IEP team a clinical progress report with counseling goals.
   • Work towards empowering juveniles and their families to support a positive lifestyle by providing strength base intensive intervention and rehabilitation services.
   • Provide behavior modification and social skills training to children and adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and emotional disorders.

   More student support counselor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your student support counselor job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A student support counselor salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, student support counselors' average salary in oklahoma is 47% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level student support counselors earn 49% less than senior-level student support counselors.
   • Certifications. A student support counselor 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 student support counselor's salary.

   Average student support counselor salary

   $41,329yearly

   $19.87 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level student support counselor salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average student support counselor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$51,125	$25
   2	Massachusetts	$51,119	$25
   3	California	$50,930	$24
   4	New York	$49,042	$24
   5	District of Columbia	$46,637	$22
   6	Washington	$45,073	$22
   7	Maryland	$43,106	$21
   8	Minnesota	$42,911	$21
   9	Texas	$41,670	$20
   10	Ohio	$38,747	$19
   11	Iowa	$37,259	$18
   12	New Mexico	$37,188	$18
   13	Oregon	$37,070	$18
   14	Rhode Island	$36,730	$18
   15	Michigan	$36,359	$17
   16	Pennsylvania	$36,234	$17
   17	Missouri	$34,302	$16
   18	Arkansas	$32,261	$16
   19	Utah	$32,100	$15
   20	Florida	$30,479	$15

   Average student support counselor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mercy College	$65,111	$31.30
   2	Boston Public Schools	$62,021	$29.82	7
   3	New York University	$61,668	$29.65	2
   4	BTAS	$59,271	$28.50
   5	Teaneck High School	$56,019	$26.93	2
   6	Columbia College	$55,317	$26.59	7
   7	Bellevue Jr/Sr High School	$55,068	$26.48
   8	San José Unified School District	$54,518	$26.21
   9	National Park Foundation	$53,245	$25.60
   10	Chicago Public Schools	$53,109	$25.53	21
   11	Tetra Pak	$52,787	$25.38
   12	YES Prep Public Schools	$51,570	$24.79
   13	The City University of New York	$51,365	$24.69	16
   14	Arcadia University	$50,744	$24.40
   15	Twitter	$49,481	$23.79	1
   16	Bright Star Schools	$48,526	$23.33
   17	Amerigo Education	$48,307	$23.22
   18	Kellogg	$48,002	$23.08	19
   19	Zeiders Enterprises	$47,059	$22.62	19
   20	Seneca Resources	$46,909	$22.55	17

4. Writing a student support counselor job description

   A job description for a student support counselor 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 student support counselor job description:

   Student support counselor job description example

   Rutgers University-Newark, an urban public research university and anchor institution, located in Newark, New Jersey, a city of promise, is seeking a Student Counselor for the School of Arts & Sciences Newark (SASN). Reporting to the Assistant Dean for Pre-Professional Services in the Office of Academic Services (OAS) in the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark (SAS-N). The Student Counselor is a team member in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, customer service-focused environment.
   The duties of the Student Counselor includes bit not limited to:
   
   * Provides academic advising and counseling to undergraduate students, assists them with problem solving, and teaches them to advocate for themselves.
   * Establishes and maintains productive contact with assigned caseload of Newark College of Arts & Sciences (NCAS) and University College-Newark (UC-N) students to counsel them and facilitate their declaration of major, progress toward graduation, and successful career and/or professional development.
   * Works with the Pre-Professional Services unit to assist with the coordination of all programs targeting pre-professional students including workshops, events, advisement, registration, etc.
   * Works with the pre-law student population by assisting with the advisement and programming for this area.
   * Coordinates special programs and events for the pre-professional areas, specifically law and health.
   * Performs outreach, identifying and growing opportunities and marketing, and preparing students for success.
   * Develops relationships with faculty and other departments and contributes to transcript evaluation, advanced placement credit assessment, graduation certification, commencement activities, major/minor fair, judicial checks, website maintenance, and any other special events or duties as needed.
   * Serves as an Academic Integrity (AI) facilitator, communicates, supports, and upholds AI policies and procedures. NCAS and UC-N together are the largest undergraduate unit at Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N).
   * OAS currently serves 19 departments within SASN as well as departments in the other academic units. Thus, the Academic Advisor assists, impacts, influences, and counsels a large number of students, currently over 5,000. Work is performed in a manner that furthers the mission of OAS, SASN, and RU-N and contributes to strategic goals.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right student support counselor 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 student support counselor job on Zippia to find and recruit student support counselor candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit student support counselors, 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.

   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 student support counselor

   Once you have selected a candidate for the student support counselor position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new student support counselor. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are 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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