Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP, Speech Therapist), Children's Hospitals
Healthcare Headhunters recruits healthcare professionals for employers. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
This is what we do all day: recruit healthcare professionals.
Hiring an SLP for a children's hospital means matching pediatric communication and swallowing experience to the patients, services, and supervision your position actually covers.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
Get a free talent snapshot · Get a free job description review
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What does an open seat cost you every week?
An open role costs you more than the recruiting fee. Someone covers the work, waits for care, or stops a service. We ask what is falling behind and who is carrying it. Use your own figures to compare the cost of waiting with the cost of hiring.
The seat is costing you every week.
Overtime, diverted patients, a stretched team and a schedule held together by favors.
The posting brought the wrong people.
Applicants arrive, but the person who has done this exact work is employed and not looking.
You are the one chasing.
Screening calls, no-shows and follow-ups land on the desk of someone with a facility to run.
What does this hire really come down to?
A speech-language pathologist may assess feeding on an inpatient service, support communication during rehabilitation, or see children in outpatient therapy. Those assignments need different experience. We clarify the daily patient mix before recruiting, so you can distinguish relevant pediatric hospital work from experience that sounds similar on a résumé.
Start with the assignment, not the title. Will this person cover infant feeding, acquired communication changes, developmental language disorders, or several services? Ask who reviews findings, how referrals arrive, and where the SLP documents recommendations for the medical team.
A strong candidate explains decisions, not just diagnoses treated. Ask about a hypothetical child whose participation changes during an assessment. Listen for how the candidate describes observations, communicates limits, and seeks input from colleagues. You complete your own credentialing and clinical assessment; we screen credentials, work history, and fit against the work you describe.
We arrange locum tenens, travel and contract coverage on request. Credentialing, licensing and malpractice coverage are confirmed per engagement before anyone starts.
What do we check before you see anyone?
Credentials: Ask, “What is your current state license status, and do you hold ASHA CCC-SLP?” Verify license status and certification separately. For a clinical fellow, establish the applicable licensing pathway, available supervision, and whether your position can support that arrangement.
- Pediatric swallowing: Ask, “Which pediatric populations have you assessed for dysphagia, and what was your role in MBSS or FEES?” Useful answers distinguish observation, participation, interpretation, and independent responsibilities. Procedure-specific training and your hospital's authorization process matter more than a broad claim of feeding experience.
- Communication assessment: Ask, “How would you approach an assessment when a child cannot complete the planned standardized tasks?” Look for clear discussion of alternative information, caregiver input, communication access, and documentation of limits. Ask how the findings would inform conversations with the treating team.
- Family teaching: Ask, “How do you check whether a caregiver understands the communication plan?” A useful answer includes demonstration, caregiver practice, and documentation of questions or barriers. Ask how the candidate works with interpreters rather than assuming every family shares the clinician's language.
- Shift coordination: Ask, “What would you do if an assessment conflicts with imaging, therapy, or a planned discharge?” Listen for communication with the team, an explanation of what remains incomplete, and a clear handoff. The answer should distinguish scheduling decisions from clinical decisions.
- Setting boundaries: Ask, “Which parts of this assignment would need orientation or supervision?” A credible answer names unfamiliar populations, equipment, or procedures. For school-linked work, check whether state education certification applies rather than treating hospital credentials as sufficient for every assignment.
Where do we find them, and why would they move?
We look at children's hospitals, other hospitals with pediatric services, and pediatric clinics for relevant experience. Hospital candidates may know inpatient handoffs and discharge documentation. Clinic candidates may bring sustained caregiver coaching and developmental assessment experience. We ask each person to explain the differences between their current caseload and your proposed assignment.
Schools, SNFs, and graduate SLP programs also belong in the source pool, with careful review. School experience may support language assessment but does not establish pediatric dysphagia competence. Clinical fellows need a workable supervision plan. People may consider a move for different patients, schedules, mentoring, or service responsibilities.
Which mistakes stall the search?
Do not treat all feeding experience as interchangeable. Ask candidates to separate infant feeding, older-child swallowing, and instrumental assessment experience before selecting interview finalists. Do not advertise inpatient and outpatient work without describing the split. Candidates need to know whether scheduled therapy or changing hospital referrals will shape their day.
