How to hire a community service worker

How to hire a community service worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community service worker 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 service worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new community service worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a community service worker do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The community service worker 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a community service worker 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 community service worker that fits the bill.

   This list presents community service worker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Community Service Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Service Worker	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.	$12-22
   Supervisor Of Communications	The communications supervisor handles all internal and external communications of the company. This supervisor focuses on ensuring all communications are disseminated efficiently throughout the company... Show more	$20-44
   Social Worker	Social workers help their clients get through problems that they may be facing. Social workers help identify individuals or groups of people, usually families, who may need assistance, generally through a set of pre-determined criteria... Show more	$17-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Rehabilitation
   • Nursing Home
   • Home Health
   • Math
   • Community Resources
   • Behavior Management
   • Financial Assistance
   • Mental Health
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Community Outreach
   • Mental Illness
   • Social Services
   • Child Care
   • Developmental Disabilities

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the MSW staff and coordinate all social service and select patient service activities.
   • Recognize risk factors quickly, collaborate with interdisciplinary team, nurture positive relationships with patients through consistency and modeling healthy boundaries.
   • Facilitate monthly community meetings to ascertain interests of community members; provide PowerPoint presentations, showing progress of various initiatives.

   More community service worker duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, community service workers' average salary in south dakota is 41% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level community service workers 43% less than senior-level community service workers.
   • Certifications. A community service worker 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 community service worker's salary.

   Average community service worker salary

   $35,271yearly

   $16.96 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level community service worker salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 20, 2025

   Average community service worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$50,935	$24
   2	Oregon	$45,355	$22
   3	New Jersey	$41,371	$20
   4	New York	$37,735	$18
   5	Connecticut	$37,359	$18
   6	Pennsylvania	$35,917	$17
   7	Colorado	$35,851	$17
   8	Wisconsin	$35,182	$17
   9	Virginia	$32,329	$16
   10	Missouri	$32,083	$15
   11	Indiana	$30,667	$15

   Average community service worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	City of San Jos	$47,497	$22.84	2
   2	Lane County Engineer	$43,518	$20.92
   3	Ventura County Community Foundation	$41,747	$20.07
   4	Child and Family Services of NH	$40,461	$19.45
   5	PSEA	$40,160	$19.31	6
   6	Middlesex County College	$39,024	$18.76
   7	Stevens Institute of Technology	$38,684	$18.60
   8	Catholic Health Care System	$37,292	$17.93	8
   9	City of Greeley	$36,693	$17.64	1
   10	Adult & Child Health	$36,568	$17.58	2
   11	UMFS	$36,463	$17.53	2
   12	Children's Therapy Center	$35,869	$17.24
   13	City of Pasadena	$35,408	$17.02	14
   14	Supportive Concepts for Families	$35,346	$16.99	1
   15	Metropolitan Community College	$34,939	$16.80
   16	Apis	$34,699	$16.68	8
   17	Professional Services Group	$33,815	$16.26	6
   18	Access: Supports for Living	$33,643	$16.17	15
   19	Southington High School	$31,634	$15.21
   20	UPMC	$30,149	$14.49	40

4. Writing a community service worker job description

   A job description for a community service worker 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 community service worker job description:

   Community service worker job description example

   RESPONSIBILTIES/REQUIREMENTS:
   

   • High School Diploma and three years of practical experience OR Bachelor's degree in in a human services field and one year experience in related field.
   • Act 33/34/73 clearances.
   • Pre-employment Drug Screen
   • Valid driver's license
   • Ability to drive an organization vehicle
   • Access to Transportation

   
   
   WORK SCHEDULE: This is a non-exempt (hourly) position.
   

   • Full time position (37.5 hour work week) that requires Saturday and Sunday weekend shifts of 9:00a-9:00p.However, the remaining 16 weekly hours can be negotiated with the supervisor to meet both your needs and the needs of the team.
   • This would be a great fit for a student or someone looking for non-traditional working hours!

   
   
   Great Benefit Package: (Benefits start Day 1 of employment)
   

   • 403B with employer match

   • Paid Time Off (PTO)
   • Medical, Dental, Vision
   • Life Insurance
   • Paid Holiday Days

   
   Plus more.........
   
   ABOUT THE ROLE
   
   We're currently looking for a CTT Community Support Staff to serve on the front lines of one of our most integral programs, helping adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses/emotional disorders get access to services, build support networks, and resolve conflicts.
   
   The Community Support Staff is a member of the Community Treatment Team (CTT). Community Treatment Team is a consumer-centered, recovery-oriented mental health service delivery model that has received substantial empirical support for facilitating community living, psycho-social rehabilitation, and recovery for persons with the most serious mental illnesses who have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs.CTT serves adults with serious mental illnesses that are complex and effects independent functioning.CTT services merge clinical, rehabilitative and support staff expertise within a multidisciplinary team that includes a psychiatrist, nurses, mental health professionals, and a variety of specialists (drug and alcohol dependency, vocational, forensics and peer support).The team is mobile and delivers services in community locations to enable each consumer to find and live in their own residence and find and maintain work in community jobs rather than expecting the consumer to come to the program. The primary function of the CTT Community Support Staff is to provide case management, skills building, mental health supports and other interventions according to an individualized treatment plan.
   
   ABOUT YOU
   
   We're looking for someone who is positive, resourceful, and can maintain solid working relationships with internal and external providers/resources.While you'll be part of a team, your work will largely be independent, and you'll require consistent discretion and judgment to carry out your daily duties. So, some of the keys to this job are: adaptability, reliability, and the ability to remain composed in stressful situations. If you believe you're a good fit for this position, we'd love to hear from you.
   
   ABOUT PITTSBURGH MERCY
   
   We're a community-based health and human services organization using person-centered care to treat our area's most vulnerable populations. We work with individuals and families in settings that are safe and familiar to them, and view them as equal partners when planning, developing, and monitoring care.
   
   Our mission is to be a compassionate, transforming presence within our communities. We reach out to offer help - and hope - to people who are experiencing:
   

   • Mental illness and substance abuse
   • Physical health needs
   • Traumatic events or circumstances, including homelessness + abuse

   
   Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
   
   Trinity Health is a family of 115,000 colleagues and nearly 26,000 physicians and clinicians across 25 states. Because we serve diverse populations, our colleagues are trained to recognize the cultural beliefs, values, traditions, language preferences, and health practices of the communities that we serve and to apply that knowledge to produce positive health outcomes. We also recognize that each of us has a different way of thinking and perceiving our world and that these differences often lead to innovative solutions.
   
   Our dedication to diversity includes a unified workforce (through training and education, recruitment, retention, and development), commitment and accountability, communication, community partnerships, and supplier diversity.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right community service worker 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 community service workers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit community service workers 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 community service worker job on Zippia to find and recruit community service worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit community service workers, 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. 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 community service worker

   Once you've selected the best community service worker candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the 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 community service worker 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 community service worker?