How to hire a recovery specialist

How to hire a recovery specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step recovery 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 recovery specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new recovery specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a recovery specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a recovery specialist, 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a recovery specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a recovery specialist that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of recovery specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Recovery Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Recovery Specialist		$11-51
   Debt Collector	Debt collectors are also known as collection agencies and are responsible for recovering past due debts. Most of them are hired by companies to collect debt either for a fee or a percentage of the total amount recovered... Show more	$12-20
   Collector	Collectors are responsible for monitoring and providing immediate actions for client accounts with overdue payments. Collectors must be able to contact clients through phone or e-mail... Show more	$12-21

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Mental Health
   • Patients
   • Substance Abuse
   • Rehabilitation
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Cash Application
   • Mental Illness
   • Vital Signs
   • Cash Receipts
   • Home Health
   • Social Work
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Community Resources

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Train and supervise newly recruit sailors to meet standard qualifications and achieve certifications.
   • Direct the defense and resolution of dispute liability in arbitration proceedings in order to minimize payout or achieve recovery.
   • Operate, maintain, and perform organizational maintenance on ground-handling equipment used for moving and hoisting of aircraft ashore and afloat.
   • Conduct daily intervention and formal groups, individual counseling, crisis intervention, behavioral programming and auxiliary support activities for patients.
   • Develop, organize and implement psychiatric rehabilitation group activities that address the need of persons with severe and persistent mental illness.
   • Supervise a team of sailors to perform maintenance on firefighting and life-saving equipment after every use; or manufacture recommendation interval.

   More recovery specialist duties

3. Make a budget

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

   Average recovery specialist salary

   $51,598yearly

   $24.81 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level recovery specialist salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average recovery specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$69,949	$34
   2	New Jersey	$67,033	$32
   3	Rhode Island	$62,850	$30
   4	Connecticut	$60,649	$29
   5	Pennsylvania	$60,101	$29
   6	Massachusetts	$59,737	$29
   7	California	$59,492	$29
   8	New Hampshire	$59,020	$28
   9	Ohio	$57,588	$28
   10	Maryland	$54,648	$26
   11	Virginia	$54,400	$26
   12	Illinois	$52,509	$25
   13	Louisiana	$51,830	$25
   14	West Virginia	$50,988	$25
   15	Indiana	$48,933	$24
   16	Arizona	$48,707	$23
   17	Wisconsin	$48,156	$23
   18	Texas	$46,880	$23
   19	Minnesota	$43,807	$21
   20	Colorado	$39,328	$19

   Average recovery specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Prime Healthcare	$141,650	$68.10
   2	AEA Investors	$127,062	$61.09
   3	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$125,255	$60.22
   4	American Red Cross	$123,604	$59.42
   5	Lawrence General Hospital	$121,412	$58.37
   6	Boston Medical Center	$121,003	$58.17
   7	Hunterdon Healthcare	$108,762	$52.29	1
   8	Moffitt Cancer Center	$104,932	$50.45
   9	RWJBarnabas Health	$90,967	$43.73	5
   10	Wellpath	$83,785	$40.28	5
   11	Berkshire Medical Center	$83,766	$40.27
   12	Carilion Clinic	$82,944	$39.88	1
   13	BCforward	$82,117	$39.48
   14	Discover	$81,330	$39.10
   15	Star Financial Bank Anderson Indiana	$78,723	$37.85
   16	Atlantic General Hospital	$76,770	$36.91
   17	Highmark	$76,067	$36.57
   18	The City University of New York	$75,386	$36.24
   19	Meridian Health Services	$73,440	$35.31
   20	LifeBridge Health	$73,406	$35.29

4. Writing a recovery specialist job description

   A recovery 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a recovery specialist job description:

   Recovery specialist job description example

   Help others by sharing your recovery experience. Chestnut Health Systems coordinates the Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) Council for McLean County, IL, and has an immediate opening for a recovery specialist. Collaborate with others who are passionate about creating a community that supports recovery and a sober lifestyle. Position is full-time and is based in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Hours are primarily daytime, with some night and weekend hours depending on community needs. Chestnut offers a new salary structure and robust benefits!
   
   Model, teach, and support skills needed to facilitate individual recovery and self-efficacy. Help clients to identify personal strengths and barriers to achieving treatment and recovery goals. Link clients to recovery communities, natural supports, and sobriety-based activities, transporting clients as needed. Support and encourage interventions that are client-centered, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and strengths-based. Help with ROSC grant deliverables.
   
   Promote the recovery model of treatment including trauma-informed care, hope, respect, empowerment, health/wellness, and spirituality/connectedness.
   
   Position requires lived mental health or substance use experience. Position requires high school diploma or GED degree with active CADC or CRSS certification OR a high school diploma or GED with five years' experience and must obtain CADC or CRSS certification within 2.5 years of hire date. Ability to work with persons in their natural environment. Good oral and written communication skills. Basic computer skills including MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, and an electronic medical record. Must have valid driver's license, good driving record, and be insurable.
   
   Are you intrigued by this job but don't meet every single requirement? Research shows that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs when that's the case. Chestnut is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace. If you're excited about any of our posted positions but your experience doesn't line up perfectly, please apply anyway! You might be just the right candidate for another role. We'd love to explore the possibilities with you!
   
   EOE - Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. Chestnut welcomes applications from qualified individuals with recovery experience
   External Company URL: www.chestnut.org
   
   Street: 1003 Martin Luther King Drive

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find recovery specialists 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 recovery specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level recovery specialists 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 recovery specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit recovery specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting recovery 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. 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 recovery specialist

   Once you've decided on a perfect recovery 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.

   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 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 recovery specialist?