How to hire a human service specialist

How to hire a human service specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step human service specialist hiring guide:

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

What does a human service specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your human service specialist 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 human service specialist 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 human service specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, human service specialists 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 human service specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Human Service Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Human Service Specialist	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$15-34
   Service Provider	Service providers are individuals or entities offering services to an organization and other parties. They provide storage, processing, or network services... Show more	$11-24
   Service Worker	A service worker is responsible for assisting the community welfare development by providing social services to an organization or specific individual groups, supporting their needs, and addressing their community concerns. Service workers also offer counseling services to their clients to guide them on how they manage their life crises, developing community activities and job opportunities to help citizens with their financial needs by consulting local organizations... Show more	$10-19

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Mental Health
   • Social Work
   • Program Eligibility
   • Medicaid
   • Social Services
   • Community Resources
   • Human Services
   • Patients
   • Rehabilitation
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Child Support
   • Foster Care
   • Technical Assistance
   • Support Services

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the MSW staff and coordinate all social service and select patient service activities.
   • Establish effective liaisons with community agencies to ensure coordination of services to patients.
   • Developed/Implement a health education/risk reduction program for HIV/AIDS patients engaging in high-risk behaviors.
   • Help clients reach self-sufficiency by referring clients to employment and vocational rehabilitation agencies.
   • Work with employees of local drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers to determine eligibility for inpatients.
   • Assign as a provider enrollment specialist responsible for credentialing and enrolling new medical providers into the Medicaid provider network.

   More human service specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the human service specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A human service specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a human service specialist in South Dakota may be lower than in Hawaii, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level human service specialist. Additionally, a human service specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average human service specialist salary

   $49,025yearly

   $23.57 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level human service specialist salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 9, 2025

   Average human service specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$63,737	$31
   2	Washington	$62,347	$30
   3	Texas	$61,842	$30
   4	Pennsylvania	$57,436	$28
   5	Maryland	$56,275	$27
   6	New York	$56,144	$27
   7	Oregon	$53,871	$26
   8	Oklahoma	$52,648	$25
   9	Minnesota	$50,770	$24
   10	Arizona	$48,855	$23
   11	Indiana	$48,766	$23
   12	Michigan	$47,439	$23
   13	Ohio	$46,472	$22
   14	Missouri	$45,393	$22
   15	North Carolina	$45,122	$22
   16	Florida	$44,643	$21
   17	Georgia	$42,062	$20
   18	Puerto Rico	$39,476	$19
   19	South Carolina	$37,862	$18
   20	Massachusetts	$37,824	$18

   Average human service specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Regeneron	$85,228	$40.98	8
   2	Deloitte	$72,510	$34.86	412
   3	Meridian Township	$57,454	$27.62
   4	ICF	$53,082	$25.52	1
   5	Minnesota State Fair	$52,856	$25.41	40
   6	Canton Township, Michigan	$50,455	$24.26
   7	Sherburne County	$50,013	$24.04
   8	Rochester Housing Authority	$49,936	$24.01	1
   9	Snohomish County	$48,535	$23.33	3
   10	Medical University of South Carolina	$48,513	$23.32	5
   11	Marsh & McLennan Companies	$48,158	$23.15	5
   12	Pennsylvania State Treasurer	$47,882	$23.02	13
   13	Liberty Healthcare	$47,640	$22.90	17
   14	Stearns County MN	$47,486	$22.83
   15	Howard County Government	$46,523	$22.37
   16	Prince William County	$46,381	$22.30
   17	Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center, Inc.	$46,224	$22.22
   18	Outagamie County	$45,508	$21.88	1
   19	My Florida Regional Mls	$45,345	$21.80
   20	The State of Oregon	$45,295	$21.78	18

4. Writing a human service specialist job description

   A good human service specialist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a human service specialist job description:

   Human service specialist job description example

   External Applicant Instructions
   Please upload your resume/CV for automatic population of information to your Kean application.Your contact information, work experience and education will be automatically filled in. Please review all fields - you will need to verify that the data is accurate.In the “My Experience” section, you will find a resume/CV upload option where you can submit your cover letter and any other supporting documents you may wish to submit.
   
   Office of Human Resources
   Professional Services Specialist IV, Administrative Services, Confidential
   Multiple Positions in Benefits, Employee Relations and Recruiting
   
   Under the supervision of a manager in the Office of Human Resources, the Professional Services Specialist IV performs basic professional functions to assist with daily HR operations. Each Professional Services Specialist will provide generalist support to an HR Unit, including Benefits, Employee Relations and/or Recruiting.
   
   The Professional Services Specialist uses Workday, the HRIS system, and completes assigned HR responsibilities in the assigned area. Additionally, this position may supervise student assistants and/or part-time employees and provides exemplary customer service. These positions may require additional work hours during peak periods.
   
   Qualifications: Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor's degree and one (1) year of professional experience working in human resources or a related field is required. Specialized experience in benefits, employee relations, performance management, recruiting and onboarding practices in higher education is preferred. Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute experience on a year for year basis. Candidate must have computer skills including knowledge of Microsoft Office programs, Google Docs and Adobe. Must have the ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic information systems used by HR including Workday and Datatel. Excellent oral and written communication skills are essential.
   
   The selected candidate will be required to pass a four (4) month Working Test Period.
   
   Candidacy review begins immediately and continues until appointment is made. Please submit your cover letter, resume/CV and contact information for three professional references. Official transcripts are required prior to the starting date of employment.
   
   Attention current Kean University employees (including part-time Student Assistants, Graduate Assistants, Academic Specialists and Adjuncts): Please apply via the internal career site to ensure consideration as an internal candidate. To apply internally, please log into your Workday account and select the Career icon on your homepage to view available positions.
   
   Additional Information
   
   As a condition of employment, external candidates are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to their start date. If you are unable to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for medical or religious reasons, you may submit a request for an exemption. If you are approved for an exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, you will be required to be tested for COVID-19 by the University on a regular schedule. All employees are expected to follow the University's current health and safety protocols for COVID-19 and any procedures/protocols created through additional correspondence.
   
   Kean University complies with the New Jersey First Act (Senate Bill No. 1730, P.L. 2011, Chapter 70). Any individual newly hired by Kean University will be required to abide by this law and establish a principal residence in New Jersey. New employees will have a full 365 days to establish such residence, from the effective date of hire.
   
   In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position, please refer to Section III.A. of our Reasonable Accommodations Policy & Procedures.
   
   Diversity & Non-Discrimination Statement
   
   Kean University is committed to establishing and maintaining a diverse campus community through inclusive excellence and equal opportunity. Kean's commitment to access and equity is designed to prepare each graduate to not only thrive, but climb higher in a diverse world. As an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution we work to support a campus-wide agenda to foster a community that both values and promotes the diversity and equity of all students, faculty, staff, administrators, and beyond.
   
   EEO/AA Statement
   
   Kean University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability Employer

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit human service specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 human service specialist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the human service specialist 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.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new human service specialist. 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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How much does it cost to hire a human service specialist?