Behavioral health recruitment questions

For clinicians

Pay, licensure, confidentiality and what working with a recruiter actually involves.

Does it cost anything to work with Take a Seat People?

No. Candidates never pay a fee, at any stage. We are paid by the employer when a hire is made, which is standard for behavioral health recruitment in the US.

Will you send my resume anywhere without asking?

No. Nothing leaves our system without your explicit say-so for that specific employer. If you are employed and searching quietly, tell us which organizations to avoid and we will block them.

What behavioral health roles do you recruit for?

BCBA, BCaBA, RBT and behavior technician roles in ABA and autism services; SLP, SLPA, OT and COTA roles in schools and pediatrics; LCSW, LMFT, LPC, LMHC and psychologist roles in community mental health and outpatient; PMHNP and psychiatry; plus clinical directors, regional leadership and IDD support roles.

Do you publish pay on your job listings?

Yes. Every role we publish carries a pay band, the setting and the caseload expectation. Ranges reflect what we see advertised on roles we recruit for and were last reviewed August 2026.

Can you help if I want to move to another state?

Yes, and we will be straight about the timeline. BCBA certification is national, so the state step is usually a license or registration of two to eight weeks. Counseling and social work licenses take longer, though the Counseling Compact and Social Work Licensure Compact are shortening that in participating states. Confirm the specifics with the state board before you resign anywhere.

I'm not actively looking. Is there any point registering?

That is what the talent network is for. You tell us discipline, license state and what would make you move; we contact you only when something genuinely matches. No newsletters, no resume blasting.

For employers

Fees, timelines, guarantees and how we scope a behavioral health search.

How do your fees work?

Contingent search is a percentage of first-year base salary, payable only on a hire. Retained and ongoing partnership arrangements are priced per engagement, usually where volume or confidentiality makes contingent search a poor fit. Terms are agreed in writing before a search starts.

How long does a behavioral health search take?

For a well-scoped role with a realistic pay band, a first shortlist typically lands in one to two weeks and offers follow in three to six. Roles that sit open for months are usually roles that were never scoped: no caseload cap, no supervision model and no published pay.

What do you need from us to start?

Discipline, state, setting, caseload expectation, supervision model, pay band and start timeframe. If any of those are undecided we will tell you what the market will bear before the role goes out rather than after.

Do you offer a replacement guarantee?

Yes. Placements carry a replacement period agreed in the terms for the engagement. We also run 30, 60 and 90 day check-ins after a clinician starts, because most early attrition in behavioral health is visible well before someone resigns.

Do you verify credentials and licensure?

Before shortlist, not after offer. We check certification status, state license and compact eligibility, and flag anything pending with its expected date so start dates are built on real timelines.

Can you support multi-site or high-volume hiring?

Yes. Multi-site providers, school districts and community organizations typically run as an ongoing partnership with agreed volumes, a shared shortlist pipeline and regular market reporting rather than role-by-role searches.

Pay and market questions

The figures behind our salary guides and where they come from.

What do behavioral health clinicians earn in the US?

Across the roles Take a Seat People recruits, BCBAs are typically advertised between $75,000 and $115,000, school and pediatric SLPs between $72,000 and $108,000, LCSWs between $62,000 and $95,000, and RBTs between $20 and $30 an hour. Center-based, school and in-home settings pay differently for the same credential, and caseload size moves the number more than tenure does.

How long does it take to get licensed in a new state?

It depends on the credential, not the employer. BCBA certification is national, so the state step is a license or registration that usually takes two to eight weeks once the board has your BACB certificate. Counseling and social work licenses move slower, though the Counseling Compact and Social Work Licensure Compact are shortening that for participating states. Always confirm with the state board before you relocate.

How do you hire BCBAs and SLPs in a shortage market?

By scoping the role honestly before it goes out. Supervision ratio, billable expectation, caseload cap, drive time and pay band decide whether a behavioral health candidate engages at all, and vague postings are the main reason roles sit open. Take a Seat People recruits against those specifics, publish pay on every role, and work a small number of employers continuously rather than sending the same CVs to everyone.

Which disciplines and states does Take a Seat People cover?

Behavioral health only, across all 50 states. That means ABA and autism services (BCBA, BCaBA, RBT, behavior technician), speech and allied therapies (SLP, SLPA, OT, COTA), mental health and counseling (LCSW, LMFT, LPC, LMHC, psychologists), prescribers (PMHNP, psychiatry), clinical leadership and community or IDD support roles.

Still deciding?

Ranges reflect what we typically see advertised on roles we recruit for in the US. They are a market guide, not a survey, and vary by setting, caseload and experience.