How to Hire a Collections Specialist

Why hire a collections specialist?

Choosing the right person for your collections specialist position can help your company recover unpaid business debts and contribute to business revenue. A great collections specialist:

• Tracks outstanding customer accounts and monitors their payments
• Plans and implements a course of action to recover unpaid payments
• Locates and contacts debtors

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance collections specialist

Full-time collections specialists are employed in a wide range of industries, from medical and credit card collections to third-party debt collections. For businesses with consistent collection files that need to be handled on a daily basis, it’s generally recommended to hire full-time collection specialists to prevent work overflow and ensure accounts are paid off and closed consistently. 

For businesses or sole proprietors with a few past due accounts or accounts that require collection enforcement on a semi-regular basis, hiring a freelance collections specialist is a good option. Hiring on a freelance or contractor basis helps businesses handle account matters as they arise, and it helps to save money during slower periods. 

What are the types of collections specialists?

Collections specialists work in multiple industries, assisting business owners and medical practice owners with settling past due accounts. There are several types of collections specialists and opportunities for advancement. Here are some common types of collections specialists:

• General collections specialist/account resolution specialist: General collections specialists and account resolution specialists work in medical administrative offices, credit card administrative offices, financial institutions and general collections offices. They are responsible for reaching out to customers and patients with past due balances in order to work out payment arrangements. They schedule future payments via ACH debit and electronic checks, and they process credit and debit card payments. 
• Collections manager/supervisor: Collections managers and supervisors oversee collection departments and assign accounts to collection agents. They resolve conflicts that arise between debtors and general collection agents, and they create and approve payment arrangements and debt settlement offers. Collections managers also perform general collection duties such as scheduling and processing payments. 
• Third-party debt collector: Third-party debt collectors work in offices that handle older debts that were sold off by the original creditors. They often handle multiple accounts, and they work with debtors to create workable settlements. 

Where to find collections specialists

To find the right collections specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Hire from within. Is there a part-time clerk or administrative assistant in your office who’s looking for more hours or interested in switching positions? Consider recruiting them for your collections team. 
• Create a social media post. Does your office have a social media account? If so, creating a quick post that lists your collections specialist job requirements, pay rate and hours offered is a great way to garner interest from multiple candidates. 
• Post flyers throughout the local community. Posting flyers on bulletin boards at local community colleges and libraries is a helpful way to recruit local residents who may check these types of boards often for potential job offers. 
• Post your job online. Try posting your collections specialist job on Indeed to find and attract quality collections specialist candidates. 

What are the types of collections specialists?

Collections specialists work in multiple industries, assisting business owners and medical practice owners with settling past due accounts. There are several types of collections specialists and opportunities for advancement. Here are some common types of collections specialists:

• General collections specialist/account resolution specialist: General collections specialists and account resolution specialists work in medical administrative offices, credit card administrative offices, financial institutions and general collections offices. They are responsible for reaching out to customers and patients with past due balances in order to work out payment arrangements. They schedule future payments via ACH debit and electronic checks, and they process credit and debit card payments. 
• Collections manager/supervisor: Collections managers and supervisors oversee collection departments and assign accounts to collection agents. They resolve conflicts that arise between debtors and general collection agents, and they create and approve payment arrangements and debt settlement offers. Collections managers also perform general collection duties such as scheduling and processing payments. 
• Third-party debt collector: Third-party debt collectors work in offices that handle older debts that were sold off by the original creditors. They often handle multiple accounts, and they work with debtors to create workable settlements. 

Writing a collections specialist job description

A good job description is essential in finding excellent collections specialist candidates. A collections specialist job description includes a summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your collections specialist job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on collections specialist jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Collections
• Collections specialist
• Remote work from home
• Billing specialist
• Museum
• Call center
• Billing
• Medical billing
• Hiring immediately
• Phlebotomist

Interviewing collections specialist candidates

Strong candidates for collections specialist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• MS Office and other relevant database software
• Knowledge of collections laws and debt recovery guidelines
• How they’ve excelled at recovering unpaid debts to achieve financial goals

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of collections specialist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).