How to hire a registered dietitian

How to hire a registered dietitian, step by step

Here's a step-by-step registered dietitian hiring guide:

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

What does a registered dietitian do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a registered dietitian, 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 registered dietitian 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.

   This list shows salaries for various types of registered dietitians.

   Type of Registered Dietitian	Description	Hourly rate
   Registered Dietitian	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.	$20-37
   Nutritionist	A nutritionist is a health professional who helps patients choose the right things to eat and advise them on the health effects of certain foods. By being experts in food and nutrition, nutritionists assess a patient's dietary habits and create plan menus for them... Show more	$14-38
   Nutrition Internship	Nutrition interns are individuals who are on the job training for the tasks performed by licensed nutritionists or dieticians. The interns provide a nutrition care process that includes prescription of parenteral and enteral recommendations and analysis of laboratory values... Show more	$11-25

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Home Health
   • Medical Nutrition Therapy
   • Culinary
   • Rehabilitation
   • Nutrition Services
   • Nutrition Assessments
   • Nutrition Support
   • Nutrition Care Process
   • Therapeutic Diets
   • Oncology
   • Weight Loss
   • Nutritional Risk

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Help patients maintain nutritional adequacy while managing food allergies.
   • Manage the anemia status of patients by reviewing necessary lab data and initiating or adjusting medication doses.
   • Manage the in-store dietitian program providing nutrition education, culinary workshops, food demonstrations, and nutritional assessments.
   • Develop and conduct weight loss programs; provide nutritional counseling for cardiac rehabilitation patients.
   • Diet education to nonsurgical patients on eating disorders, diabetes and other nutrition relate conditions.
   • Cover all topics ranging from weight management to oncology.

   More registered dietitian duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, registered dietitians' average salary in alabama is 50% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level registered dietitians 45% less than senior-level registered dietitians.
   • Certifications. A registered dietitian 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 registered dietitian's salary.

   Average registered dietitian salary

   $58,227yearly

   $27.99 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level registered dietitian salary

   $43,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 16, 2026

   Average registered dietitian salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$76,470	$37
   2	Oregon	$70,954	$34
   3	New York	$65,650	$32
   4	Massachusetts	$64,902	$31
   5	Maryland	$64,151	$31
   6	Connecticut	$63,812	$31
   7	District of Columbia	$62,982	$30
   8	New Jersey	$62,955	$30
   9	New Mexico	$60,838	$29
   10	Washington	$57,833	$28
   11	Virginia	$57,433	$28
   12	Pennsylvania	$56,041	$27
   13	Texas	$55,499	$27
   14	Arizona	$55,443	$27
   15	Ohio	$54,785	$26
   16	Illinois	$53,803	$26
   17	Utah	$52,459	$25
   18	Michigan	$52,107	$25
   19	Kentucky	$52,028	$25
   20	Wisconsin	$51,739	$25

   Average registered dietitian salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	CVS Health	$71,138	$34.20	16
   2	Health Advocates	$68,959	$33.15	24
   3	University of California-Berkeley	$67,103	$32.26
   4	EmblemHealth	$66,741	$32.09
   5	siggi's	$65,833	$31.65
   6	Sutter Health	$65,217	$31.35	11
   7	Legacy Health	$65,147	$31.32	1
   8	Porter Medical Center	$64,908	$31.21
   9	University of Washington	$64,637	$31.08
   10	The University of Chicago	$64,379	$30.95	10
   11	UC Santa Barbara	$64,363	$30.94
   12	Foundation Health Services	$64,006	$30.77
   13	Shield HealthCare	$63,933	$30.74	7
   14	AltaMed Health Services	$63,688	$30.62	1
   15	Select Medical	$63,570	$30.56	94
   16	Oregon Health & Science University	$63,120	$30.35
   17	Boston Medical Center	$63,045	$30.31	6
   18	Hearland Hospice	$62,929	$30.25
   19	CalOptima	$62,911	$30.25
   20	DaVita Kidney Care	$62,750	$30.17	143

4. Writing a registered dietitian job description

   A job description for a registered dietitian 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 registered dietitian job description:

   Registered dietitian job description example

   Applicants for all positions must be or become fully vaccinated against Covid-19 if selected for hire. Valid medical or religious exemptions will be considered but serial Covid-19 testing will be required to maintain employment.
   
