RecruitLocalPros

Hiring an interviewer in Chicago, IL

Employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area pay interviewers, except eligibility and loan a median of $43,460, with the middle half of the market between $36,340 and $50,830. Chicago residents working in office and administrative support occupations report a median of $42,932, which is 1% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does an interviewer earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$36,340
Median$43,460
75th percentile$50,830

Half of interviewers, except eligibility and loan in this area earn between $36,340 and $50,830. A band set below $36,340 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Chicago residents earn

$42,932

Median earnings of Chicago residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 130,323 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 1% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The two sit close together, so pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Ask questions in accordance with instructions to obtain various specified information, such as person's name, address, age, religious preference, or state of residency.
  • Identify and report problems in obtaining valid data.
  • Ensure payment for services by verifying benefits with the person's insurance provider or working out financing options.
  • Perform office duties, such as telemarketing or customer service inquiries, maintaining staff records, billing patients, or receiving payments.
  • Review data obtained from interview for completeness and accuracy.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 43-4111.

Tools and technologies in demand

Zoom, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Chicago?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 43.3% of Chicago adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Chicago commute runs 33.5 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 18.3% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Cook County, administrative and support services employs 204,532 and turns over 13.2% a quarter, with 54,417 hires against 58,269 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,563 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about interviewers, except eligibility and loan. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $8,692 to $13,038 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring an interviewer somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Chicago

Related

Chicago is the largest of 1 Illinois cities in this dataset.