How to hire a nutritionist

How to hire a nutritionist, step by step

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

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

What does a nutritionist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The nutritionist 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

   A nutritionist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, nutritionists 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 nutritionists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Nutritionist	Description	Hourly rate
   Nutritionist	Dietitians and nutritionists are experts in the use of food and nutrition to promote health and manage disease. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal.	$14-38
   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
   Dietetic Internship	In a dietetic internship, an intern primarily performs support tasks to gain industry insights and experience while under a dietitian's directives and supervision. Their duties typically include conducting research and analyses, gathering and analyzing data from previous projects and studies, participating in the development of new meal and nutritional plans, and assisting in food delivery operations... Show more	$14-63

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Public Health
   • WIC Program
   • RD
   • Food Service
   • Medical Nutrition Therapy
   • Diabetes
   • Nutritional Risk
   • Weight Loss
   • Nutrition Assessments
   • Nutrition Education Materials
   • Social Services
   • Nutrition Programs
   • Nutrition Services

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead weekly nutritional education workshops on diabetes management, in addition to providing individual counseling.
   • Inspire patients to proactively manage their diabetes, to include administering insulin and taking prescribe medications.
   • Follow up in the out-patient GI clinic for tube feeding regimens, assessing growth and food allergies.
   • Establish clients via social media; maintain Facebook page.
   • Develop training table menus for all NCAA scholarship athletes and attend training table.
   • Provide complete instruction and advice to patients with diet-relate problems like diabetics, hypertension.

   More nutritionist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your nutritionist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A nutritionist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a nutritionist in Tennessee may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level nutritionist usually earns less than a senior-level nutritionist. Additionally, a nutritionist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average nutritionist salary

   $49,877yearly

   $23.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level nutritionist salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average nutritionist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$69,563	$33
   2	New York	$62,414	$30
   3	Massachusetts	$62,204	$30
   4	Connecticut	$59,089	$28
   5	District of Columbia	$57,354	$28
   6	Washington	$56,479	$27
   7	Maryland	$53,346	$26
   8	Pennsylvania	$51,616	$25
   9	Illinois	$48,716	$23
   10	Indiana	$46,378	$22
   11	Texas	$44,783	$22
   12	Missouri	$44,553	$21
   13	Arkansas	$42,801	$21
   14	Florida	$41,839	$20
   15	North Carolina	$41,699	$20
   16	Georgia	$38,448	$18
   17	South Carolina	$36,536	$18

   Average nutritionist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Cargill	$77,159	$37.10
   2	Brigham and Women's Hospital	$75,279	$36.19	1
   3	Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital	$66,375	$31.91
   4	South Cove Community Health Center	$63,207	$30.39
   5	Community Healthcare Network	$63,136	$30.35
   6	Tri-County Chiropractic and Spinal Rehabilitation	$63,059	$30.32
   7	Children's National Medical Center	$62,838	$30.21
   8	Mount Sinai Health System	$62,476	$30.04	1
   9	Gastro Health	$62,347	$29.97
   10	Betty Jean Kerr People's Health centers	$62,332	$29.97
   11	WakeMed	$61,873	$29.75
   12	Erlanger Health System	$60,970	$29.31
   13	Cobb-Vantress	$60,956	$29.31
   14	ADM	$60,445	$29.06
   15	National Veterinary Associates	$59,844	$28.77
   16	Northwell Health	$59,437	$28.58	4
   17	Staffworks Group	$58,111	$27.94
   18	Forsyth County	$58,002	$27.89
   19	Mary's Center	$57,923	$27.85
   20	Boston College	$57,726	$27.75

4. Writing a nutritionist job description

   A nutritionist 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. Below, you can find an example of a nutritionist job description:

   Nutritionist job description example

   • RD or RD eligible Status
   • Successful completion of Newark Beth Israel orientation program
   • Successful completion of department specific orientation

   First established in 1901, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a 665-bed quaternary care, teaching hospital that provides comprehensive health care for the region. Staffed with more than 800 physicians, 3200 employees, and 150 volunteers, our hospital is ready to provide you and your family with the quality care you need.

   At Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, we are committed to quality and excellence in patient care. Our goal is to exceed your expectations and to provide you with an environment that is conducive to healing and promotes patient safety. The Newark Beth Israel Medical Center management and staff abide by the philosophy that all patients are to be treated with respect, dignity, and sensitivity.

   The Children s Hospital of New Jersey provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient pediatric services that include a pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric emergency department, Valerie Fund Children s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, and a neonatal ICU with New Jersey s only ECMO unit. The pediatric staff pharmacist works in the decentralized pharmacy satellite and provides collaborative pharmaceutical care to the Children s Hospital of New Jersey including NICU and PICU, and the emergency department.

   We offer a great work environment, competitive rates and excellent benefits, including:

   • Medical/Dental/Vision plans
   • 401 (k)
   • Vacation/Personal/Holiday/Sick Time Off
   • Short & Long Term Disability
   • Basic Life & Accidental Death Insurance
   • Tuition Reimbursement
   • Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right nutritionist 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 nutritionist job on Zippia to find and attract quality nutritionist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with nutritionist 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 nutritionist

   Once you've found the nutritionist 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.

   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 employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is 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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How much does it cost to hire a nutritionist?