How to hire a youth mentor

How to hire a youth mentor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step youth mentor hiring guide:

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

What does a youth mentor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the youth mentor you need to hire. Certain youth mentor 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a youth mentor 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 youth mentor that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of youth mentor salaries for various roles:

   Type of Youth Mentor	Description	Hourly rate
   Youth Mentor	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$12-19
   Intensive In-Home Counselor	An Intensive In-Home Counselor conducts individual counseling sessions for parents and deals with delicate issues like sexual addiction. They also prepare progress reports for clients.	$19-31
   Residential Counselor	A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences... Show more	$12-20

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Mental Health
   • Substance Abuse
   • Eating Disorders
   • Academic Support
   • Social Work
   • Role Model
   • Youth Development
   • CPR
   • at-Risk Youth
   • Self Esteem
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Conflict Resolution
   • Community Resources
   • Anger Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead youth in discussions about HIV prevention & awareness
   • Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation or equivalent compliance.
   • Maintain cleanliness of the establishment at all times.
   • Administer first aid and CPR as required, and medication as directed.
   • Conduct tutorial sessions in all areas of mathematics; therefore, a strong math background is mandatory.
   • Train in CPR, PCS (positive control systems), and dispensing and administration of oral medication.

   More youth mentor duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, youth mentors' average salary in montana is 47% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level youth mentors 37% less than senior-level youth mentors.
   • Certifications. A youth mentor 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 youth mentor's salary.

   Average youth mentor salary

   $15.75hourly

   $32,750 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level youth mentor salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average youth mentor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$44,338	$21
   2	California	$34,879	$17
   3	Nevada	$32,916	$16
   4	New York	$32,679	$16
   5	New Jersey	$32,518	$16
   6	Massachusetts	$32,312	$16
   7	Minnesota	$31,287	$15
   8	Wisconsin	$30,979	$15
   9	Ohio	$30,808	$15
   10	Pennsylvania	$30,160	$15
   11	Oregon	$30,128	$14
   12	Colorado	$29,865	$14
   13	Utah	$28,972	$14
   14	Florida	$27,364	$13
   15	Wyoming	$26,481	$13
   16	Georgia	$24,518	$12
   17	Montana	$23,696	$11

   Average youth mentor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	LifeWorks	$36,873	$17.73	16
   2	Telos	$36,604	$17.60	8
   3	Catholic Charities Health and Human Services	$34,346	$16.51
   4	Astor Services	$32,428	$15.59	32
   5	Pathways of Pennsylvania	$31,822	$15.30
   6	Options Counseling and Family Services	$31,786	$15.28
   7	Pediatric Partners, now a member of the Sevita family	$31,380	$15.09	260
   8	Ontario City Library	$31,214	$15.01
   9	The LCADA Way	$31,202	$15.00	3
   10	LifeWorks NW	$30,873	$14.84
   11	Metropolitan State University of Denver	$30,412	$14.62	6
   12	Starfish Family Services	$30,246	$14.54	4
   13	Diamond Ranch Academy	$30,174	$14.51
   14	Consultants for Children	$29,936	$14.39	3
   15	Universal Health Services	$29,651	$14.26	248
   16	Merakey	$29,511	$14.19	112
   17	Logan Co. Inc.	$29,233	$14.05
   18	Westcare Health Corporation	$29,233	$14.05	54
   19	Access International, Inc.	$29,233	$14.05	23
   20	Aptiv	$29,233	$14.05

4. Writing a youth mentor job description

   A job description for a youth mentor 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 youth mentor job description:

   Youth mentor job description example

   Residential Youth Mentor - Day Shift
   
   $17.00 Per Hour
   
   Calo is looking to hire Youth Coach/Mentors for our Residential Treatment facility in Lake Ozark, Missouri. If you have enjoyed working as a summer camp counselor or just want to have a career that makes an impact of today's youth, then this is the job for you. If you don't have experience, but have a heart for caring that's okay too, we will teach you everything you need to know and support and encourage you along the way.
   
   Our students struggle to be in a healthy relationship with family and peers but with a foundational focus on safety and creating repetitive experiences through the relationships they form at Calo, our students begin the journey towards developing a healthy sense of self. Our Coaches play an integral part in that journey.
   
   Join a team of nationally recognized industry leaders who provide you with a framework of training, support, and long-term advancement opportunities
   
   Responsibilities
   
   As a Coach/Mentor you will participate in the following with your kiddos:
   
   * Adventure Therapy to teach trust (hiking, fishing, canoeing, biking, and more)
   * Canine Therapy that emulates the human foster/adoption process, and teaches caregiving.
   * Fun in our Milieu environment that encourages creating relationships that are profoundly meaningful. Our Milieu has ping pong tables, a puppy training zone, pool table, and comfy seating for just hanging out.
   * Provide a safe and secure environment for our students
   
   Shifts: We offer 12 hour shifts (3 on 4 off/4 on 3 off) with Wednesday being the alternating day Hours: 6am to 6pm
   
   Qualifications
   
   Required:
   
   * High School diploma or GED
   * 21 years of age or older
   * Ability to pass state and federal background checks
   * A desire to facilitate student growth through a team approach while working with other care providers
   
   Preferred:
   
   * Experience working with youth (camps, church groups, sports teams, etc)
   * CPR Certified
   
   Benefits
   
   * Starting pay $17.00 per hour with potential to be up to $18 within a year with regular reviews,
   * Full Benefits (health, vision, dental, life insurance, 401 K, etc.)
   * SCM and CPR training and certification.
   * Free meals from our amazing kitchen, pizza parties, company wide BBQ and Ice cream socials
   * Support from shift supervisors and team leads
   * Paid time off days based on tenure
   
   Calo Programs is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and committed to enriching the therapeutic and healing experience it offers through the diversity of its employees and community. Calo Programs seeks to recruit and support a broadly diverse staff who will contribute to the organization's excellence, diversity of viewpoints and experiences, and relevance in a global society.

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5. Post your job

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

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit youth mentors, 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 youth mentor

   Once you've decided on a perfect youth mentor 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 youth mentor first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 youth mentor?