How to hire an intake specialist

How to hire an intake specialist, step by step

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

What does an intake specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The intake specialist 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

   Hiring the perfect intake specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents intake specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Intake Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Intake 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.	$12-24
   Intake Coordinator	An intake coordinator is responsible for assisting patients with admissions to healthcare facilities. Intake coordinators help with the patients' registration process, record their health conditions and medical histories, verify their health insurance information, schedule consultation appointments, manage patients' charts, and respond to patients' inquiries and concerns... Show more	$13-24

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Social Work
   • Data Entry
   • Phone Calls
   • Home Health
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Veterans
   • Medical Terminology
   • Patient Care
   • Medicaid
   • Community Resources
   • Intake Process
   • Schedule Appointments

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage assignments of paying medical bills limit in depth that include organizing and researching regulations as pertain to veterans eligibility.
   • Provide information to potential patients and referral sources regarding inpatient and outpatient programs offer and intake process.
   • Verify Medicare eligibility, provide patients with Medicare guideline information as related to home health care and their coverage.
   • Review U.S. DHS immigration compliance of participants.
   • Peg claimants claim and establish medial conditions to VA worksheets.
   • Respond to telephone and e-mail inquiries regarding CM/ECF and court relate procedures.

   More intake specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average intake specialist salary

   $36,805yearly

   $17.69 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level intake specialist salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

   Average intake specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$56,943	$27
   2	Washington	$48,269	$23
   3	District of Columbia	$45,610	$22
   4	Oregon	$44,433	$21
   5	New York	$42,256	$20
   6	Massachusetts	$40,101	$19
   7	Arizona	$39,310	$19
   8	Pennsylvania	$37,522	$18
   9	Maine	$37,242	$18
   10	Colorado	$36,699	$18
   11	Illinois	$36,664	$18
   12	Wisconsin	$36,499	$18
   13	Minnesota	$35,911	$17
   14	Ohio	$35,692	$17
   15	Texas	$35,453	$17
   16	Florida	$34,188	$16
   17	Virginia	$33,401	$16
   18	Indiana	$31,975	$15
   19	Missouri	$31,926	$15
   20	North Carolina	$31,643	$15

   Average intake specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Citi	$111,871	$53.78	3
   2	Concierge Home Care	$68,111	$32.75
   3	DESC	$59,737	$28.72	6
   4	Columbia University in the City of New York	$59,437	$28.58
   5	McGuireWoods	$58,738	$28.24	7
   6	Health Alliance	$57,775	$27.78	8
   7	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$56,982	$27.40
   8	Travis County	$54,811	$26.35
   9	Lancaster General Health	$54,551	$26.23
   10	Rubenstein	$54,390	$26.15
   11	Amyx	$53,047	$25.50
   12	Erie Neighborhood House	$52,765	$25.37
   13	Tesla	$50,507	$24.28
   14	Tandem Diabetes Care	$50,291	$24.18
   15	Washington State University	$49,485	$23.79
   16	Heard & Smith	$49,378	$23.74	5
   17	Legal Aid	$48,343	$23.24
   18	The Village Family Service Center	$47,519	$22.85
   19	Raytheon Technologies	$46,985	$22.59	4
   20	University of Rochester	$46,905	$22.55	6

4. Writing an intake specialist job description

   A job description for an intake specialist 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 an intake specialist job description:

   Intake specialist job description example

   At Owens & Minor, our Mission is simple: empowering our customers to advance healthcare. Our teammates continue to play an essential role in the global fight against COVID-19 by working to ensure our healthcare customers have what they need, when they need it, enabling them to focus on the critical task of providing patient care. As a Fortune 500 company with over 15,000 teammates in over 70 countries, Owens & Minor remains laser-focused on delivering on our Mission throughout COVID-19 and beyond. Our $9-billion business includes our Global Solutions and Global Products segments, with core offerings structured across three pillars of excellence: Products, Services, and Distribution.
   
   Our people are the power that propels us. As we continue to navigate unprecedented circumstances, teammate safety remains our top priority, and all of our facilities have implemented enhanced safety and sanitation protocols. Just as our teammates are dedicated to empowering healthcare around the world, Owens & Minor is dedicated to providing the kind of culture and benefits that empower teammates to grow their careers and enjoy the rewarding work they do every day.
   
   Owens & Minor benefits are applicable to Full Time Regular and Permanent Teammates, and include:
   
   Medical, dental, and vision insurance, available on first working day 401(k), eligibility after 30 days of employment Employee stock purchase plan Tuition reimbursement Development opportunities to grow your career with a global company
   If you feel this opportunity could be the next step in your career, we encourage you to apply.
   
   Owens & Minor is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, religion, disability, age, status as a veteran, or any other status prohibited by applicable national, federal, state or local law.
   
   Note: Owens & Minor is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our Company via email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our Company. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by our Company as a result of the referral or through other means.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find intake specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any intake specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level intake specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit intake 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 to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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 intake specialist

   Once you've selected the best intake specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new intake specialist 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 an intake specialist?