How to hire a respiratory therapy technician

How to hire a respiratory therapy technician, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a respiratory therapy technician, 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 respiratory therapy technician 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 respiratory therapy technicians.

   Type of Respiratory Therapy Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Respiratory Therapy Technician		$12-32
   Respiratory Care Practitioner	A Respiratory Care Practitioner assesses and treats patients with pulmonary diseases. They diagnose lung and breathing disorders and recommend treatment methods.	$14-47
   Technician	Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with... Show more	$11-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • BLS
   • Acls
   • CPR
   • Life Support
   • Diagnostic Procedures
   • Ventilation
   • Rehabilitation
   • Pulmonary Function
   • Critical Care
   • Resuscitation
   • Patient Assessment
   • Respiratory Care
   • Emergency Room

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and maintain tracheostomy vent dependent patients.
   • Perform routine pulmonary testing including EKG, holter monitor, bedside PFT and ABG.
   • Care for long term care of ventilator patients and tracheostomy patients ensuring their safety upon transfer to another facility or home.
   • Administer and monitor oxygen and/or aerosol therapy.assist physicians in instituting and maintaining continuous ventilation.
   • Administer breathing and oxygen procedures such as ultrasonic nebulizer treatments and incentive spirometer treatments.
   • Perform various diagnostic monitory procedures on patients of all age categories for cardiopulmonary functional assessment.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your respiratory therapy technician job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A respiratory therapy technician salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, respiratory therapy technicians' average salary in iowa is 42% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level respiratory therapy technicians earn 61% less than senior-level respiratory therapy technicians.
   • Certifications. A respiratory therapy technician with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a respiratory therapy technician's salary.

   Average respiratory therapy technician salary

   $42,438yearly

   $20.40 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level respiratory therapy technician salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a respiratory therapy technician job description

   A job description for a respiratory therapy 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 respiratory therapy technician job description:

   Respiratory therapy technician job description example

   Come join our Respiratory Therapy Team! Edward-Elmhurst is a 736-bed system that includes three hospitals # Edward Hospital in Naperville, Elmhurst Hospital and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health (on the Edward campus), and an extensive ambulatory care network that provides comprehensive healthcare to residents of the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.# # Job Summary:#Under direction of Respiratory Care Practitioner and in accordance with established procedures, the Respiratory Therapy Technician/Respiratory Therapy Tech administers prescribed doses of medical gases and aerosolized drugs to patients suffer#ing acute and chronic respiratory problems.# In doing so, sets up equipment, attaches equipment to patients and uses oxygen and oxygen mixtures in administering treatments according to estab#lished treatment modalities. Hours:# Registry, as needed (varied Days/PMs/Weekend shifts) Required:# Current CPR Certification issued by American Heart Association (BLS Provider or BLS InstructorA High-School Diploma and one semester of clinical rotations from a nationally accredited Respiratory Therapy program, as determined by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Current CPR Certification issued by American Heart Association (BLS Provider or BLS Instructor A High-School Diploma and one semester of clinical rotations from a nationally accredited Respiratory Therapy program, as determined by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). #
   Come join our Respiratory Therapy Team!
   
   Edward-Elmhurst is a 736-bed system that includes three hospitals - Edward Hospital in Naperville, Elmhurst Hospital and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health (on the Edward campus), and an extensive ambulatory care network that provides comprehensive healthcare to residents of the west and southwest suburbs of Chicago.
   
   Job Summary: Under direction of Respiratory Care Practitioner and in accordance with established procedures, the Respiratory Therapy Technician/Respiratory Therapy Tech administers prescribed doses of medical gases and aerosolized drugs to patients suffering acute and chronic respiratory problems. In doing so, sets up equipment, attaches equipment to patients and uses oxygen and oxygen mixtures in administering treatments according to established treatment modalities.
   
   Hours: Registry, as needed (varied Days/PMs/Weekend shifts)
   
   Required:
   
   * Current CPR Certification issued by American Heart Association (BLS Provider or BLS InstructorA High-School Diploma and one semester of clinical rotations from a nationally accredited Respiratory Therapy program, as determined by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).
   
   Current CPR Certification issued by American Heart Association (BLS Provider or BLS Instructor
   * A High-School Diploma and one semester of clinical rotations from a nationally accredited Respiratory Therapy program, as determined by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right respiratory therapy technician 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 respiratory therapy technician job on Zippia to find and recruit respiratory therapy technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting respiratory therapy 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 respiratory therapy technician

   Once you've selected the best respiratory therapy technician candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the 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 respiratory therapy 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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