How to hire a summer assistant

How to hire a summer assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step summer assistant hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a summer assistant, 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

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

   The following list breaks down different types of summer assistants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Summer Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Summer Assistant	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.	$12-19
   Orientation Leader	An orientation leader helps new students adjust to life in universities or colleges. They are primarily responsible for sharing campus advice, facilitating campus tours, assisting incoming students in class and organization registrations, introducing university opportunities, and discussing essential matters with students and their families... Show more	$4-50
   Recreation Leader	The primary role of recreation leaders is to encourage recreational and sporting activities in various settings such as schools, parks, and youth centers. Their job requires them to motivate others to work as a team member while also promoting good morals and sportsmanship... Show more	$11-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Excellent Organizational
   • Educational Programs
   • Customer Service
   • CPR
   • Front Desk
   • County 4-H
   • Computer System
   • Leadership
   • Summer Camps
   • PowerPoint
   • Mathematics
   • Summer Residents
   • RAN
   • County Fair

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
   • Mentore kids one-on-one on emotional and spiritual development and conflict resolution.
   • Instruct youth and fellow co-workers on CPR and the benefits.
   • Provide assistants with mowing, gardening, and janitor obligations over the parks of Monticello.
   • Assist with cutting out, watering, mowing, and doing maintenance on all baseball fields in the city.
   • Create a PowerPoint presentation for closing ceremony.

   More summer assistant duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, summer assistants' average salary in louisiana is 53% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level summer assistants 35% less than senior-level summer assistants.
   • Certifications. A summer assistant 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 summer assistant's salary.

   Average summer assistant salary

   $15.81hourly

   $32,878 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level summer assistant salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average summer assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$46,974	$23
   2	Oregon	$39,297	$19
   3	Maine	$39,282	$19
   4	Arizona	$38,135	$18
   5	Colorado	$37,103	$18
   6	New York	$36,481	$18
   7	North Carolina	$36,121	$17
   8	Minnesota	$35,960	$17
   9	Wisconsin	$34,300	$16
   10	Massachusetts	$33,153	$16
   11	Illinois	$32,444	$16
   12	Florida	$32,055	$15
   13	Maryland	$29,931	$14
   14	Nevada	$29,759	$14
   15	Texas	$29,596	$14
   16	Ohio	$29,180	$14
   17	Virginia	$28,858	$14
   18	Iowa	$28,753	$14
   19	Pennsylvania	$27,832	$13

   Average summer assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	DLA Piper	$39,255	$18.87	11
   2	Center for Families & Children Inc.	$36,691	$17.64
   3	City of Baltimore	$36,481	$17.54	1
   4	Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice	$36,396	$17.50
   5	KCI Technologies	$35,601	$17.12
   6	CARE	$35,387	$17.01
   7	Adams 12 Five Star Schools	$35,051	$16.85
   8	Skidmore College	$35,018	$16.84
   9	Lewis Roca	$34,849	$16.75
   10	PSEA	$34,599	$16.63	1
   11	Greystar Real Estate Partners	$34,522	$16.60
   12	American Leak Detection	$34,338	$16.51
   13	University of Georgia Small Business Development Center	$34,309	$16.49	14
   14	Tyson Foods	$34,244	$16.46
   15	Capstone On Campus Management	$34,154	$16.42
   16	The Chicago Lighthouse	$34,078	$16.38
   17	Think Together	$33,998	$16.35	12
   18	Andover Public Schools	$33,984	$16.34
   19	Tenneco	$33,976	$16.33
   20	Aramark	$33,911	$16.30

4. Writing a summer assistant job description

   A summer assistant 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 summer assistant job description:

   Summer assistant job description example

   Tuesday, June 27th, 2023

   Thursday, July 20th, 2023

   Thursday, August 3rd, 2023

   
   Agenda

   Welcome and Introductions: 9:30am to 10:00am

   Job Shadow: 10:00am to 12:15pm

   Lunch: 12:15pm to 1:15pm

   Job Shadow: 1:15pm to 2:30pm

   Wrap up and Opportunities: 2:30pm to 3:00pm

   
   Why Job-Shadow at Redpath?

   • Culture- Voted by our employees “Top 150 Workplace” by Star Tribune and the #5 midsize company out of 50 other honorees
   • Size and fit- not too big, not too small! 170 people strong means the best of both worlds- a close-knit feel with a ton of career opportunity
   • Employee ownership- Proud to be the only 100% employee owned CPA firm in Minnesota
   • Growth- Top 12 CPA firm in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro (and growing quickly!) with two offices, located in downtown St. Paul and White Bear Lake

   More about Redpath and Company- Who We Are:

   • Caring - Clients and colleagues must know we care—they must feel it.
   • Committed - To the firm, the firm’s vision, clients, and colleagues.
   • Continuously Improving - Always striving to be better, learn more, and offer more.
   • Confident - In ourselves, our colleagues, and our firm.
   • Connected - Awareness of the world and our surroundings, developing relationships, and articulating ideas.

   
   

   Redpath and Company helps clients make more informed decisions that contribute to their financial well-being by providing proactive, innovative, and value-driven CPA and advisory services for closely-held businesses, private equity, government entities, and nonprofit organizations. Core commercial industries served include manufacturing and distribution; construction, real estate, and engineering; and technology.

   
   

   Areas of service expertise include audit and assurance; personal, business, and international tax; state and local tax; sales and use tax; and succession and estate planning. Redpath also guides clients throughout the entire business life cycle with performance optimization and process improvement; M&A advisory, including corporate and deal strategy, due diligence (financial, tax, operations, and IT), financial modeling, and M&A integration; accounting and management outsourcing; and valuations.

   
   

   The firm was founded in 1971 and is 100% employee owned (ESOP). With offices located in St. Paul and White Bear Lake, Minnesota, the firm ranks as one of the top CPA and advisory firms in Minnesota.

   
   

   Redpath is a member of HLB International, a global network of independent advisory and accounting firms. For more information, visit www.redpathcpas.com.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find summer assistants for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting summer assistants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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.

   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 summer assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect summer assistant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   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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