How to hire an intake clerk

Intake clerk hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring intake clerks in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire an intake clerk is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new intake clerk to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire an intake clerk, step by step

To hire an intake clerk, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire an intake clerk, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step intake clerk hiring guide:

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

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Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring an intake clerk, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

An intake clerk's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, intake clerks 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 shows salaries for various types of intake clerks.

Type of Intake Clerk	Description	Hourly rate
Intake Clerk	General office clerks perform a variety of clerical tasks, including answering telephones, typing documents, and filing records.	$13-21
Clerk Typist	A clerk typist is responsible for data entry procedures and document transcriptions, alongside other clerical and administrative duties as required by the employer. Clerk typists create reports and presentation materials, transcribe audio meetings, write business drafts, and send documents to appropriate office personnel or clients... Show more	$12-18
Room Clerk	A room clerk is responsible for receiving guests and assigning them to their respective rooms, typically in a hotel setting. Room clerks manage guests' reservations, explain the policies of the premises, and process their payments for staying at the hotel... Show more	$12-17

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Data Entry
- Patients
- Government Assistance
- Computer System
- Front Desk
- Appointment Scheduling
- Client Intake
- Direct Calls
- Law Enforcement
- Telephone Calls
- Intake Forms
- Medicaid
- Intake Process
- Office Equipment
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Verify all primary insurance including Medicare, Medicaid, and third party and manage care policies.
- Manage orthopedic accounts regarding payment posting through IDX medical systems.
- Perform daily public contact work such as collecting and copying information from TANF and other DHS participants.
- Prepare surgery relate paperwork in advance to facilitate the surgical process for timely surgical procedures.
- Distribute programmatic service literature and general information to TANF and other DHS participants and providers.
- Follow all HIPPA rules and regulations for patient privacy
More intake clerk duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the intake clerk job description is a good way to get more applicants. An intake clerk 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 an intake clerk in Alabama may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level intake clerk. Additionally, an intake clerk with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average intake clerk salary

$35,991yearly

$17.30 hourly rate

Entry-level intake clerk salary

$29,000 yearly salary

Updated December 20, 2025

Average intake clerk salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	New York	$41,808	$20
2	California	$40,876	$20
3	Washington	$38,841	$19
4	Florida	$37,518	$18
5	Iowa	$37,396	$18
6	Texas	$36,501	$18
7	Illinois	$35,272	$17
8	Utah	$34,864	$17
9	Georgia	$34,531	$17
10	Nebraska	$32,249	$16
11	Virginia	$31,101	$15
12	Indiana	$29,645	$14
13	Alabama	$29,364	$14
14	Louisiana	$29,157	$14

Average intake clerk salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District	$42,121	$20.25	3
2	United States Courts	$39,751	$19.11	65
3	Siouxland Community Health Center	$38,802	$18.65
4	Addiction Recovery Care	$38,458	$18.49
5	The GEO Group	$36,907	$17.74	17
6	Kforce	$36,376	$17.49	19
7	Robert Half	$36,153	$17.38	625
8	BioSpine Institute	$34,638	$16.65
9	Centers Plan For Healthy Living	$34,268	$16.48
10	Woods Oviatt Gilman	$33,823	$16.26
11	Michael Sullivan & Associates	$33,174	$15.95
12	Universal Health Services	$33,125	$15.93	66
13	Community Health Systems	$32,493	$15.62	50
14	HANAC	$31,179	$14.99	2

Writing an intake clerk job description
A good intake clerk 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 an intake clerk job description:
Intake clerk job description example
Margate, FL, USA

Req #392

Monday, October 3, 2022

Centers Plan for Healthy Living's goal is to create the ultimate healthcare experience that provides our members, their families, healthcare decision makers, and general caregivers with the guidance and plans they need for healthy living.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

+ Responsible for assisting all clinical intake staff with clerical functions.

+ Performs planning and scheduling functions for all skilled nursing services.

+ Staffs each case appropriately, following guidelines set by the Director of Intake.

+ Forwards all pertinent intake information to COC prior to the initial visit.

+ Consistently maintains the availability list of nurses.

+ Obtains and maintains information related to scheduled time off of COCs.

+ Obtains a schedule of full-time COC to assure compliance with agency policies.

+ Confirms COC weekend on-call schedules and reports any changes to the supervisor.

+ Maintains complete and accurate scheduling log.

+ Alerts Director of Intake, Patient Services Manager, and Director of Managed Care with anticipated staffing shortages.

+ Collects and obtains information in delays in SOC, NTUC's, relays such information to the appropriate parties.

+ Assists with telephone and clerical duties as directed by the supervisor.

Education and Experience:

Education

Required:

+ High School Diploma

Preferred:

+ Some college education preferred

Type of Experience

Knowledge and Skills

Required:

+ Minimum one year office experience

+ Effective verbal and written communication skills

+ Ability to effectively multi-task

+ Computer literacy, and effective typing skills

Preferred:

+ Experience in a health care office setting preferred

Physical Requirements :

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to the job classification. They should not be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required.

Centers Plan For Healthy Living is committed to leveraging the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences of our workforce to create opportunities for our employees and our business. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law and will not be denied employment.

Other details

+ Pay Type Hourly

Apply Now

+ Margate, FL, USA
Post your job
To find the right intake clerk 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 intake clerks they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit intake clerks 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 intake clerk job on Zippia to find and recruit intake clerk candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
During your first interview to recruit intake clerks, 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.
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.
Send a job offer and onboard your new intake clerk
Once you have selected a candidate for the intake clerk 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 also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
To prepare for the new intake clerk 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.
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 intake clerk?

Recruiting intake clerks involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

The median annual salary for intake clerks is $35,991 in the US. However, the cost of intake clerk hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring an intake clerk for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $13 and $21 an hour.

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Updated December 20, 2025

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How to hire an intake clerk