   Provides medical nutrition therapy for clinic medical patients and/or high-risk Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clients. Functions as an interdisciplinary healthcare team member to assess and treat medical conditions and address individual nutrition needs.
   Sign-on bonus of $3,000.00 on first paycheck and $2,000.00 at 12 months of employment.
   
   Essential Functions/Responsibilities/Duties
   Conducts nutritional screening and assessment for patients/clients to include anthropometric and laboratory data, collection of nutrition history, calculation of nutrition adequacy, and identification of drug-nutrient interactions. Utilizes motivational interview to identify desired goals and outcomes of nutrition care in collaboration with patient/client and health care professionals. Considers the variables that may influence the patient/client s food related behaviors including culture and social determinants of health. Evaluates and provides evidence based nutrition recommendations to address patient/client medical needs. Understands and evaluates patient/client nutrition status and its relationship to complex disease states including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies and obesity. Collaborates with physicians and other health care professionals to advocate for and implement optimal nutrition care. Provides preventative services and counseling at individual patient/client visits and group meetings. Serves as preceptor providing nutrition education and guidance to dietetic interns and students. Develops training materials and participates in mentoring of staff. Assists in monitoring compliance to Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (YVFWC) procedures, federal qualified health center quality metrics and/or state and federal WIC requirements. Maintains awareness of community demographics and resources. Connects clients to resources. Designs and implements outreach activities to raise community awareness of program services. Completes documentation in the appropriate electronic medical record to document patient/client interaction. Actively participates in assigned meetings to promote care team collaboration and ongoing learning. Performs clinical responsbilities in alignment with The Joint Commission (TJC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and YVFWC requirements.
   Qualifications
   Education: Bachelor's Degree in Dietetics from a U.S. regionally accredited college, university, or foreign equivalent. Completion of ACEND (Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics) accredited academic coursework in a Didactic Program in Dietetics. Experience: One year s experience in clinic, primary care, outpatient or community setting preferred. Professional Licenses/Certificates/Registration: Registered Dietitian or registration eligible (must obtain RD credential within 180 days of employment). May require the following certifications based on location and job duties performed. Medical Assistant - Registered (WA WIC Dietitians). Certified Dietitian (if going to bill for Maternity Support Services [MSS]). Licensed Dietitian (if going to bill for Medical Countermeasures ([MCM]). Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred. Must demonstrate the ability to communicate at level 9 on the language proficiency scale to receive bilingual differential pay. Ability to effectively interact with adults, infants, children in a professional manner. Ability to effectively collaborate with medical professionals. Ability to adapt and work in a fast-paced environment. Ability to demonstrate flexibility, initiative, and forward thinking. Strong verbal, written and listening communication skills. General knowledge in culturally appropriate practice. Intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Office and Electronic Health Records.
   About YVFWC
   
   We serve more than 181,000 patients across 25 medical clinics, 14 dental clinics, 10 pharmacies, and 64 program sites in two states. We are Level 3 Certified as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). With integrated services including medical, dental, pharmacy, orthodontia, primary care nutritional counseling, autism screening, and primary care behavioral health, YVFWC s patient-centered model of care offers patients the full spectrum of care and shelter assistance, energy assistance, weatherization, HIV and AIDS counseling and testing, home visits, and four mobile medical/dental clinics.
   
   Working at YVFWC
   
   Working in our organization means being the passionate champion for those who have no voice. It means having the opportunity to work with underserved populations and with peers committed to the same work.
   
   At Farm Workers Clinic
   We will consistently trust one another to work for the common good. We will foster integrity by demonstrating ethical behavior and insisting on doing what we say we will do. We will demonstrate transparency by being candid and truthful no matter the risk. We will create partnerships to strengthen ourselves and our community. We will fight for just treatment for all individuals. We will let joy in. We have the courage to be an agent of change and refuse anything short of excellence.
   Our mission celebrates diversity. We are committed to equal opportunity employment.

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find registered dietitians 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 registered dietitian job on Zippia to find and recruit registered dietitian 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

   To successfully recruit registered dietitians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 registered dietitian

   Once you have selected a candidate for the registered dietitian 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new registered dietitian. 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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