How to hire a licensed optician

How to hire a licensed optician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step licensed optician hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a licensed optician, 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?

   Yes

   No

   A licensed optician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, licensed opticians 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 licensed opticians.

   Type of Licensed Optician	Description	Hourly rate
   Licensed Optician	Dispensing opticians help fit eyeglasses and contact lenses, following prescriptions from ophthalmologists and optometrists. They also help customers decide which eyeglass frames or contact lenses to buy.	$15-30
   Optical Manager	An Optical Manager oversees the daily operations taking place in an optometrist's office. In general, Optical Managers oversee various eye care and administrative tasks... Show more	$5-62
   Optician Apprentice	An optician apprentice is an assistant to a certified optician whose responsibilities include designing, measuring, and fitting lenses and frames for clients. Optician apprentices assist clients with picking out frames of their choice and within their budgets, measuring customer size for fitting, and ensuring a good face- eyeglass match... Show more	$13-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Eye Care
   • HIPAA
   • RX
   • Patient Care
   • Troubleshoot
   • Data Entry
   • Customer Complaints
   • Optical Products
   • Retail Sales
   • Optometry
   • ABO
   • Taking Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
   • Provide training for ABO certification.
   • Check in finish product to verify rx before dispensing.
   • Read the Rx, take proper measurement of frame and patient.
   • Collect payment for eyewear and Dr fees and balance books daily.
   • Assist the accounting department in generating staff payroll on a weekly basis.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, licensed opticians' average salary in oklahoma is 43% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level licensed opticians 49% less than senior-level licensed opticians.
   • Certifications. A licensed optician 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 licensed optician's salary.

   Average licensed optician salary

   $45,625yearly

   $21.94 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level licensed optician salary

   $32,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a licensed optician job description

   A licensed optician job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a licensed optician job description:

   Licensed optician job description example

   The purpose of this role is to provide quality customer service while satisfying the needs of For Eyes customers through the sale and dispensing of eyeglasses, non-prescription sunglasses, contact lenses, and accessories. To uphold Company's standards of excellence in customer service; encourage customer recommendations and repeat business.
   What would you do? - The Specifics
   
   + Meet sales and company objectives.
   
   + Follow the For Eyes philosophy of the 3 C's: "Take care of the Customer, the Company and Co-workers"
   
   + Assist with dispensing eyeglasses and contact lenses to customers, as permitted by state law.
   
   + Perform insertion and removal training of contact lenses to customers, as permitted by state law.
   
   + Educate clients on proper eyeglass and contact lens care.
   
   + Maintain accurate and organized patient records.
   
   + Assist Optometric Technician, Receptionist, and Contact Lens Technician when necessary.
   
   + Answer, screen, and forward incoming phone calls in accordance with For Eyes protocol.
   
   + Maintain visual merchandising according to Brand and Company Standards.
   
   + Foster Teamwork and maintain a positive working relationship with your co-workers, supervisors, and optometry practice that supports and contributes to exam growth, high capture rate, and delivering sales goals
   
   + Deliver individual store sales goals, customer service goals and established key indicator goals and objectives
   
   + Comply with policy, procedures, and federal, state and local regulatory requirements like but not limited to privacy, discrimination, safety and labor. Report non-compliance observations and concerns accurately and promptly
   
   Who you are:
   
   + A licensed dispensing optician in states that require a license
   
   + Passionate about the eyewear and retail industries
   
   + A clear, effective, and professional communicator-you can break down technical terms for customers to easily understand
   
   + Dedicated to going above-and-beyond to make customers (and your teammates!) happy
   
   + An energetic, positive team player who's able to adapt in a fast-paced, ever-changing work environment
   
   + Extremely detail-oriented and capable of juggling a wide range of responsibilities
   
   + Open-minded-you're constantly learning and challenging what you know
   
   + Someone who takes your work very seriously, but not yourself
   
   
   External Company URL: www.foreyes.com
   
   Street: 3405 U.S. HWY. 17/92
   
   Telecommute: No

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right licensed optician 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 licensed opticians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit licensed opticians 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.

   To find licensed optician candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit licensed opticians, 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.

   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 licensed optician

   Once you've decided on a perfect licensed optician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new licensed optician 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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