How to hire a geriatric social worker

How to hire a geriatric social worker, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The geriatric social 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

   A geriatric social worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, geriatric social workers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents geriatric social worker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Geriatric Social Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Geriatric Social Worker	Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.	$19-34
   Social Service Coordinator	A social service coordinator is responsible for assisting the essential needs of the citizens within a community by providing them financial assistance, employment services, and social provisions through coordinating with various organizations and social institutions. Social service coordinators conduct counseling to assess social needs and processing referral services for particular purposes... Show more	$15-24
   Social Work Internship	Social work interns are students who chose to do their on-the-job training in the field of social work. They apply for an internship at social services facilities... Show more	$12-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Discharge Planning
   • Community Resources
   • Group Therapy
   • Home Health
   • Medicaid
   • Social Services
   • Family Therapy
   • Community Agencies
   • Mental Health
   • Minimum Data Set
   • Community Services
   • Financial Resources

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Counsele patients and families, provide discharge planning and follow-up services and maintain relevant information regarding ancillary services and referrals.
   • Work with relatives of hospitalize patients to accept and cope with patients physical and mental challenges resulting from hospitalization.
   • Coordinate care with community providers for follow up if patient are discharged, prepare documentation for admission to inpatient psychiatry unit.
   • Complete Medicaid and Medicare applications as needed.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, geriatric social workers' average salary in georgia is 48% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level geriatric social workers 44% less than senior-level geriatric social workers.
   • Certifications. A geriatric social 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 geriatric social worker's salary.

   Average geriatric social worker salary

   $53,890yearly

   $25.91 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level geriatric social worker salary

   $40,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a geriatric social worker job description

   A geriatric social worker 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 geriatric social worker job description:

   Geriatric social worker job description example

   OUR WHY: 5-STAR SERVICE CULTURE

   At Physician Partners LLC, it’s our commitment, our passion, and our culture that sets us apart. We don’t just talk the talk - we believe in it and live by it. We are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by focusing on quality, not quantity. Our core value is always to deliver 5-Star Service. And by doing so, we are successfully able to achieve our mission of Better Health.

   Physician Partners IPA/MSO aligns payors and providers across all populations with the people, processes, technologies, and information to transition to value-based care and achieve high-quality, cost-effective care with patients and physicians.

   
   We are a preferred partner for driving value-based care adoption and delivering personalized, secure, and seamless healthcare experiences. We take great care of our team, patients, providers, and affiliates. To us, it’s about providing quality care for better outcomes! When our patients win with Better Health, Physician Partners wins.

   Summary/ Objective:

   The Top 5% of the Medicare Advantage population is the highest risk and highest cost segment that consumes upwards of 50% of all utilization. This population presents a challenge in the coordination of medical, behavioral, substance abuse, and social determinants in improving their health outcomes. We are embarking on a new care program that aims to treat this population to optimize patient health. The program will provide a holistic approach to caring for these patients in both a virtual and home setting. The Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) will work with a multi-disciplinary team to create an environment for regular monitoring and interventions for the various conditions a patient may have. The LCSW will identify and address behavioral, substance abuse, and social determinants to improve health outcomes.

   Essential Functions:

   • Engage patients mostly virtually but occasionally in person and assist with their behavior, substance abuse, and social determinants challenges
   • LCSW partners with multi-disciplinary teams and refer to appropriate no- or low-cost community services.
   • Involves the patients’ families and primary caregiver(s) as needed
   • Effectively collaborates with all those involved in the patient’s care, including health services contractors Consult with and advise the clinical l Team regarding patient needs or concerns.
   • Maintains current progress notes and other documentation in the patient's Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
   • Coordinates referrals to health plan behavioral and substance abuse Specialists when appropriate

   Supervisory Responsibility:

   • No direct reports
   • LCSW to report to the Practice Administrator (Operational/Administrative) and the Extensivist Physician (Clinical)

   Work Environment:

   • The LCSW would operate remotely with assigned visits to patient homes as needed

   Physical Demands:

   • Manage and coordinate inbound and outbound telephonic outreach
   • Ability to document in Electronic Database systems.

   Position Type/ Expected Hours of Work:

   • This is a full-time position and core hours of work and days are Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. -
     5:00 p.m.
   • Extended hours to accommodate patient urgent and emergent care needs will be expected

   Travel:

   • Approximately 10% of travel is required to the patient home, as needed
   • Travel to Corporate or Regional Offices may be required for training or meetings.

   Required Education/ Experience:

   • Bachelor’s Degree in Licensed Clinical Social Work
   • Must have a valid Florida LCSW license
   • Two years of social work experience in health care and a minimum of one-year experience working with a geriatric population

   Additional Eligibility and Qualifications:

   • Age-specific competency in working with the elderly and knowledge of community services for the elderly and their families
   • Requires limited travel to patient homes and residences
   • Knowledge of social work principles and practices, including case management and counseling techniques
   • Ability to use Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to document patient encounters
   • Effective communication and interpersonal skills
   • Valid Florida Drivers License
   • For PhyPartners business units, the satisfactory completion of a pre-placement Tuberculosis the test is a requirement for this position

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find geriatric social workers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your geriatric social worker job on Zippia to find and recruit geriatric social worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with geriatric social worker candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 geriatric social worker

   Once you've found the geriatric social worker candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new geriatric social worker. 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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