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How to hire a Systems Analyst

Systems analyst hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring systems analysts in the United States:

  • The median cost to hire a systems analyst is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per systems analyst on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • There are a total of 561,087 systems analysts in the US, and there are currently 141,289 job openings in this field.
  • Austin, TX, has the highest demand for systems analysts, with 59 job openings.

How to hire a systems analyst, step by step

To hire a systems analyst, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a systems analyst:

Here's a step-by-step systems analyst hiring guide:

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

What does a Systems Analyst do?

A systems analyst is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of technology systems and analyzing its efficiency for business operations and clients' needs. Systems analysts create specific modifications to operating systems and help design solutions and processes. Other tasks include managing the system's workflow, diagnosing and detecting malfunctions, performing troubleshooting, and assisting clients' with their concerns. A systems analyst must have excellent command with programming languages and the knowledge with the technology industry to understand systems' complexities and processes.

Learn more about the specifics of what a systems analyst does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The systems analyst 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?

    A systems analyst's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, systems analysts 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.

    This list shows salaries for various types of systems analysts.

    Type Of Systems AnalystDescriptionHourly Rate
    Systems AnalystComputer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate more efficiently and effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT) together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.$27-46
    Information Technology AnalystAn information technology analyst is responsible for identifying business opportunities by creating and designing technology systems that would help business operations perform efficiently and accurately. Information technology analysts manage systems maintenance, upgrade and install updates for better optimization, and perform feature revisions and adjustments based on the end-user experience... Show More$29-53
    Business Intelligence AnalystThe primary job of business intelligence (BI) analysts is to analyze data and identify areas of improvement for an organization. These professionals are responsible for identifying trends that may help managers, executives, and other departments make better decisions to improve company processes and modernization... Show More$28-51
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common Skills:
    • Customer Service
    • Project Management
    • Troubleshoot
    • Java
    • C++
    • C #
    • Technical Support
    • Data Analysis
    • Business Processes
    • SQL Server
    • Data Warehouse
    • Management System
    • Computer System
    • Strong Analytical
    Check All Skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage AS400 operations teams and provide training / end-user support as scheduled.
    • Lead a team of two developers who create various GUI report parameter screens and associate reports.
    • Write scripts (shell, Perl, AutoIt) to automate administrative tasks, troubleshooting, and disaster recovery operations.
    • Manage ticket resolution of 250/300 per month, within SLA and root cause analysis and defects tie back to development.
    • Design and build radiology information systems, as well as led multiple conversions and create documentation to support technology and workflow.
    • Manage and implement VMware infrastructure.
    More Systems Analyst duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the systems analyst job description is a good way to get more applicants. A systems analyst salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a systems analyst in Kansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level systems analyst. Additionally, a systems analyst with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average systems analyst salary

    $75,383yearly

    $36.24 hourly rate

    Entry-level systems analyst salary
    $58,000 yearly salary
    Updated January 17, 2025

    Average systems analyst salary by state

    RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
    1California$89,662$43
    2Washington$82,150$40
    3District of Columbia$80,887$39
    4New York$78,503$38
    5New Jersey$76,873$37
    6Pennsylvania$76,656$37
    7Connecticut$76,377$37
    8Massachusetts$76,293$37
    9Virginia$74,739$36
    10North Carolina$74,442$36
    11Arizona$73,523$35
    12Minnesota$73,404$35
    13Illinois$72,852$35
    14Ohio$70,587$34
    15Georgia$70,481$34
    16Michigan$69,575$33
    17Texas$69,565$33
    18Indiana$69,241$33
    19Missouri$69,144$33
    20Arkansas$66,900$32

    Average systems analyst salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
    1The Citadel$142,998$68.75
    2Credit Karma$129,855$62.433
    3First Republic Bank$127,078$61.10
    4Apple$125,183$60.18450
    5Meta$124,912$60.05205
    6ICE Mortgage Technology$123,464$59.36
    7Benjamin Moore$123,210$59.243
    8PayPal$123,126$59.2027
    9Google$123,125$59.1968
    10Lyft$122,690$58.999
    11Coty$122,165$58.73
    12eBay$121,987$58.651
    13Levi Strauss & Co.$121,663$58.49
    14Phillips 66$120,635$58.0012
    15Intuitive Surgical$119,855$57.6213
    16Brocade Services Corporation$119,319$57.36
    17Koch Industries$118,798$57.11
    18NVIDIA$118,775$57.10240
    19Bank of the West$118,026$56.74
    20ConocoPhillips$117,910$56.69
  4. Writing a Systems Analyst Job Description

    A systems analyst 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a systems analyst job description:

    Systems Analyst job description example

    Our HRIS Learning Team is looking for an LMS administrator who is passionate about learning, technically skilled and wants to make a significant impact on a growing organization. Our new LMS Administrator will provide support to the LMS Manager and the overall HRIS team.

    The scope of this role includes managing training delivery to all of SMBC's Americas division. This role will also focus on process management and improvement to ensure our LMS is delivering the best possible training experience to our employees and maintains an accurate delivery record of those content launches and deployments. Finally, this role will serve as main point of contact for the day-to-day administration of the LMS module and work with our vendor and support team to resolve LMS and user issues throughout the Americas Division.

    So if you have LMS experience and are looking for role that will allow you to fully utilize your talent experience and people skills to build a better learning experience for your colleagues than apply for this role and lets have a conversation.
    Responsibilities Responsibilities Manage the training content launch process and content owner relationships Create, test and upload training content Support upgrades and technical releases for the LMS in partnership with the LMS vendor and SMBC teams Working with subject matter experts, to determine the right training type for content and intent (i.e., instructor led vs elearning) Provide second level end-user support for LMS users Troubleshoot LMS issues in partnership with LMS and support vendors Test internal and vendor configuration and module changes Create and update system related job aids, work instructions and training documents as required Support Training and Development team in delivering successful ILT and virtual training experiences. Assists in creation, management, and enforcement of LMS standards, policies and operating procedures Support internal and external Audit requests Optimize, vet, and maintain LMS content Generate and manage standard, custom, and ad-hoc report requests Qualifications • 3-4+ years' experience with administration of Learning Management Systems
    • Experience with industry content models and standards such as SCORM, AICC
    • 2+ years of experience providing reports and analytics from LMS
    • Demonstrated ability to work well in a diverse, dynamic and fast-paced environment
    • Must be able to manage multiple assignments simultaneously
    • Intermediate skills in Excel (e.g., pivots, vlookup functions)
    • Interpersonal/ communication skills
    • Cross-culturally competent
    • Detail oriented
    • Experience with SuccessFactors and eLearning authoring tolls a +
  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find systems analysts 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.
    To find systems analyst candidates, you can consider the following options:
    • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
    • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
    • Post your job on free job posting websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit systems analysts, 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 systems analyst 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 systems analyst

    Once you have selected a candidate for the systems analyst 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 also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    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 systems analyst?

Recruiting systems analysts involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $75,383 per year for a systems analyst, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for systems analysts in the US typically range between $27 and $46 an hour.

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