How to hire a life skills instructor

How to hire a life skills instructor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step life skills instructor hiring guide:

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

What does a life skills instructor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a life skills instructor, 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 life skills instructor's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, life skills instructors 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 life skills instructors.

   Type of Life Skills Instructor	Description	Hourly rate
   Life Skills Instructor	Fitness trainers and instructors lead, instruct, and motivate individuals or groups in exercise activities, including cardiovascular exercises (exercises for the heart and blood circulation), strength training, and stretching. They work with people of all ages and skill levels.	$10-21
   Direct Support Professional	Direct support professionals are responsible for taking care of patients with physical or mental limitations. They do a variety of tasks for their patients, such as doing household chores, running errands for them, cooking for them, feeding them, bathing and dressing them, and helping them with their medication, among others... Show more	$8-25
   Program Counselor	A Program Counselor is an essential part of a school's faculty. It's the counselor's responsibility to ensure that students are benefiting from the school's educational curriculum... Show more	$15-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Developmental Disabilities
   • CPR
   • Kids
   • Adaptive
   • Independent Living
   • Incident Reports
   • Meal Preparation
   • Mental Health
   • Money Management
   • Community Resources
   • Direct Care
   • Medication Administration
   • Physical Disabilities
   • Direct Supervision

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Train and experience at managing challenging classroom situations using CPI methods and positive behavior reinforcement practices.
   • Conduct classes to certify individuals in first aid, CPR, a, environmental emergencies, and pediatric asthma care.
   • Teach lifesaving CPR, a (automate external defibrillator), and first aid courses for the medical and non-medical communities.
   • Provide educational, residential, and support services for children and adolescents with development disabilities, including autism.
   • Provide services to adolescents and adults requesting treatment and educational programs that have been diagnose with autism and behavior disorders.
   • Provide leadership and direction to new and existing staff members; identify training development assuring that training/certification are obtained and maintain.

   More life skills instructor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the life skills instructor job description is a good way to get more applicants. A life skills instructor 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 life skills instructor in Iowa may be lower than in Connecticut, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level life skills instructor. Additionally, a life skills instructor with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average life skills instructor salary

   $14.83hourly

   $30,844 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level life skills instructor salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average life skills instructor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Connecticut	$35,939	$17
   2	Massachusetts	$33,929	$16
   3	New York	$32,968	$16
   4	California	$30,616	$15
   5	Washington	$29,777	$14
   6	Illinois	$27,341	$13
   7	Kentucky	$26,062	$13
   8	North Carolina	$25,942	$12
   9	Minnesota	$25,441	$12
   10	Nevada	$25,267	$12
   11	Arizona	$24,901	$12
   12	Utah	$24,867	$12
   13	Indiana	$24,087	$12
   14	South Carolina	$23,378	$11
   15	Oklahoma	$22,169	$11
   16	Tennessee	$21,880	$11
   17	Florida	$20,520	$10
   18	Ohio	$17,458	$8

   Average life skills instructor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	University of California-Berkeley	$47,113	$22.65
   2	East Bay Innovations	$37,163	$17.87	4
   3	Aspire Health	$33,822	$16.26	15
   4	Devereux Arizona	$30,814	$14.81	207
   5	Cincinnati Public Schools	$30,730	$14.77	6
   6	Little City	$30,646	$14.73
   7	UNC Health Care	$30,473	$14.65	14
   8	Ability Beyond	$30,166	$14.50	25
   9	Charles Lea Center	$30,043	$14.44	1
   10	Munson Healthcare	$29,386	$14.13	1
   11	Carle Foundation	$28,726	$13.81	12
   12	Centerstone	$28,439	$13.67	2
   13	UCLA	$28,359	$13.63	57
   14	Aegis Therapies	$28,297	$13.60	6
   15	Key Autism Services	$28,116	$13.52
   16	The GEO Group	$27,990	$13.46	3
   17	Northeastern Services Lakeside	$27,884	$13.41
   18	Alternative Services-Connecticut Inc	$27,884	$13.41	31
   19	Crossroads Diversified Services	$27,753	$13.34	2
   20	Ray Graham Association	$26,828	$12.90	2

4. Writing a life skills instructor job description

   A good life skills instructor 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 life skills instructor job description:

   Life skills instructor job description example

   AmeriCorps members serve directly with youth to provide a safe, responsible, well-supervised afterschool program. Members will prepare materials and supplies, and plan/implement activities, workshops, clinics, events, and family-focused parent/family opportunities. Members are responsible for a S.A.F.E. (Sequenced, Active, Focused, Explicit) learning environment and establishing a positive rapport with parents, collaborators, school management, and community partners. Members are responsible for understanding and abiding by school district rules and requirements. Members serve as positive adult role model for children in the program through appropriate dress, speech, attitude, and courtesy. Members maintain cleanliness in all program areas; assist with the setup and breakdown during the program day in an effort to keep the site(s) clean and orderly. Members may be assigned additional duties, including helping school district classrooms and clubs, partner organization events or RYC. AmeriCorps Members must be capable of sitting and standing for long periods, walking distances and running, lifting 40lbs. Basic competence with Microsoft word is a requirement. All applicants must pass a criminal background check. Further help on this page can be found by clicking here.
   
   Member Duties : This position will promote our Life Skills Program focusing on cooking healthy meals, nutrition awareness, budgeting, and social/emotional competence. You will facilitate the preparation, service and clean-up of KAP's Friday meals; create supply lists; create related educational materials; and develop and facilitate youth activities to connect the efforts of our kids to positive growth of our community. You will assist with our Hydroponics and Outdoor Programs as related to the Life Skills focus. Training will be provided.
   
   Program Benefits : Education award upon successful completion of service , Stipend , Childcare assistance if eligible , Training , Relocation Allowance , Health Coverage .
   Terms :
   
   None
   
   Service Areas :
   
   Children/Youth .
   
   Skills :
   
   General Skills , Teaching/Tutoring , Social Services , Leadership , Youth Development , Communications , Public Speaking , Team Work , Writing/Editing , culinary skills .

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right life skills instructor for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with life skills instructor candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of 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 life skills instructor

   Once you've found the life skills instructor candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   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 life skills instructor 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 life skills instructor?