How to hire a dietitian

How to hire a dietitian, step by step

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

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

What does a dietitian do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your dietitian 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 dietitian 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

   Hiring the perfect dietitian 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.

   This list presents dietitian salaries for various positions.

   Type of Dietitian	Description	Hourly rate
   Dietitian	Dietitians and nutritionists are experts in the use of food and nutrition to promote health and manage disease. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal.	$20-37
   Nutrition Internship	Nutrition interns are individuals who are on the job training for the tasks performed by licensed nutritionists or dieticians. The interns provide a nutrition care process that includes prescription of parenteral and enteral recommendations and analysis of laboratory values... Show more	$11-25
   Nutritional Consultant	A Nutritional Consultant provides assistance regarding food service and nutritional programs. They help patients improve their health and control of disease.	$14-60

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Medical Nutrition Therapy
   • Rehabilitation
   • Patient Education
   • Nutrition Services
   • Lab Results
   • Diabetes
   • QAPI
   • Nutrition Support
   • Anemia
   • Home Health
   • Nutritional Risk
   • Therapeutic Diets
   • Nutritional Supplements

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
   • Prioritize initial/quarterly/consult assessments, interventions and progress monitoring for long-term care, rehabilitation and post acute patients.
   • Design and provide individualize nutrition counseling to promote healthy behavior modifications for a variety of home health care patients.
   • Counsele post-op patients to ensure dietary compliance, nutritional adequacy and formulation of weight management goals throughout their post-operative course.
   • Perform indirect calorimetry to measure resting metabolic rates (RMR).
   • Work as part of research team on a large-scale NIH clinical trial.

   More dietitian duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, dietitians' average salary in alabama is 51% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level dietitians 45% less than senior-level dietitians.
   • Certifications. A dietitian 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 dietitian's salary.

   Average dietitian salary

   $58,480yearly

   $28.12 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level dietitian salary

   $43,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 29, 2026

   Average dietitian salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$83,941	$40
   2	Oregon	$70,353	$34
   3	District of Columbia	$68,041	$33
   4	New York	$66,848	$32
   5	New Jersey	$65,554	$32
   6	Nevada	$63,555	$31
   7	Washington	$60,807	$29
   8	Massachusetts	$59,837	$29
   9	Maryland	$57,912	$28
   10	Arizona	$55,707	$27
   11	Texas	$55,494	$27
   12	North Carolina	$54,747	$26
   13	Virginia	$53,944	$26
   14	New Mexico	$53,891	$26
   15	Michigan	$53,577	$26
   16	Colorado	$53,390	$26
   17	Kentucky	$53,246	$26
   18	Ohio	$53,127	$26
   19	Utah	$52,574	$25
   20	Illinois	$52,277	$25

   Average dietitian salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California	$67,806	$32.60	10
   2	University of California-Berkeley	$67,585	$32.49
   3	Highmark	$66,172	$31.81	8
   4	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz	$65,921	$31.69	1
   5	Edward Hospital & Health Services	$65,440	$31.46
   6	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$65,410	$31.45	7
   7	Legacy Health	$65,157	$31.33	3
   8	University of Washington	$64,697	$31.10
   9	FSR	$64,398	$30.96
   10	UC Santa Barbara	$64,273	$30.90
   11	Massachusetts General Hospital	$64,020	$30.78
   12	Select Medical	$63,659	$30.61	108
   13	Highland General Hospital	$63,529	$30.54
   14	Encompass Health	$63,321	$30.44	94
   15	Medstar Health	$63,170	$30.37	3
   16	DaVita Kidney Care	$63,092	$30.33	153
   17	Oregon Health & Science University	$63,048	$30.31
   18	Sharp HealthCare	$62,961	$30.27	1
   19	Alameda Health System	$62,820	$30.20
   20	Dignity Health	$62,627	$30.11	22

4. Writing a dietitian job description

   A dietitian 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. Below, you can find an example of a dietitian job description:

   Dietitian job description example

   · Type: Part-time (24 hours week)

   · Location: Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center

   Job Summary: Sanford Federal, Inc. is looking to hire dietitian/nutritionist to provide dietitian services at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center.

   Qualifications:

   · Must possess a current license as a Dietitian/Nutritionist from the Maryland Board of Dietetic Practice

   · Must be registered by the Commission on dietetic Registration (CDR) and must maintain a current registration during their time of employment.

   · Minimum experience of one year as a Dietitian/Nutritionist.

   Duties:

   · Provide Dietitian Food Service operations for the patients at the hospital.

   · Provide Professional Clinical Nutrition care services for the patients at the hospital.

   · Apply nutrition principles in patient nutritional care and make sure the services are performed in accordance with the individual treatment plans developed by health care professionals and under the standards and policies of the Dietetic program of the health care facility.

   · Plan and execute clinical nutritional care services, such as nutritional screening, nutritional history and assessment, and nutritional education and counseling for assigned patients of a state health care facility.

   · Consult with medical and other professionals concerning individual food habits and needs of assigned patients/clients.

   · Plan menus for modified diets based on indicated physiological and psychological needs of patients/clients

   · Monitor meals served for conformance to diet prescriptions and acceptance by patients/clients.

   · Participate in medical staff conferences, rounds, and consultations

   · Document pertinent nutritional information on patient/client medical records.

   · Counsel patients/clients and others on the requirements and importance of prescribed modified diets and how to plan and prepare food.

   · Assist with the evaluation of dietetic program operations using quality assurance criteria to assure compliance to the dietetic program standards for food purchasing, preparation, service, preservation, sanitation, and safety.

   · Conduct educational and in service training sessions on nutritional standards in food service and dietetic practice for professional, paraprofessional, and other support staff assigned to a dietetic department or involved in patient/client care.

   · Maintain records and prepare reports.

   Why choose Sanford Federal?

   You can take pride in working for a company dedicated to serving our government by providing the best, most cost-effective solutions for the US Government. Our work helps the US Government secure our nation, support the efforts of our military and intelligence communities, and provide lifesaving medical services to our soldiers, vets, and their families.

   Please submit your most up-to-date resume. Please be sure to highlight your relevant experience.

   Sanford Federal, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer and encourages all qualified candidates to apply.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right dietitian 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 dietitians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit dietitians 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 dietitian job on Zippia to find and recruit dietitian candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting dietitians 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.

   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 dietitian

   Once you have selected a candidate for the dietitian 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.

   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.

   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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