How to hire speech-language pathologists

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
• Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments.
• Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers.
• Educate patients and family members about various topics, such as communication techniques or strategies to cope with or to avoid personal misunderstandings.
• Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders.
• Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly.
• Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients' progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, in-service meetings, or intervention assistance team meetings.
• Supervise or collaborate with therapy team.
• Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients.

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: Master's degree]
• Strong active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension, learning strategies, speaking and writing skills
• Working knowledge of English Language, education and training, customer and personal service and psychology
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $47.05 an hour ($97,870 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 speech-language pathologists

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 administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to educate patients and family members about various topics, such as communication techniques or strategies to cope with or to avoid personal misunderstandings. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders. 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 speech-language pathologists do

• Administer hearing or speech and language evaluations, tests, or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairments, using written or oral tests or special instruments.
• Develop or implement treatment plans for problems such as stuttering, delayed language, swallowing disorders, or inappropriate pitch or harsh voice problems, based on own assessments and recommendations of physicians, psychologists, or social workers.
• Educate patients and family members about various topics, such as communication techniques or strategies to cope with or to avoid personal misunderstandings.
• Evaluate hearing or speech and language test results, barium swallow results, or medical or background information to diagnose and plan treatment for speech, language, fluency, voice, or swallowing disorders.
• Monitor patients' progress and adjust treatments accordingly.
• Participate in and write reports for meetings regarding patients' progress, such as individualized educational planning (IEP) meetings, in-service meetings, or intervention assistance team meetings.
• Supervise or collaborate with therapy team.
• Write reports and maintain proper documentation of information, such as client Medicaid or billing records or caseload activities, including the initial evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge of clients.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionLearning StrategiesSpeakingWritingEnglish LanguageEducation and TrainingCustomer and Personal ServicePsychology

Education, experience and outlook for speech-language pathologists

• Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Internship/residency (BLS)
• Job outlook: +16.6% over ten years, much faster than average · about 12,500 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay speech-language pathologists

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

See speech-language pathologists pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Healthcare Support Workers, All Other
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Audiologists
• Occupational Therapy Aides
• Recreational Therapists
• Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
• Registered Nurses
• Physical Therapists
• Psychiatric 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.