How to hire a hospital social worker

How to hire a hospital social worker, step by step

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

What does a hospital social worker do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your hospital social worker 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 hospital social worker 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

   A hospital social worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, hospital 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 hospital social worker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Hospital Social Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Hospital 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.	$18-37
   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
   Substance Abuse Counselor	Substance abuse counselors act as a support system for people with drug and alcohol problems and other behavioral issues. They help the patients control their behavior until they achieve a full recovery... Show more	$12-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • MSW
   • Behavioral Health
   • Acute Care
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Home Health
   • Rehabilitation
   • Substance Abuse
   • Community Agencies
   • Group Therapy
   • Discharge Planning
   • Social Services

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
   • Provide individual therapy, case management, and insurance coverage reviews for individuals undergoing short-term rehabilitation.
   • Provide orientation, support and information to patients and their families to facilitate active involvement in the rehabilitation environment.
   • Perform assessments/social history upon admission to better understand the patient's needs and personal circumstances as they relate to their rehabilitation.
   • Coordinate care with community providers for follow up if patient are discharged, prepare documentation for admission to inpatient psychiatry unit.
   • Analyze psychological / psycho-social evaluations, IEP's, and medical histories within a referral packet to determine eligibility.

   More hospital social worker duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, hospital social workers' average salary in georgia is 46% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level hospital social workers 51% less than senior-level hospital social workers.
   • Certifications. A hospital 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 hospital social worker's salary.

   Average hospital social worker salary

   $54,774yearly

   $26.33 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level hospital social worker salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average hospital social worker salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$79,353	$38
   2	Washington	$65,421	$31
   3	Massachusetts	$63,767	$31
   4	Utah	$62,424	$30
   5	Nevada	$55,914	$27
   6	New York	$54,728	$26
   7	Pennsylvania	$53,879	$26
   8	Texas	$51,073	$25
   9	Colorado	$50,920	$24
   10	West Virginia	$50,710	$24
   11	Minnesota	$50,452	$24
   12	Mississippi	$48,871	$24
   13	Maryland	$48,403	$23
   14	Tennessee	$48,264	$23
   15	Missouri	$44,292	$21
   16	Georgia	$39,907	$19

   Average hospital social worker salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Medical Billing	$78,155	$37.57
   2	Highmark	$76,916	$36.98	89
   3	Health First	$75,550	$36.32	5
   4	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	$67,719	$32.56
   5	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$66,251	$31.85	45
   6	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$65,866	$31.67	18
   7	Baptist Health Care	$65,188	$31.34	3
   8	UofL Hospital	$64,672	$31.09	14
   9	Sharp HealthCare	$63,722	$30.64	19
   10	Tenet Healthcare	$63,314	$30.44	59
   11	Providence Health & Services	$63,006	$30.29	45
   12	Mission Regional Medical Center	$62,171	$29.89	71
   13	LCMC Health	$61,707	$29.67	12
   14	Northwestern Medicine	$61,638	$29.63	18
   15	UnitedHealth Group	$61,619	$29.62	207
   16	Wellpath	$60,235	$28.96	42
   17	Grand View Health	$60,025	$28.86
   18	Sodexo Management, Inc.	$59,478	$28.60	502
   19	Prime Healthcare	$59,007	$28.37	51
   20	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$58,775	$28.26	20

4. Writing a hospital social worker job description

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

   Hospital social worker job description example

   Social Worker MSW, Cape Canaveral Hospital, Case Management, Full Time - 062206 The Social Worker MSW is responsible and accountable for providing Quality/No Harm, Customer Experience, and Stewardship by coordinating the psychosocial care and services for assigned patients in collaboration with the patient, family, physician, patient care team, and payers. The social worker utilizes advanced psychosocial skills to facilitate the coordination of care through assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation. The social worker promotes and evaluates the effective utilization of resources using current knowledge, awareness of community services, and serving as a role model to achieve optimal clinical and resource outcomes. The Social Worker will promote and effectively utilizes hospital and community resources and achieves optimal outcomes.
   Primary Accountabilities
   
   Assess and document in MIDAS and medical record patient/family needs and collaborates with physicians and staff to identify possible psychosocial related discharge needs.
   Identifies and documents necessary transitional care referrals (Community resources, home health, skilled nursing, rehab, DME, etc.) utilizing Smart Connect.
   Assists with coordination of referrals for post acute services as appropriate in a timely manner.
   Communicating with the patient/caregiver and physician on issues related to payer or financial issues.
   Coordinates and documents complex discharge plans.
   Collaboratively determines desired discharge goals and communicates all discharge plans and options to patient/family, physicians and staff members.Collaborates with RN Case Manager, staff RN, ancillary staff and physicians facilitating continuity of care for the patient.
   Identifies "at risk" patient populations and/or strengths of patient/family support systems on admission.
   Conducts psychosocial assessment to screen for patients/families at risk for crisis, abuse, financial or environmental issues. Provides therapeutic/crisis intervention counseling with patients and families as needed.
   Provides supportive services for End of Life Issues, Terminal Care and Bereavement issues.
   Coordination of Adoptions with patients and families.
   Provides counseling and researches placement alternatives for substance abuse, mental health, homeless and indigent patients. Facilitates and participates in transfer of Baker Act and Marchman placements to mental health facilities. Provides therapeutic interventions with patients and families as needed.
   Facilitates referrals for post-discharge psychosocial and therapeutic needs
   Identifies system/process breakdowns and improvement opportunities and documents according to the Performance Improvement plan.
   Assures compliance with regulatory standards of care at both the state and federal levels.Qualifications
   MSW degree from a Council on Social Work accredited school or Master's degree in related field with appropriate experience.
   LCSW Eligible and obtained within five (5) years of employment.
   Three (3) years of previous social work experience preferred.
   Case Management experience preferred
   Acute Care experience preferred.Must hold current AHA BLS healthcare provider completion card
   Demonstrated computer experience. Job: Social work Organization: Cape Canaveral HospitalPrimary Location: United States-Florida - Brevard County-Cocoa BeachSchedule: Full-time Shift Times: 8:00 am - 5:30 pm Job Level: Associate

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit hospital social workers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 hospital social worker

   Once you have selected a candidate for the hospital social worker 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.

   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 hospital 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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How much does it cost to hire a hospital social worker?