How to hire an Account Specialist

How to hire an account specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step account specialist hiring guide:

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

What does an Account Specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your account specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an account specialist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect account specialist 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.

   Here's a comparison of account specialist salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Account Specialist	Description	Hourly Rate
   Account Specialist	Bill and account collectors, sometimes called collectors, try to recover payment on overdue bills. They negotiate repayment plans with debtors and help them find solutions to make paying their overdue bills easier.	$13-29
   Accounts Receivable Analyst	An Accounts Receivable Analyst provides accounts receivable support through monitoring all aspects of the collection of outstanding debts owed to a company. They check missing and unresolved payment issues, monitor overdue accounts, and prepare statements for managers.	$15-27
   Account Technician	Account technicians are skilled professionals who are responsible for gathering data and preparing financial statements and reports from the account records they have maintained. These technicians are required to settle accounts with insurance companies and maximize benefits payments received from those companies... Show More	$12-46

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Patients
   • Account Management
   • PowerPoint
   • Data Entry
   • Catheter
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Patient Accounts
   • Customer Relationships
   • Excellent Organizational
   • Ablation
   • Outbound Calls
   • Financial Statements
   • Customer Accounts

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Cultivate productive long-term relationships with all assign accounts, and manage all reporting and presentation needs for RFP's.
   • Manage a portfolio of accounts end to end RFP program execution inclusive of pricing, contracting, process and technology solutions.
   • Manage the daily correspondence from assign practices with keeping doctor/patient confidentiality under consideration along with HIPPA regulations.
   • Deliver exceptional customer service to hospital accounts and internal sales representatives in accordance to revenue recognition policies and HIPAA regulations.
   • Experience with CMS 1500 and UB-04 claims using HCPC/CPT codes as well as NDC codes
   • Monitor CMS and real time aux codes.

   More Account Specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the account specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. An account specialist 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 an account specialist in Washington may be lower than in Virginia, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level account specialist. Additionally, an account specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average account specialist salary

   $42,586yearly

   $20.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level account specialist salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 26, 2025

   Average account specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	District of Columbia	$66,311	$32
   2	Virginia	$60,922	$29
   3	New Jersey	$60,230	$29
   4	Maryland	$59,548	$29
   5	Massachusetts	$58,591	$28
   6	New York	$58,399	$28
   7	Connecticut	$52,591	$25
   8	California	$52,356	$25
   9	Pennsylvania	$49,131	$24
   10	North Carolina	$47,444	$23
   11	Maine	$46,194	$22
   12	Illinois	$44,493	$21
   13	Alabama	$44,097	$21
   14	Michigan	$43,808	$21
   15	Nevada	$43,186	$21
   16	Colorado	$43,023	$21
   17	Tennessee	$42,491	$20
   18	Missouri	$42,223	$20
   19	Minnesota	$42,210	$20
   20	Texas	$41,592	$20

   Average account specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Microsoft	$78,759	$37.86	22
   2	Axalta	$77,050	$37.04	9
   3	Vista Equity Partners	$75,980	$36.53	12
   4	Meggitt PLC	$74,985	$36.05
   5	Google	$74,397	$35.77	12
   6	ABB	$71,842	$34.54	19
   7	Edward Jones	$70,022	$33.66	3
   8	BlackRock	$69,680	$33.50	5
   9	AstraZeneca	$69,365	$33.35	13
   10	AbbVie	$68,868	$33.11	51
   11	Regeneron	$67,735	$32.56	5
   12	Hawaii Pacific Health	$67,588	$32.49	9
   13	Raymond James Financial	$66,248	$31.85	15
   14	Salesforce	$64,768	$31.14	93
   15	Lord Abbett	$64,166	$30.85
   16	Johnson & Johnson	$63,563	$30.56	130
   17	Hoffmann-LA Roche Inc	$63,525	$30.54	2
   18	Autodesk	$63,475	$30.52	11
   19	Intertek	$63,029	$30.30	3
   20	Accenture	$62,474	$30.04	171

4. Writing an Account Specialist Job Description

   A job description for an account specialist 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 an account specialist job description:

   Account Specialist job description example

   Job DescriptionAccount Specialist needed for Non Profit in Center City Philly: $18./hr Temp to Hire, Hybrid 3 days in office, 2 days remote.
   
   Establishes and maintains a weekly schedule of visits and/or telephone contacts with participants, and works closely with them and their recovery team to develop budgets; plans and manage assets to prevent interruption of benefits.
   
   Obtains necessary information during the intake process, and collaboratively documents participant progress and budgets in electronic health records system; ensures that all data is correct by verifying the information with the participant; maintains Release of Information forms as required.
   
   Meets with each participant (which may require driving) and their recovery team to assess participants’ hopes, strengths, accomplishments and challenges in order to achieve their stated financial goals; responds to and documents all stakeholders’ inquiries.
   
   Enters all applicable information, including budgeted recurring, bills and check request for payments in financial software; logs checks and prepares them for mail, delivery or pick up. Prints all accounts payable reports and maintain all participant files.
   
   Facilitates the participant's self-review of progress toward budgeting goals upon each encounter; facilitates money management seminars as needed.
   
   Creates and updates budgets as per funding regulations or as necessary, i.e. change of income, address, etc.
   
   Encourages financial responsibility with participant with use of debit card. Funds and monitor debit card use.
   
   Complies with all other established quality and regulatory standards, including supervision and training requirements; reviews participants’ accounts with Social Security for re-determination of funding.
   Follows processes for void checks and participant close out. Proactively diffuses volatile situations using de-escalation skills. Promptly meets with participants who come to MHP office with or without scheduled appointment. Reports any activities that may violate established laws, regulations, policies or procedures. Raises questions about any actions contrary to law or policy taken by another staff member or employee or self, and reports the matter to management or to the Director – Quality Improvement & Compliance and/or Human Resources. ENTRY LEVEL REQUIREMENTS Minimum of an Associate's degree and two years of related experience or HS diploma and six years of related experience required. 2+/6+ years of bookkeeping/accounting experience (including internships or volunteering) depending on highest degree completed. Experience working in a mental health environment desired. Experience with accounting software and electronic health records is a plus. Credentialed as a Certified Peer Specialist through the PA Certification Board is a plus. Must be certified in Mental Health First Aid and CPR, or be willing to be certified within 1 year of hire. Must possess basic computer skills to perform job duties including desktop computing, e-mail, time sheet management, electronic health records, accounting software, internet research, etc. using relevant software.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit account specialists, 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 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 account specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect account specialist 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.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is 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 an account specialist?