How to hire optometrists

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
• Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
• Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
• Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
• Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
• Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
• Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
• Remove foreign bodies from the eye.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Doctoral or professional degree]
• Strong active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension, speaking, writing and science skills
• Working knowledge of medicine and dentistry, biology, customer and personal service and English Language
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $65.66 an hour ($136,570 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for optometrists

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to analyze test results and develop a treatment plan. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
7. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What optometrists do

• Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
• Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
• Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
• Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
• Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
• Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
• Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
• Remove foreign bodies from the eye.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionSpeakingWritingScienceMedicine and DentistryBiologyCustomer and Personal ServiceEnglish Language

Education, experience and outlook for optometrists

• Typical education to start: Doctoral or professional degree (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: None (O*NET)
• Job outlook: +9.5% over ten years, much faster than average · about 2,000 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay optometrists

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See optometrists pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
• Pediatric Surgeons
• General Internal Medicine Physicians
• Dermatologists
• Physicians, All Other
• Neurologists
• Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
• Chiropractors
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.