Director Of Nursing Search

The Top 10 - 2026

The Best Ways to Hire a Director of Nursing in 2026

We track 32 search firms, interim providers, hiring platforms and training bodies that serve skilled nursing and assisted living. These are the 10 to shortlist first.

Short answer: Cross Country Search, Kirby Bates Associates and B.E. Smith sit at the top of this ranking of 10.

This ranking covers the ways an independent SNF or assisted living operator can fill a Director of Nursing or ADON seat: direct-hire search firms, interim leaders, hiring platforms and developing a leader from within. Each option is weighed against the same criteria - post-acute focus, fee and guarantee clarity, search process, candidate vetting and fit for single-site operators. Looking for one kind of provider? Browse the rankings by category.

By Dorian Iyer Editorial reviewer

Updated

The Top 10 at a glance

Provider Our pick Type Best for
1 Cross Country Search Best overall DON Recruiting Firms multi-facility operators that want national candidate reach
2 Kirby Bates Associates Best for nurse-leader search DON Recruiting Firms a nurse-leadership specialist search
3 B.E. Smith Best for interim-to-permanent Interim DON Coverage interim DON coverage that can convert to a permanent search
4 HCR Network Best for independent SNFs DON Recruiting Firms independent SNFs that want a focused direct-hire search
5 Hireology Best for in-house search Job Boards & Hiring Platforms running an organized in-house DON search
6 Direct Recruiters, Inc. Best for retained-style search DON Recruiting Firms retained-style search on a hard-to-fill DON seat
7 Incredible Health Best for direct nurse outreach Job Boards & Hiring Platforms employer-initiated outreach to nurse candidates
8 WittKieffer Best for regional clinical leaders DON Recruiting Firms regional or corporate VP of Clinical Services searches
9 Vivian Health Best for pay-transparent listings Job Boards & Hiring Platforms pay-transparent ADON and unit-manager listings
10 AAPACN Best for promoting from within Nurse Leader Training & Certification preparing an internal candidate for the DON role

Our Top 10, ranked

  1. 1
    Best overall

    Cross Country Search

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for multi-facility operators that want national candidate reach

    Compare DON Recruiting Firms Full review coming soon
  2. 2
    Best for nurse-leader search

    Kirby Bates Associates

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for a nurse-leadership specialist search

    Compare DON Recruiting Firms Full review coming soon
  3. 3
    Best for interim-to-permanent

    B.E. Smith

    Interim DON Coverage

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for interim DON coverage that can convert to a permanent search

    Compare Interim DON Coverage Full review coming soon
  4. 4
    Best for independent SNFs

    HCR Network

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for independent SNFs that want a focused direct-hire search

    Compare DON Recruiting Firms Full review coming soon
  5. 5
    Best for in-house search

    Hireology

    Job Boards & Hiring Platforms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for running an organized in-house DON search

    Compare Job Boards & Hiring Platforms Full review coming soon
  6. 6
    Best for retained-style search

    Direct Recruiters, Inc.

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for retained-style search on a hard-to-fill DON seat

    Compare DON Recruiting Firms Full review coming soon
  7. 7
    Best for direct nurse outreach

    Incredible Health

    Job Boards & Hiring Platforms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for employer-initiated outreach to nurse candidates

    Compare Job Boards & Hiring Platforms Full review coming soon
  8. 8
    Best for regional clinical leaders

    WittKieffer

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for regional or corporate VP of Clinical Services searches

    Compare DON Recruiting Firms Full review coming soon
  9. 9
    Best for pay-transparent listings

    Vivian Health

    Job Boards & Hiring Platforms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for pay-transparent ADON and unit-manager listings

    Compare Job Boards & Hiring Platforms Full review coming soon
  10. 10
    Best for promoting from within

    AAPACN

    Nurse Leader Training & Certification

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for preparing an internal candidate for the DON role

    Compare Nurse Leader Training & Certification Full review coming soon

How we picked

Every provider on this page is weighed against the same five criteria, in the same order. Rank follows the criteria; award labels say what each option does best.

  1. 1 Post-acute focus. Experience placing nursing leaders in skilled nursing and assisted living, not only acute care.
  2. 2 Fee and guarantee clarity. Whether the fee basis, replacement guarantee and terms are stated before you sign.
  3. 3 Search process. How candidates are sourced, screened and presented, and how long a typical search runs.
  4. 4 Candidate vetting. License verification, references and attention to a candidate's survey history.
  5. 5 Fit for independent operators. Whether a single-site SNF or small group gets the same attention as a large chain.
Read the full methodology

How to choose

Placeholder - a short introduction to choosing between search, interim coverage, in-house hiring and internal development is written by the editorial team.

How much does it cost to hire a DON?

Placeholder - typical cost ranges by channel are added from our DON salary and leadership benchmark.

Channel How you pay
Contingency search firm A percentage of the hire's first-year base salary, owed only when you hire
Retained search firm A fee paid in stages during the search, whatever the outcome
Interim DON A daily or weekly rate for the length of the assignment, plus travel where it applies
Job board or hiring platform Per posting, per month, or a subscription
Developing from within Certification and course fees, plus backfilling the role your candidate leaves

Where to find and hire a DON

Placeholder - where operators actually find DON candidates (search firms, nurse-leader job boards, associations, referrals and internal pipelines) and when each makes sense is written by the editorial team.

Frequently asked questions

Questions are being collected

Answers to the questions operators ask most about hiring a Director of Nursing will appear here.

References

Placeholder - the sources behind this ranking are listed here as the page is filled.

Rankings by category

Read next

Guides are on the way

Our first DON hiring guides and provider reviews are being written now. They will appear here as soon as they are published.

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