How to hire a care associate

How to hire a care associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step care associate hiring guide:

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

What does a care associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your care associate 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 a care associate 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?

   Yes

   No

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

   The following list breaks down different types of care associates and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Care Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Care Associate	Nursing assistants, sometimes called nursing aides, help provide basic care for patients in hospitals and residents of long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. Orderlies transport patients and clean treatment areas... Show more	$10-23
   Attending, Ambulatory Care	An attending, ambulatory care is responsible for providing patient care, supporting ongoing treatment of health issues, and managing recovery through coordinating with attending physicians or other medical professionals. They evaluate medical records, including history and consultation purposes, develop a necessary care plan, keep an accurate medical chart, and schedule laboratory tests and follow-up as needed... Show more	$9-20
   Patient Sitter	The primary job of a patient sitter is to provide patients with care and companionship. You will be responsible for a few duties that always include supervising patients, assisting them with basic personal hygiene and care, and monitoring their vital signs... Show more	$10-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Vital Signs
   • PCA
   • Phlebotomy
   • CPR
   • Customer Service
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Medical Terminology
   • Infection Control
   • Compassion
   • Patient Safety
   • Patient Rooms
   • Patient Care
   • Blood Pressure

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage ventilator settings, suction tracheostomy, tube-feeding assistance.
   • Provide direct care to patients in intensive care unit with empathy, compassion and enthusiasm.
   • Utilize strong interpersonal skills to educate patients on procedures, rehabilitation and contraception methods.
   • Care for patients requiring telemetry monitoring and work collaboratively with telemetry technician/nurses to detect and report abnormalities to physicians.
   • Coordinate with clinicians to meet the specific needs of patients and perform clinical care in an ICU.
   • Assign to new ER and ICU departments by leadership to maintain quality of patient care and increase patient satisfaction.

   More care associate duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average care associate salary

   $15.65hourly

   $32,558 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level care associate salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average care associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$41,854	$20
   2	Oregon	$41,120	$20
   3	Nevada	$39,277	$19
   4	Massachusetts	$34,380	$17
   5	New Jersey	$34,047	$16
   6	New York	$33,570	$16
   7	Missouri	$32,871	$16
   8	Wisconsin	$32,459	$16
   9	Maryland	$32,346	$16
   10	Connecticut	$31,973	$15
   11	Michigan	$31,027	$15
   12	Ohio	$30,643	$15
   13	Indiana	$30,581	$15
   14	Pennsylvania	$30,356	$15
   15	Utah	$30,225	$15
   16	Colorado	$29,840	$14
   17	Virginia	$28,532	$14
   18	Texas	$28,489	$14
   19	North Carolina	$28,112	$14
   20	Oklahoma	$28,004	$13

   Average care associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Analysis Group	$75,581	$36.34	3
   2	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$58,554	$28.15	94
   3	Massachusetts General Hospital	$58,168	$27.97
   4	And Partners	$54,795	$26.34
   5	Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital	$51,707	$24.86
   6	Huntington Hospital	$51,598	$24.81	4
   7	PeaceHealth	$50,638	$24.35	52
   8	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	$50,559	$24.31	4
   9	Mount Auburn Hospital	$50,381	$24.22
   10	Visa	$48,772	$23.45
   11	Raymond James Financial	$48,087	$23.12	4
   12	The Brooklyn Hospital Center	$48,052	$23.10
   13	Sutter Health	$46,422	$22.32	106
   14	United Health Centers Of The San Joaquin Valley	$45,768	$22.00
   15	NCH Healthcare System	$44,494	$21.39	36
   16	Prtm Management Consultants	$44,158	$21.23
   17	2U	$44,148	$21.23
   18	Mount Sinai Health System	$44,069	$21.19	60
   19	Legacy Health	$43,015	$20.68	50
   20	Salt Lake County	$42,870	$20.61

4. Writing a care associate job description

   A job description for a care associate 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 care associate job description:

   Care associate job description example

   Atlantic Health System is seeking a full-time Community Health Associate for Care Coordination to work from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
   
   Community Health Associates screen patients for social determinates of health needs including food insecurity, behavioral health needs, housing, healthy lifestyles.
   
   They assist patients in setting short term goals to help their healthcare outcomes and access to care.
   
   This Full-time position would be based in the Overlook Medical Center area.
   Responsibilities • Attend a paid training program
   • Meet patients in a clinic or hospital and conduct a needs assessment, including helping patients to set health goals
   • Make weekly follow-up calls and home visits to patients
   • Motivate patients to meet their health goals
   • Help patients with social issues like homelessness, substance abuse and hunger
   • Assist patients with organizing their records, making follow-up appointments, and filling prescriptions
   • Help patients fill out applications for benefits like insurance and food stamps
   • Run a weekly support group for patients
   • Document each patient encounter in detail
   • Prepare reports and documents as needed or requested
   • Attend regular team meetings
   • Other duties as reasonably assigned Qualifications Qualifications/Requirments: Long-time resident of a community with good knowledge of the resources of this community
   • Excellent oral and written communication skills
   • Ability to carry out written and oral instructions
   • Ability to work independently and within a team
   • Ability to exercise judgment in the application of professional services
   • Comfortable with home visits and outreach
   • Comfortable with computer data entry
   • Bilingual in Spanish or various Indian dialects is a plus
   • Valid NJ Driver's License a must Minimum Education: High School Diploma or equivalent required Relevant Experience: 1-3 years of relevant experience preferred About Us Atlantic Health System aims to deliver the highest quality, safety and care combined with the best experience for our patients and their families. We are confident that you will find success within Atlantic Health System, which has been named for the 14th year in a row to Fortune's “Top 100 Best U.S. Companies to Work For” list. We believe you will find that our culture of collaboration and care exemplifies the value we place on our patients, their families, and our employees. EEO Statement Atlantic Health System, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor and, therefore, abides by applicable laws to protect applicants and employees from discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, sexual or affectional orientation, national origin or nationality, citizenship status, disability, age, genetics, protected veteran status, ancestry, marital status. Not Ready to apply? Stay connected with us to learn more about upcoming career opportunities and onsite Recruitment events. Connect with us

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5. Post your job

   To find the right care associate for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with care associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit care associates who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with care associate candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of 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.

   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 care associate

   Once you've decided on a perfect care associate 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new care associate. 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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How much does it cost to hire a care associate?