How to hire a community living assistant

How to hire a community living assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community living assistant hiring guide:

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

What does a community living assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The community living assistant 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?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect community living assistant 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of community living assistants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Community Living Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Living Assistant	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$10-19
   Direct Care Worker	A Direct Care Worker's responsibility revolves around overseeing clients' welfare and health care from different ages and conditions. Most of the duties will involve assistance in basic hygienic tasks such as bathing or going to the toilet, performing light chores such as preparing healthy meals and cleaning a bedroom, and ensuring the patient's medication intake aligns with the schedule... Show more	$11-17
   Community Liaison	A community liaison is responsible for managing the communication between local institutions and community citizens. Community liaisons often coordinate with the community to talk about their needs and concerns, directing them to the organizations with plans on improving the people's lifestyles... Show more	$13-25

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Medication Reminders
   • Quality Care
   • Patients
   • Rehabilitation
   • Culinary
   • State Regulations
   • Food Preparation
   • Senior Care
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • CPR
   • Vital Signs
   • Medication Management
   • Community Integration
   • Memory Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Monitor patient's vital signs in order to improve their rehabilitation.
   • Work with dementia and Alzheimer's residents.
   • Provide primary first aid, CPR, etc.
   • Provide care to the resident by feeding, bathing, assistance in ADL'S when need.
   • Attend staff meetings as well as staying up to date on CPR and first aid training sessions.
   • Preserve patient dignity and minimize discomfort while carrying out duties such as bathing, assist in ADL's.

   More community living assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your community living assistant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A community living assistant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, community living assistants' average salary in alabama is 40% less than in north dakota.
   • Seniority. Entry-level community living assistants earn 46% less than senior-level community living assistants.
   • Certifications. A community living assistant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a community living assistant's salary.

   Average community living assistant salary

   $14.58hourly

   $30,317 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level community living assistant salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average community living assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$35,531	$17
   2	California	$34,950	$17
   3	Massachusetts	$34,455	$17
   4	New York	$33,833	$16
   5	Pennsylvania	$32,942	$16
   6	Washington	$32,681	$16
   7	Colorado	$31,557	$15
   8	Oregon	$30,858	$15
   9	Iowa	$29,410	$14
   10	Maryland	$28,406	$14
   11	Wisconsin	$28,392	$14
   12	Minnesota	$28,303	$14
   13	Illinois	$27,472	$13
   14	Ohio	$27,406	$13
   15	Texas	$27,246	$13
   16	Arizona	$27,003	$13
   17	Virginia	$25,516	$12
   18	Indiana	$25,070	$12
   19	Missouri	$24,952	$12
   20	Georgia	$24,788	$12

   Average community living assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	American Senior Benefits	$49,162	$23.64	24
   2	Ilitch Holdings	$44,260	$21.28
   3	San Diego College of Continuing Education	$40,368	$19.41
   4	East Bay Innovations	$39,007	$18.75	3
   5	Milton Hershey School	$34,761	$16.71	3
   6	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$34,453	$16.56	13
   7	LifePoint Health	$33,690	$16.20	5
   8	Greystar Real Estate Partners	$33,683	$16.19	164
   9	Maxim Healthcare Group	$33,491	$16.10	88
   10	Miller's Health Systems	$33,430	$16.07	5
   11	Benedictine Health System	$33,281	$16.00	20
   12	Physician Affiliate Group of New York	$32,963	$15.85
   13	United Way of Greater Houston	$32,919	$15.83
   14	Prestige Care	$32,566	$15.66	18
   15	Peak Campus	$32,344	$15.55
   16	Post University, Inc.	$32,022	$15.40	1
   17	Bridge Investment Group	$31,965	$15.37
   18	Asset Living	$31,233	$15.02
   19	American Campus Communities	$31,206	$15.00	14
   20	Mary Wade	$31,040	$14.92

4. Writing a community living assistant job description

   A community living assistant 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 community living assistant job description:

   Community living assistant job description example

   You're going to love it here. That's not just a promise to our residents; it's a promise to our employees as well. As passionate as we are about helping students succeed, we're just as passionate about creating rewarding careers for our team members. Here you'll find a hardworking, motivating culture with unlimited potential for contribution and growth. We are hiring driven students with entrepreneurial spirits looking to begin their career today!
   
   Our people are our strength, and at American Campus, our Community Assistants are the primary facilitator in providing our prospective and current residents with a dynamic and enhanced leasing and living experience.
   
   As a part-time Community Assistant, you'll gain valuable work experience while developing the critical professional skills top employers want to hire. This is an opportunity to have an impact in the lives of fellow students and get paid to make a difference.
   
   As a student employee, we will work with your class schedule to maximize your professional and academic growth. You will work a structured administrative shift in the apartment leasing office which may include evenings, weekdays, weekends, and/or holidays. Here's what your typical day may look like:
   
   * Help students find their home away from home by making appointments, conducting tours, maintaining show rooms, and completing marketing follow-up processes needed to secure leases.
   
   * Provide unparalleled customer service and respect for residents while supporting all American Campus Communities policies and procedures.
   
   * Enthusiastically assist with the implementation of off-site marketing efforts on-campus, in the community, and at special events.
   * Assist with the preparation and administration of Turn, Move-In, and Move-Out.
   * Work scheduled "Community Assistant On-Call" shifts, which may include, weekdays, weekends, and/or holidays. These shifts are a required part of the Community Assistant position and may take place at any point during the day, evening, and/or overnight.
   
   We are passionate about our work and building community.
   
   * Our people are devoted to a culture of inclusion, diversity, and equality in the workplace and our communities. We are committed to intentionally executing an evolving set of goals specific to inclusion, diversity, and accountability, driven by empathetic leadership and embraced by all.
   * The core of American Campus culture involves everyone being fully invested in everything that we do down to picking up the smallest piece of trash. No matter their position or duration at any given property, everyone picks up trash because we take pride in our community.
   * Certain activities involved in this position may be photographed and/or video and audio recorded for quality control and/or training purposes. Compliance with the Photo, Video and Voice Recording Policy is a condition of employment
   
   Your background and experience needed to excel in this role should include:
   
   * A high school diploma and diploma in progress from an accredited college or university
   * A desire to develop your leadership, problem solving, and conflict resolution skills
   * The ability to act as customer relations liaison for residents, prospective residents, and parents
   * A desire to impact your community with marketing strategy and vision.
   
   ACC is now hiring - Join us and see just how far your ambition can advance your career before you even graduate!
   
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   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find community living assistants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any community living assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level community living assistants with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit community living assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 community living assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect community living assistant 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 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new community living assistant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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