How to hire a neurosurgeon

How to hire a neurosurgeon, step by step

Here's a step-by-step neurosurgeon hiring guide:

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

What does a neurosurgeon do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a neurosurgeon, 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

   Hiring the perfect neurosurgeon 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.

   Here's a comparison of neurosurgeon salaries for various roles:

   Type of Neurosurgeon	Description	Hourly rate
   Neurosurgeon	Physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests... Show more	$90-340
   Orthopaedic Surgeon	Orthopaedic surgeons are healthcare professionals who are responsible for treating pain related to the musculoskeletal system of the body. These licensed medical experts are required to examine, diagnose, and treat diseases and injuries related to the musculoskeletal system such as dislocated joints, back pain, and arthritis... Show more	$60-208
   Orthopedic Surgeon	An orthopedic surgeon specializes in performing surgeries to treat different issues concerning a patient's musculoskeletal system. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around conducting extensive examinations on a patient to determine their condition, analyzing their medical records, coordinating with nurses and other specialists to ensure the accuracy of treatments, and maintaining a thorough record of information... Show more	$35-123

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • CME
   • Medical Care
   • Neurosurgical
   • Epic
   • Peds
   • MRI
   • Surgical Procedures
   • Medicaid
   • Diagnostic Tests
   • Brain Tumors
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Patient Charts

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all incoming medical records requests (ensuring office is within HIPPA guidelines).
   • Evaluate and treat surgical and non-surgical patients.
   • Maintain cleanliness of examination and injection rooms between patients.
   • Cooperate with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance providers to resolve billing
   • Cooperate with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance providers to resolve billing

   More neurosurgeon duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average neurosurgeon salary

   $365,411yearly

   $175.68 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level neurosurgeon salary

   $188,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average neurosurgeon salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Alaska	$581,950	$280
   2	North Dakota	$458,344	$220
   3	Minnesota	$424,987	$204
   4	Montana	$416,947	$200
   5	Washington	$399,453	$192
   6	Iowa	$386,002	$186
   7	Michigan	$365,578	$176
   8	Wisconsin	$364,571	$175
   9	Nebraska	$353,790	$170
   10	Maine	$353,233	$170
   11	Ohio	$331,926	$160
   12	Pennsylvania	$318,159	$153
   13	Missouri	$310,782	$149
   14	West Virginia	$300,492	$144
   15	Georgia	$291,291	$140
   16	Oregon	$282,951	$136
   17	Alabama	$273,339	$131
   18	Massachusetts	$264,708	$127
   19	New York	$263,880	$127
   20	Mississippi	$258,082	$124

   Average neurosurgeon salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Billings Clinic	$545,471	$262.25
   2	OSF HealthCare	$494,383	$237.68	17
   3	Altru Health System	$439,133	$211.12
   4	Sanford Health	$427,075	$205.32	6
   5	Rochester Regional Health	$416,089	$200.04	1
   6	Bay Regional Medical Center	$414,699	$199.37
   7	Covenant HealthCare	$412,137	$198.14
   8	Mayo Clinic	$406,035	$195.21	37
   9	Overlake Medical Center & Clinics	$401,984	$193.26
   10	Houston Methodist	$400,382	$192.49	26
   11	CentraCare Health	$399,522	$192.08	2
   12	Susquehanna Health	$393,557	$189.21
   13	CHI Mercy Health	$390,479	$187.73
   14	Lee Regional Health System	$388,748	$186.90
   15	Geisinger Medical Center	$380,302	$182.84	15
   16	The Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital Association	$379,184	$182.30
   17	Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network	$372,063	$178.88
   18	Western Maryland Health System Rehab	$371,202	$178.46
   19	Catholic Health Initiatives - Colorado	$367,937	$176.89	27
   20	S M D C St Mary's Duluth Clinic Health System Hospice & Palliative Care	$367,937	$176.89

4. Writing a neurosurgeon job description

   A job description for a neurosurgeon 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 a neurosurgeon job description:

   Neurosurgeon job description example

   Due to continued growth and high patient demand, the Henry Ford Medical Group is seeking a board eligible/certified Neurosurgeon for the busy clinical practice at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital located in Clinton Township, Michigan. This opportunity is ideal for an experienced Neurosurgeon who has an interest in building and continuing to grow a community-based practice.
   
   The outpatient practice is based at Henry Ford's Lakeside Medical Center in Sterling Heights. Opportunities to teach and practice at additional Henry Ford sites. Academic appointment opportunities are available at Michigan State University and Wayne State University.
   
   Henry Ford Health System is one of the country's largest health care systems and a national leader in clinical care, research and education. Our system includes the 1,200-member Henry Ford Medical Group, six hospitals, Health Alliance Plan, 32 primary care centers and many other health-related entities throughout Southeast Michigan. The Henry Ford Medical Group is one of the nation's largest and most experienced group practices, with more than 1,000 physicians and researchers in more than 40 specialties who staff all Henry Ford hospitals and outpatient medical centers.
   Qualifications -
   
   + Must have a valid medical degree
   
   + Must have completed an ACGME/AOA approved Neurosurgery Residency Program.
   
   + Must be board eligible or board certified.
   
   Overview
   
   Under the leadership of President and CEO Robert G. Riney, Henry Ford Health is a
   
   $6 billion integrated health system comprised of six hospitals, a health plan, and 250+ sites
   
   including medical centers, walk-in and urgent care clinics, pharmacy, eye care facilities and
   
   other healthcare retail. Established in 1915 by auto industry pioneer Henry Ford, the health system
   
   now has 32,000 employees and remains home to the 1,900-member Henry Ford Medical Group, one
   
   of the nation's oldest physician groups. An additional 2,200 physicians are also affiliated with the
   
   health system through the Henry Ford Physician Network. Henry Ford is also one of the region's
   
   major academic medical centers, receiving between $90-$100 million in annual research funding and
   
   remaining Michigan's fourth largest NIH-funded institution. Also an active participant in medical
   
   education and training, the health system has trained nearly 40% of physicians currently practicing
   
   in the state and also provides education and training for other health professionals including nurses,
   
   pharmacists, radiology and respiratory technicians. visit HenryFord.com.
   
   Benefits
   
   Whether it's offering a new medical option, helping you make healthier lifestyle choices or
   
   making the employee enrollment selection experience easier, it's all about choice. Henry
   
   Ford Health has a new approach for its employee benefits program - My Choice
   
   Rewards. My Choice Rewards is a program as diverse as the people it serves. There are
   
   dozens of options for all of our employees including compensation, benefits, work/life balance
   
   and learning - options that enhance your career and add value to your personal life. As an
   
   employee you are provided access to Retirement Programs, an Employee Assistance Program
   
   (Henry Ford Enhanced), Tuition Reimbursement, Paid Time Off, Employee Health and Wellness, and a whole host of other benefits and services. Employee's classified as contingent status are not eligible for benefits.
   
   Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer
   
   Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer Henry Ford Health is
   
   committed to the hiring, advancement and fair treatment of all individuals without regard to
   
   race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, size, height,
   
   weight, marital status, family status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and genetic information,
   
   or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal and state laws.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find neurosurgeons for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your neurosurgeon job on Zippia to find and recruit neurosurgeon candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with neurosurgeon 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 neurosurgeon

   Once you have selected a candidate for the neurosurgeon 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.

   To prepare for the new neurosurgeon 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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