How to hire a social staff worker

How to hire a social staff worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step social staff worker hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the social staff worker you need to hire. Certain social staff worker roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A social staff worker's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, social staff workers 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 social staff worker salaries for various positions.

   Type of Social Staff Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Social Staff Worker	Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.	$20-37
   Youth Development Professional	Youth Development Professionals are specialists in implementing and overseeing programs to help adolescents discover their abilities and interests. They are responsible for coordinating career days and field trips, organizing mentorship sessions, create youth outreach projects, and assisting community organizations in youth provision development... Show more	$9-45
   Mental Health Professional	The duties of a mental health professional will revolve around observing the behavior of patients. They are responsible for knowing their medical history, conducting consultations and assessments, diagnosing conditions, devising particular treatments and prescribing medication, and providing emotional support to patients... Show more	$16-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Home Health
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Patients
   • Discharge Planning
   • Family Therapy
   • Group Therapy
   • Mental Health Treatment
   • Substance Abuse
   • Consultation Services
   • Psychosocial Assessments
   • Social Services
   • Child Abuse
   • Intake Interviews

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Screen, identify, diagnose using DSM nomenclature, treat and manage mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
   • Coordinate care with community providers for follow up if patient are discharged, prepare documentation for admission to inpatient psychiatry unit.
   • Determine eligibility for program, monitor and track program requirements, and review Medicaid eligibility.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, social staff workers' average salary in mississippi is 55% less than in new jersey.
   • Seniority. Entry-level social staff workers earn 46% less than senior-level social staff workers.
   • Certifications. A social staff worker 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 social staff worker's salary.

   Average social staff worker salary

   $57,877yearly

   $27.83 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level social staff worker salary

   $42,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 30, 2025

4. Writing a social staff worker job description

   A social staff worker 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 social staff worker job description:

   Social staff worker job description example

   Cottonwood Creek Behavioral Hospital is a 78-bed facility providing high-quality, specialty behavioral health services for individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues. Our success is a reflection of the excellence and dedication of our employees at every level of our facility. The culture of our hospital is built around service. All jobs performed on our team are worthwhile and every employee makes a difference. If you are looking for an opportunity to grow personally and professionally while delivering compassionate, quality care we encourage you to explore career opportunities with Cottonwood Creek.

   As a Social Worker / Staff Therapist in our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) you will assess and evaluate patients conducting individual, family and/or group therapy. In this role you will function as the primary contact for treatment and discharge planning. You will maintain a safe and efficient working and treatment environment promoting implementation of therapeutic milieu and daily program schedule. Your ability to communicate effectively with the treatment team to ensure safe, quality care will be essential to success!

   LMSW or LCSW required. Two years of experience working with clinical multi-disciplinary teams required; one year experience working with behavioral health populations in an outpatient setting, preferably MH/SA IOP preferred. The prevailing candidate will have clinical training in evidenced-based treatment modalities including individual, group and family interventions and experience working with older adults.

   Make a difference in the Treasure Valley and surrounding communities.

   Our employees enjoy:

   • A strong company culture - We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards, focus 100% on optimizing patient outcomes and emphasize our core values: excellence, passion, respect and stewardship.

   • An enjoyable work environment - You'll experience a family-like atmosphere, strong teamwork and leader accessibility. Smaller department size allows you the opportunity to have a greater impact and promotes an open and engaged staff.

   • A challenging career path - Joining our team is a career choice that allows you to create your own opportunities and cultivate a passion for the services provided while working through challenges. Our employees are exposed to several different areas of patient care and hospital operations.

   • Competitive compensation and benefits - Our pay philosophy places us above market pay and compliments our benefits package making Cottonwood Creek Behavioral Hospital an attractive opportunity.

   Our newest team members are saying…

   “…amazing staff - very welcoming and helpful!”
   “…orientation and training was wonderful and organized.”
   “...warm and open attitude and approach with both staff and patients.”
   “…fun introduction to leadership team; great company message.”
   “…very positive atmosphere; I was never a burden with my questions.”
   “...management is patient; offers tons of support.”

   Come join us!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting social staff workers 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 social staff worker

   Once you've found the social staff worker 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.

   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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