How to hire a placement specialist

Placement specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring placement specialists in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire a placement specialist is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new placement specialist to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a placement specialist, step by step

To hire a placement specialist, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a placement specialist:

Here's a step-by-step placement specialist hiring guide:

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

What does a placement specialist do?

Placement Specialists are professionals who work for an organization to conduct screening and interviewing job candidates for various organizational positions. These specialists must use various methods such as email, cold-calling, or instant messaging applications to solicit candidates for job openings. They are required to assist job candidates with filling out and submitting their new hire documentation, ensuring that all necessary paperwork is processed with the appropriate departments. Placement specialists must also educate candidates about the organization's compensation and benefits, as well as schedule orientation training.

Learn more about the specifics of what a placement specialist does

Post a placement specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

The placement specialist 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?

A placement specialist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, placement specialists 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 presents placement specialist salaries for various positions.

Type of Placement Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
Placement Specialist	Human resources specialists recruit, screen, interview, and place workers. They often handle other human resources work, such as those related to employee relations, compensation and benefits, and training... Show more	$14-31
Self-Employed	A self-employed person works without the supervision of a specific employer. Self-employed entrepreneurs decide their business plans to increase profitability and get involved with the current market trends... Show more	$12-21
Staffing Coordinator	A staffing coordinator is responsible for assisting the staffing needs of an organization, organizing the hiring process, and monitoring the working schedule of staff to ensure smooth operations. Staffing coordinators often coordinate with recruiting agencies for staffing solutions to fill roles and process onboarding... Show more	$14-29

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Customer Service
- Patients
- Social Work
- Mental Health
- Linkedin
- Foster Care
- Phone Calls
- Patient Placement
- Community Resources
- Excellent Interpersonal
- Substance Abuse
- Rehabilitation
- Data Entry
- Support Services
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Utilize Taleo applicant tracking system to manage candidate volume.
- Develop naturally support vocational rehabilitation services for individuals dually diagnose with mental illness & intellectual disabilities, & other co-occurring disorders.
- Interview and select participants eligible for educational assistance from WIA and TAA benefits.
More placement specialist duties

Make a budget

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

Average placement specialist salary

$45,676yearly

$21.96 hourly rate

Entry-level placement specialist salary

$31,000 yearly salary

Updated December 5, 2025

Average placement specialist salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	California	$65,225	$31
2	District of Columbia	$56,327	$27
3	Colorado	$53,980	$26
4	New York	$52,751	$25
5	Alaska	$51,655	$25
6	Oregon	$51,618	$25
7	New Jersey	$48,941	$24
8	Nevada	$46,640	$22
9	Massachusetts	$46,425	$22
10	Utah	$44,259	$21
11	Kansas	$43,630	$21
12	Texas	$43,541	$21
13	Michigan	$42,919	$21
14	Wisconsin	$42,545	$20
15	North Carolina	$42,527	$20
16	Minnesota	$42,509	$20
17	South Dakota	$41,195	$20
18	Indiana	$40,907	$20
19	Oklahoma	$40,836	$20
20	Illinois	$37,990	$18

Average placement specialist salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Nabors Industries	$68,035	$32.71
2	Jean Martin	$56,047	$26.95
3	CBIZ	$54,774	$26.33
4	MAS Medical Staffing	$54,677	$26.29
5	CareOne	$54,142	$26.03
6	HealthTrust	$52,495	$25.24
7	Washington State University	$52,221	$25.11
8	Hartford Public Schools	$50,256	$24.16
9	Diversified Insurance Industries	$50,088	$24.08
10	The Training Associates	$49,836	$23.96
11	IMA Financial Group	$49,384	$23.74	1
12	Integrated Resources	$49,171	$23.64	13
13	AssuredPartners	$49,170	$23.64
14	TRICOR Insurance	$49,055	$23.58	2
15	Florida Power and Light	$49,038	$23.58	2
16	Pine Street Inn	$47,692	$22.93	2
17	Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health	$47,626	$22.90
18	The Children's Village	$47,420	$22.80	3
19	Children's Home Society of NC	$47,278	$22.73	4
20	HUB International	$47,278	$22.73

Writing a placement specialist job description
A placement specialist 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 placement specialist job description:
Placement specialist job description example
Due to continued growth, CommuniCare Health Services is recruiting for the position of Central Placement Specialist for our Indianapolis Regional Office . This position works 9:30 am - 6:30 pm.

The Central Placement Specialist is responsible for leading the process of intake and financial verification for skilled nursing homes admissions . He/she must have excellent computer and accurate data entry skills and healthcare experience. The position works closely with the center's admissions team and the Managed Care Organization to ensure that all necessary paperwork and authorization numbers are obtained prior to admission and that all pertinent paperwork is sent to the center to facilitate a smooth admission. Candidates must have excellent communication skills and be customer service oriented. The position requires the ability to multi-task and to work in a fast-paced environment. Prior admissions or business office experience in a Long Term Care environment required.

WHAT WE OFFER

At CommuniCare, you will enjoy an excellent salary and an outstanding benefits package in a pleasant, team environment. We offer full time employees a menu of benefit options from life and disability plans to medical, dental, and vision coverage from quality benefit carriers. We also offer 401(k) with employer match and Flexible Spending Accounts.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS
- Prior admissions or business office experience in a Long Term Care environment
- Excellent computer skills
- Organized
- Detail oriented
- Fast paced
- Customer service oriented
- Good phone skills
- Sense of Urgency a must
- Accuracy in data entry
- Good attendance a must
About Us

A family-owned company, we have grown to become one of the nation’s largest providers of post-acute care, which includes skilled nursing rehabilitation centers, long-term care centers, assisted living communities, independent rehabilitation centers, and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACH). Since 1984, we have provided superior, comprehensive management services for the development and management of adult living communities. We have a single job description at CommuniCare, "to reach out with our hearts and touch the hearts of others." Through this effort we create "Caring Communities" where staff, residents, clients, and family members care for and about one another.
Post your job
To find the right placement specialist 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 placement specialists they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit placement specialists 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.
Post your job online:
- Post your placement specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit placement specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
Recruiting placement specialists 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.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you 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.
Send a job offer and onboard your new placement specialist
Once you've decided on a perfect placement specialist 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 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.
After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new placement specialist. 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.
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 placement specialist?

There are different types of costs for hiring placement specialists. One-time cost per hire for the recruitment process. Ongoing costs include employee salary, training, onboarding, benefits, insurance, and equipment. It is essential to consider all of these costs when evaluating hiring a new placement specialist employee.

Placement specialists earn a median yearly salary is $45,676 a year in the US. However, if you're looking to find placement specialists for hire on a contract or per-project basis, hourly rates typically range between $14 and $31.

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Updated December 5, 2025

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How to hire a placement specialist