How to hire a collector

How to hire a collector, step by step

Here's a step-by-step collector hiring guide:

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

What does a collector do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a collector, 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 collector 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 collector that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of collectors.

   Type of Collector	Description	Hourly rate
   Collector	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.	$12-21
   Account Representative	Account representatives are employees who manage client accounts and act as the main contact of the clients they are handling. They maintain existing accounts by updating client details regularly... Show more	$12-24
   Loan Services Representative	A loan service representative is responsible for communicating and interacting with clients and serves as a back-up or reliever in a company. They are the first person that the client must go through if they want to apply for a loan... Show more	$7-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Payment Arrangements
   • Excellent Interpersonal
   • Delinquent Accounts
   • Student Loans
   • Past Due Accounts
   • Debt Repayment
   • FDCPA
   • Collection Efforts
   • Customer Accounts
   • Outbound Collection Calls
   • Computer System
   • Patient Accounts

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage patient focuse reports, collection modules, provider/facility A/R, collections, patient discharge letters.
   • Monitor all assign accounts by reviewing the client's aging, manage all potential bad debit, DSO, aging.
   • Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
   • Provide customer service via telephone and correspondence for patients and authorize representatives regarding outstanding patient accounts in accordance with facility protocol.
   • Verify and run eligibility on the following insurance, Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal HMO, Medicare, Medicare HMO.
   • Provide excellent customer service while following HIPPA confidentiality laws.

   More collector duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, collectors' average salary in west virginia is 37% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level collectors 39% less than senior-level collectors.
   • Certifications. A collector 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 collector's salary.

   Average collector salary

   $16.77hourly

   $34,872 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level collector salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 21, 2025

   Average collector salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$40,622	$20
   2	Oregon	$37,749	$18
   3	Colorado	$37,419	$18
   4	Wisconsin	$36,184	$17
   5	Minnesota	$36,137	$17
   6	Missouri	$36,017	$17
   7	Illinois	$35,687	$17
   8	Michigan	$35,373	$17
   9	Georgia	$35,242	$17
   10	Maryland	$35,144	$17
   11	Arizona	$35,093	$17
   12	Nevada	$34,979	$17
   13	Texas	$34,931	$17
   14	Utah	$34,794	$17
   15	Pennsylvania	$34,041	$16
   16	New York	$33,618	$16
   17	Florida	$33,551	$16
   18	Indiana	$33,434	$16
   19	Virginia	$32,959	$16
   20	Maine	$32,345	$16

   Average collector salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Uline	$38,478	$18.50	7
   2	Valley Presbyterian Hospital	$37,659	$18.11
   3	Woodforest Financial Group Inc	$37,605	$18.08
   4	Genisys Credit Union	$37,463	$18.01	1
   5	Waste Management	$37,423	$17.99
   6	Waste Pro	$37,299	$17.93	2
   7	Sanmina	$37,291	$17.93
   8	Hilton Grand Vacations	$37,175	$17.87
   9	Oregon Community Credit Union	$36,943	$17.76
   10	OneMain	$36,864	$17.72	10
   11	First Community Bancshares	$36,791	$17.69	1
   12	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz	$36,786	$17.69	1
   13	PSECU	$36,727	$17.66
   14	Triad Financial Sm Llc	$36,630	$17.61
   15	Army National Guard	$36,630	$17.61	27
   16	RCS Capital Partners	$36,607	$17.60
   17	Mariner Finance	$36,606	$17.60
   18	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	$36,575	$17.58
   19	New York Life Insurance	$36,548	$17.57
   20	First Financial Holdings, Inc.	$36,519	$17.56

4. Writing a collector job description

   A collector 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 collector job description:

   Collector job description example

   • Collections
   • Familiarity with Accurint, Anti-Money Laundering, and other skip tracing tools
   • Bilingual English and Mandarin

   APPLY DIRECTLY FOR CONSIDERATION

   Born digital, Axos Bank has reinvented the banking model and grown to over $15 billion in assets since our founding in 2000. With a broad and ever-growing range of financial products, Axos Bank is rated among the top 5 digital banks in the country! Axos Financial is our holding company and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "AX" (NYSE: AX).

   We bring together human insight and digital expertise to anticipate the needs of our customers. Our team members are innovative, technologically sophisticated, and motivated to achieve.

   Learn more about working here!

   Pre-Employment Drug Test:

   All offers are contingent upon the candidate successfully passing a credit check, criminal background check, and pre-employment drug screening, which includes screening for marijuana. Axos Bank is a federally regulated banking institution. At the federal level, marijuana is an illegal schedule 1 drug; therefore, we will not employ any person who tests positive for marijuana, regardless of state legalization.

   Equal Employment Opportunity:

   Axos Bank is an Equal Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, religious creed, color, sex (including pregnancy, breast feeding and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, military and veteran status, marital status, age, protected medical condition, genetic information, physical disability, mental disability, or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws.

   Job Functions and Work Environment:

   While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to sit for extended periods of time. Manual dexterity and coordination are required while operating standard office equipment such as computer keyboard and mouse, calculator, telephone, copiers, etc.

   The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting collectors 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.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 collector

   Once you have selected a candidate for the collector 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 equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new collector first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 collector?