How to hire an equal opportunity specialist

How to hire an equal opportunity specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step equal opportunity specialist hiring guide:

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

What does an equal opportunity specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the equal opportunity specialist you need to hire. Certain equal opportunity specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 equal opportunity specialist 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 equal opportunity specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Equal Opportunity Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Equal Opportunity Specialist		$14-56
   Human Rights Investigator	Essentially a fighter for humanity, a human rights investigator carries out investigations into human rights matters. They collect, analyze, and document information relating to human rights matters, and they propose methods for investigations... Show more	$15-35

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Compliance Reviews
   • Complaint Investigations
   • Rehabilitation
   • Discrimination Complaints
   • Investigative Reports
   • Title VI
   • HUD
   • Technical Assistance
   • Human Resources
   • Mediation
   • Contract Compliance
   • Housing Assistance
   • Federal Agencies
   • Data Collection

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage on site AAP & EEO reporting.
   • Recruit, manage and motivate volunteers in public education, professional education, service and rehabilitation and tobacco control programs.
   • Mediate cases for informal resolution, whenever possible.
   • Create and run the EOL academy in Iraq.
   • Investigate applicant's assertion of business ownership for adherence to 49 CFR
   • Monitor ADR status, and report all complaint/mediation activity within the AOR.

   More equal opportunity specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, equal opportunity specialists' average salary in wyoming is 61% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level equal opportunity specialists 75% less than senior-level equal opportunity specialists.
   • Certifications. An equal opportunity specialist 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 an equal opportunity specialist's salary.

   Average equal opportunity specialist salary

   $60,556yearly

   $29.11 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level equal opportunity specialist salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average equal opportunity specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$96,179	$46
   2	California	$85,569	$41
   3	New Jersey	$81,145	$39
   4	Rhode Island	$76,606	$37
   5	Connecticut	$76,514	$37
   6	Massachusetts	$75,239	$36
   7	New York	$70,592	$34
   8	Vermont	$69,716	$34
   9	Ohio	$67,572	$32
   10	Wisconsin	$67,319	$32
   11	Illinois	$66,490	$32
   12	Michigan	$65,639	$32
   13	Indiana	$63,214	$30
   14	Pennsylvania	$59,237	$28
   15	Texas	$58,129	$28
   16	Iowa	$58,041	$28
   17	Virginia	$57,925	$28
   18	South Carolina	$56,675	$27
   19	Missouri	$55,462	$27
   20	Arizona	$54,046	$26

   Average equal opportunity specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Apple	$146,590	$70.48	2
   2	The Joint Commission	$117,234	$56.36
   3	Claxton Hepburn	$115,960	$55.75
   4	IQNavigator Inc	$97,249	$46.75
   5	DoorDash	$93,582	$44.99
   6	Great Falls Clinic	$89,010	$42.79
   7	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$88,376	$42.49
   8	ASRC Federal	$84,940	$40.84
   9	Vista Equity Partners	$84,850	$40.79
   10	PMA Companies	$83,736	$40.26
   11	TCR² Therapeutics	$81,892	$39.37
   12	Enterprise Bank	$81,622	$39.24
   13	First Federal Lakewood	$81,288	$39.08
   14	Donegal Insurance Group	$80,774	$38.83	2
   15	Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice	$80,556	$38.73
   16	Harsco	$79,887	$38.41
   17	Maxim Healthcare Group	$78,798	$37.88
   18	ComputronixUSA	$78,734	$37.85
   19	AEG	$78,437	$37.71
   20	Schemmer	$75,059	$36.09

4. Writing an equal opportunity specialist job description

   An equal opportunity specialist 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 an equal opportunity specialist job description:

   Equal opportunity specialist job description example

   Who We Are:
   
   Ovation.io is a clinical informatics company providing operations software and data tools for the advancement of precision medicine. Compelled by the philosophy that data drives action, Ovation is creating products that make it easier for labs to bring innovative tests to the patients that need them.
   
   Since its founding in March of 2017, Ovation has grown to develop and support world-class SaaS products used by clinical and translational labs around the globe. Along the way, Ovation's team has developed an unparalleled level of competency in this space with particular expertise in the fields of molecular diagnostics and clinical data utilization.
   
   Ovation is always looking for top talent and while we may not have a position open at the moment that is a fit for you- feel free to submit your resume for us to keep on file for future openings.
   
   Who You Are: You believe imagination is more important than knowledge. Discovering the right answer is more important than knowing the right answer.You strive to see connections and pursue opportunities where others cannot.You are transparent with our customers, with the team and with yourself.You believe that novices can become experts and are moved to help facilitate that transformation.You celebrate and encourage diversity in ideas, thoughts and approaches.
   Join us! Ovation is excited to be building the next-generation of cloud-based operations software and data tools for diagnostics and discovery. We're a small but rapidly growing team that values transparency, integrity, aptitude, and grit. We work in an open and supportive environment that encourages experiments, strives for perfection, and expects failures as part of the learning process in a fast paced, innovation-driven company.
   
   Ovation is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity as a core of company culture. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting equal opportunity specialists 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 equal opportunity specialist

   Once you've selected the best equal opportunity specialist 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 good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   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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How much does it cost to hire an equal opportunity specialist?