Do not accept “comfortable with families” without an example. Ask how the candidate explains assessment limits, responds to disagreement, and records caregiver education.
How would we run the search for this opening?
Tell us the age groups, patient services, swallowing duties, schedule, and supervision available. We compare credentials and work history with your assignment, then ask concrete questions about assessments, documentation, and team communication. Use interviews and your credentialing process to examine clinical judgment, procedure authorization, and supervision needs.
Define the service
Identify which skills must be present at hire and which can be taught during orientation.
Review relevant evidence
You review candidates whose experience merits further clinical discussion.
Complete your hiring review
Resolve the inpatient-outpatient split before making an offer, not during the first scheduled week.
The role and the setting
Not ready to start a search?
Get a free talent snapshot
We tell you where qualified Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP, Speech Therapist) are working in your area and what it takes to move them. No fee. No obligation.
Get a free job description review
Paste or upload the JD. We flag unclear scope, requirements and terms that may put strong candidates off. No fee. No obligation.
Does every children's hospital SLP need MBSS and FEES experience?
No: match those skills to the swallowing duties in your position. If instrumental assessments are included, examine pediatric experience and the candidate's exact role in each procedure. SNF experience may include swallowing work without pediatric exposure. If the position includes swallowing studies, name the procedures and expected responsibilities.
Can a clinical fellow fit this position?
Possibly, if the assignment and applicable licensing pathway support it. Confirm who can provide supervision and how that supervision fits the actual schedule.
Is school-based SLP experience enough for inpatient coverage?
It can provide relevant communication assessment experience, but it does not establish readiness for medical swallowing work. Review those duties separately.
When should we check state education certification?
Check it when the role includes school-based responsibilities. Do not assume that every children's hospital assignment needs it.
How should we interview for mixed inpatient and outpatient duties?
Give candidates a separate scenario for each setting. Compare their answers about handoffs, family teaching, and documentation.
What should you send us about this role?
Send us the role, where the person will work and what needs to change with this hire. We will ask about the work, not just the title. Share any license or schedule limits that could rule someone out before we begin the search.
Share your pediatric services and daily assignment with Healthcare Headhunters. We will focus the search on the experience your hiring decision needs.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What happens next
- We review your role, responsibilities and location.
- Ivan or a senior team member will reach out soon.
- You meet a focused shortlist when qualified candidates fit the agreed search.
- Fees.
- No upfront fee. Pay only if you hire, under the signed agreement.
- Exclusivity.
- Set out in the signed client agreement.
- Confidentiality.
- We agree the brief before outreach. This is not a promise of absolute anonymity.
- No hire.
- No hire means no fee on standard searches.
What do you get at each step of the search?
Our process for every search: calibrate the seat with you, map the market, research the real people, reach out to each one personally, qualify them in live conversation, then hand you a short list with a written brief on each person and support through the offer.
Search Calibration
You get an agreed brief: the work, reporting line, credentials, schedule, and offer you can make.
Market Mapping
You get a search aimed at relevant backgrounds, including people working now who have not applied.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We check appropriate ways to reach the people identified for your search. You do not have to chase them yourself.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We explain your actual job and follow up with people who may consider a conversation.
Live Candidate Qualification
You see people we have spoken with about the work, interest, and practical fit, not an unread resume pile.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a written brief and support through interviews and offer discussions. You make the hiring decision.
How long will it take to see a short list?
That depends on the job, schedule, available people, and what your employer can offer. We discuss those constraints before outreach and update you as candidates respond. We do not promise a fixed shortlist date. We check the job brief before arranging interviews. Tell us which parts of the role you can change.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We ask why the person wants to move and discuss competing decisions before an offer. A counteroffer can still change their choice. Keep the duties and offer clear rather than assuming more money settles every concern. Tell us early if parts of your offer cannot change, so the candidate hears it from us first.
What are the replacement terms?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement. Ask us to walk through those terms before you sign, so you know how a replacement would work for your opening and who would start it.
What do we not do in a standard permanent search?
We do not bill standard contingency search by the hour or simply repost your job. Temporary coverage is a separate arrangement. Any retainer or different engagement must be agreed, not assumed. Tell us early if you need coverage while the permanent search runs.