How to hire a sports psychologist

How to hire a sports psychologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step sports psychologist hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your sports psychologist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a sports psychologist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A sports psychologist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, sports psychologists 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of sports psychologists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Sports Psychologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Sports Psychologist	Psychologists study cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how people relate to one another and their environments.	$25-55
   Clinical Fellow	Clinical fellows are doctoral-level health professionals whose interest focuses on biomedical research. They take part in protocol-based clinical research and laboratory research... Show more	$25-43
   Clinical Psychology Internship	Clinical psychology interns are responsible for assisting the clinical psychology staff by utilizing their academic knowledge to practical applications. A clinical psychology intern observes the daily operations in a health care facility, shadows medical staff, and prepares reports for clinical psychology processes or psychological research... Show more	$12-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Crisis Intervention
   • Clinical Psychology
   • Performance Enhancement
   • Professional Athletes
   • Player Performance
   • Competitive Performance

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
   • Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, sports psychologists' average salary in alabama is 54% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level sports psychologists 53% less than senior-level sports psychologists.
   • Certifications. A sports psychologist 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 sports psychologist's salary.

   Average sports psychologist salary

   $79,617yearly

   $38.28 hourly rate

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   Entry-level sports psychologist salary

   $54,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 13, 2025

4. Writing a sports psychologist job description

   A sports psychologist 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 sports psychologist job description:

   Sports psychologist job description example

   Currently recruiting a Sports Psychologist in Stone Bay, North Carolina, (near Jacksonville) to work at Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) Headquarters. The Sports Psychologist provides care for our nation s active duty service members. The Sports Psychologist is a full-time position, 40 hours per week, 8.5- or 10.5-hour days, Monday-Friday, between 7: 00AM and 8: 00PM. Occasional travel up to 10% may be expected. Full benefits, including 17 days did vacation/sick leave and 10 paid Federal holidays.
   
   DUTIES OF THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST:

   • Provide expert consultation, based on evidence-based peer-reviewed literature, to service members, commands, and medical personnel regarding performance enhancement.
   • Train and educate on goal-setting, performance profiling, visualization, performance development, and planning.
   • Use biofeedback and neurofeedback for performance enhancement.
   • Administer, score, and interpret neurocognitive tests for performance enhancement.
   • Perform The Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS) testing.
   • In addition to the personal appearance standards given in the basic contract, the sports psychologist shall maintain the personal appearance standards given in this paragraph. Uniform shall consist of a collared Polo-like shirt with Khaki-like pants, and footwear/outerwear appropriate for the work location.

   QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST:

   • A doctoral degree in a field of Psychology with a coursework and dissertation in Sport and/or Performance Psychology.
   • The contractor shall have a minimum of five years within the past ten years of experience in sports and/or performance psychology.
   • The contractor shall be capable of meeting physical demands of training with SOF including the ability to hike over rough terrain and function in austere environments to observe SOF training evolutions and the ability to assist with strength and conditioning testing and training protocols and lift and manipulate loads or weights up to 20 kilograms.
   • Possess and maintain Basic Life Support certification.
   • Computer skill competency test required.
   • U.S. Citizen (required for access to Government computer systems).
   • Ability to be granted a Secret Security clearance.

   COMPENSATION & BENEFITS FOR THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST:

   • Competitive pay
   • 10 days paid time off per year plus 7 sick days per year
   • 10 paid Federal holidays
   • Health & Welfare allowance offsets the cost of health insurance, long and short-term disability, and life insurance
   • Dental and vision plans offered, 401(k)

   ABOUT THE ARORA GROUP :
   The Arora Group is an award-winning, Joint Commission-certified nationwide healthcare services company that, for almost 30 years, has provided medical care for the men and women who serve our country in the U.S. Armed Forces. Our mission is to provide world-class care and give our healthcare professionals opportunities to improve their skills, learn from the best, and serve the needs of active duty service members, their families, and veterans. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with sports psychologist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new sports psychologist

   Once you've found the sports psychologist 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.

   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.

   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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