How to hire a hospice social worker

How to hire a hospice social worker, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The hospice 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

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

   The following list breaks down different types of hospice social workers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Hospice Social Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Hospice 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.	$19-32
   Family Therapist	A Family Therapist works with couples and families to help ameliorate marital and family issues. They can work in hospitals, treatment programs, government agencies, health organizations, and private practices.	$17-32
   Alcohol And Drug Counselor	A drug alcohol counselor treats addicts in either one-on-one or group settings. They help by educating and developing possible treatment plans for patients to support them in coping with their addictive personalities... Show more	$14-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Home Health
   • MSW
   • Patient Care
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Discharge Planning
   • Terminal Illness
   • Community Agencies
   • Family Dynamics
   • Quality Care
   • Palliative Care
   • Financial Resources
   • Community Resources

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collaborate with multidisciplinary team to provide necessary referrals and counseling to achieve establish patient goals.
   • Provide support, education and compassion to patients and family members.
   • Assist patients and families with obtaining necessary insurances such as Medicaid, etc.
   • Provide advocacy and support services to terminally ill patients, families and/or significant others to maximize benefits and limit out-of-pocket expenses.
   • Work as lead MSW on all pediatric hospice cases.
   • Work with other members of the IDT to track and document changes to the patient's status, coping, etc.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, hospice social workers' average salary in south dakota is 45% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level hospice social workers earn 39% less than senior-level hospice social workers.
   • Certifications. A hospice social worker 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 hospice social worker's salary.

   Average hospice social worker salary

   $52,859yearly

   $25.41 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level hospice social worker salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 27, 2025

4. Writing a hospice social worker job description

   A job description for a hospice social 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 hospice social worker job description:

   Hospice social worker job description example

   This position is Part-Time (approximately 20 hours / week) with room for growth!

   This is a professional position responsible for the provision of a wide range of psychosocial services to terminally ill patients and their families, including completing the comprehensive psychosocial assessment and regularly assessing the patient and family psychosocial needs on an ongoing basis. The social worker also completes the bereavement risk assessment of the family and provides counseling relative to anticipatory grief issues. Upon completion of the assessment, a psychosocial plan of care is developed with the Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) and the patient/family. It is the role of the social worker to implement and continually revise and reassess this plan relative to the psychosocial and potential bereavement issues of the patient and family. The social work services provided may include but are not limited to: supportive counseling, problem solving and referrals to community resources, pre-bereavement counseling and support.

   
   
   

   Basic Qualifications

   Education/Training/Certifications:

   Has a Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW) from a graduate school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSW) in accordance with N.J.S.A 45:15BB-1 et seq. and N.J.A.C 13:44G.

   Must possess current license as a Social Worker by the New Jersey State Board of Social Work Examiners.

   Must be a licensed driver with an automobile in good working condition and have automobile insurance in accordance with New Jersey laws.

   Skill(s): Skills and Knowledge:

   Visual/hearing ability must be sufficient to comprehend written/verbal communication.

   Excellent verbal communication skills are needed.

   Able to effectively manage stress.

   Manual dexterity sufficient for writing, keyboarding and telephone operation.

   Able to work in a variety of settings and conditions in patient's homes and facilities.

   Experience:

   1. Understanding of Hospice philosophy, principles of death/dying.
   2. Hospice or home care experience desired.
   3. Ability to assess patient needs and formulate individualized patient care plans to meet those needs.
   4. Ability to work in a field setting and exhibit ability to make sound judgments.
   5. Must have effective communication, comprehension, documentation, interpersonal and computer skills.

   LSMNJ is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

   We care about our team members and the people we serve, so we made the decision to require all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Only candidates that are vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated will be considered for employment.

   
   
   Benefits:

   We have awesome benefits:

   Offering flexible pay - accessing your pay anytime!

   Medical Insurance

   Dental Insurance

   Vision Insurance

   Wellness Program

   Life Insurance

   Long-Term Disability

   Short-Term Disability

   Critical Care & Accident Coverage

   NJM Auto and Home Insurance

   Pet Insurance

   Identify Theft Protection

   403(b) Retirement Savings offering an 8% company paid match!

   Paid Time Off

   Holiday Pay

   And much more…..

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting hospice social workers 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.

   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 hospice social worker

   Once you've found the hospice 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.

   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.

   To prepare for the new hospice social 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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