How to hire a nutrition technician

How to hire a nutrition technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step nutrition technician hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the nutrition technician you need to hire. Certain nutrition technician roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   The following list breaks down different types of nutrition technicians and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Nutrition Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Nutrition Technician		$12-19
   Dietary Aide	A dietary aide is responsible for assisting food preparations and ensuring that the meals adhere to an individual's specific diet plans. Dietary aides must strictly follow sanitation standards and hygiene procedures to guarantee the safety and quality of the service... Show more	$10-16
   Nutrition Aide	Nutrition Aides prepare and deliver meals for residents in nursing homes or patients in medical clinics or hospitals. These professionals spend half of their time with patients and the remaining half in the kitchen - where they complete trash disposal and ware washing and deliver nourishment and food to the required facility locations... Show more	$12-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Food Service
   • Patient Care
   • Food Handling
   • Breast Milk
   • Customer Service
   • Food Preferences
   • Nutritional Risk
   • Diet Orders
   • Nutrition Education
   • Food Preparation
   • Menu Selections
   • Data Entry
   • Computer System

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Coordinate all walk-through visible inspections to achieve overall cleanliness and order within each facility.
   • Provide appropriate care to patients by evaluating and giving assistance to individual patient regarding meal selections.
   • Collaborate with patients under dietitian supervision to ensure compliance with diet requirements, quality care and satisfaction.
   • Assist the nutrition in identifying and encouraging the residents to maintain specific dietary needs/restrictions for residents at an inpatient rehabilitation facility.
   • Conduct research and create PowerPoint presentations for wellness programs.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, nutrition technicians' average salary in georgia is 52% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level nutrition technicians 35% less than senior-level nutrition technicians.
   • Certifications. A nutrition technician 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 nutrition technician's salary.

   Average nutrition technician salary

   $15.85hourly

   $32,976 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level nutrition technician salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

4. Writing a nutrition technician job description

   A job description for a nutrition technician 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 nutrition technician job description:

   Nutrition technician job description example

   Nutrition Care Tech - Saint Luke's Hospital Plaza Location - Fulltime Position
   
   The Opportunity:
   
   Saint Luke's Hospital, our Plaza location, is seeking a Nutrition Care Technician to utilize diet office software to obtain menu selections by assisting patients by room service phone line if at SLS SLH or SLELS or by hostess program at SLN in order to meet both the patient's dietary restrictions and food preferences.
   
   Being a part of the Nutrition Department means that you get to be a part of the team that cares for patients in a non-medical capacity. Nutrition is a large part of the recovery and healing process and we are proud to be able to provide quality and nutritious meals to our patients and their families. Our priority is patient care in all aspects and in your role the interaction you have with patients provides you with the opportunity to bring something positive to their day to ensure that Saint Luke's is "The Best Place To Get Care, The Best Place To Give Care."
   
   Shift Details:
   
   * Full-time position
   
   * Shift hours - 6:15am to 6:45pm
   
   * Work week - Will be scheduled for three 12-hour shifts per week and one 4-hour shift.
   
   * Rotating weekends (Every other weekend)
   
   * Rotating holidays.
   
   The Work:
   
   Utilize diet office software to obtain menu selections and assisting patients by room service phone line in order to meet both the patient's dietary restrictions and food preferences.
   
   We provide our employees with the opportunity to grow in the health system, to move into leadership roles within the department or further their careers in new directions still within the health system. We are ideally looking for someone with great phone customer service experience for this position.
   
   Why Saint Luke's?
   
   * Minimum starting rates of $17.50 / hour
   
   * Weekend Shift Differential
   
   * Saint Luke's offers competitive salaries and benefits packages to all eligible employees, click here to find out more.
   
   * We believe in creating a collaborative environment where all voices are heard.
   
   * We are here for you and will support you in achieving your goals.
   
   * We are dedicated to innovation and always looking for ways to improve.
   
   This opportunity will allow you to work with strong leaders who are dedicated to supporting you in your career development. Saint Luke's has a strong nurse governance and we encourage all of our nurses to participate and help us make Saint Luke's The Best Place To Get Care, The Best Place To Give Care.
   
   Saint Luke's Hospital:
   
   Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City is one of the largest faith-based care hospitals in the region-offering many specialized programs and services. Our network of more than 600 physicians represents more than 60 medical specialties.
   
   Saint Luke's Hospital has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the elite hospitals in the nation. It is nationally ranked in two specialties for 2019-20 and honored as high performing in two additional specialties.
   
   Saint Luke's Hospital is a primary teaching hospital for the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, which includes a physician residency program.
   
   Job Requirements
   
   Applicable Experience:
   
   Less than 1 year
   
   Food Handlers Permit - Various
   
   Job Details
   
   Full Time
   
   Swing (United States of America)
   
   The best place to get care. The best place to give care. Saint Luke's 12,000 employees strive toward that vision every day. Our employees are proud to work for the only faith-based, nonprofit, locally owned health system in Kansas City. Joining Saint Luke's means joining a team of exceptional professionals who strive for excellence in patient care. Do the best work of your career within a highly diverse and inclusive workspace where all voices matter.
   
   Join the Kansas City region's premiere provider of health services. Equal Opportunity Employer.
   
   Effective November 1st, 2021, full COVID-19 vaccination is a condition of employment for all Saint Luke's Health System employees unless a medical or religious exemption is approved.

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5. Post your job

   To find nutrition technicians 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 nutrition technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level nutrition technicians 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 nutrition technician job on Zippia to find and attract quality nutrition technician candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting nutrition technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   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 nutrition technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect nutrition technician 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.

   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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new nutrition technician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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