anyone work or volunteer at a vet office?

[Helenor]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to volunteer/work at a vet this summer. I called the local one that was the HRS recommended for bunnies. They told me that they do have interns that work sometimes and that I should bring a resume and cover letter in for the general manager to look at. I’ve never done this before and the few cover letter I’ve written must’ve not been good since I never got any responses back. Anyone have any advice for me on any of this? Or words of wisdom?

[LBJ10]

What are you wanting to do there? Work with the animals or the people?

[Malp_15]

I work in a vets office. I would include all animal experience you have. Including pets you have/had. Also I know it looks really good if you are up on the tail docking/ ear cropping controversey. In my office anyway it’s much easier to get on as a volunteer and if we like you then you’re usually given a job.

I got in because I had volunteered at the SPCA before as was currently volunteering at an equine rescue. I had also just got back from a month of living at a turtle/crocodile conservation camp in Mexico.

[Helenor]

I’d like to work with both animals and people. I don’t have that much experience with animals besides volunteering at a zoo, working at Petsmart, and volunteering and fostering for the SPCA.

I believe that ear cropping is wrong. My dad wanted my dog to have his ears cropped. I said absolutely not. Docking sounds pretty terrible, but I don’t really know why people do it. I guess I should look it up.

[KatnipCrzy]

I worked at a vet clinic for over 12 years. I would recommend that you actually highlight your other experiences rather than your animal experience if you don’t have much. My office mgr always hated applications from people that wanted to work for a vet clinic because they loved animals- as that is not the most important part of being a good animal caregiver actually. I would highlight your skills like organization, ability to work with others, whatever it may be and mention that you own whatever pets and that you are always interesting in learning more hands on information at the clinic as every job and pet ownership is a continual education.
Pretty roughly worded- but something like that. Personally I would not mention any controversial issues such as ear cropping, tail docking and cat declawing. Chances are the hospital has determined their “stance” based on the beliefs and experiences of the vets that work there. So be willing to hear what they believe- but don’t in any way expect to discuss or debate unless to ask reasonable questions. Working at a vet is hard sometimes as you often see people that poorly care for their pets, people that can’t afford to care for their pets and people that need to say goodbye to faithful companions. So if they even think that someone is even leaning toward animal rights activism- such as disapproving any procedures, etc- no one likes when we get crappy people in or people in crappy situations- but we need to handle it calmly and professionally. And it is OK to cry when a faithful pet is euth even if it is not your pet. But a vet clinic is not looking to have someone that is overemotional about controversial issues and euth- it only makes it harder on everyone else.
I hoped I explained that without sounding harsh. But they are looking for to fill a position for employee/intern- and the things that qualify you for other jobs are just as important to a vet clinic. If you had not specifically asked what to mention to increase chances of hiring- I probably would not have been so “blunt”.
But what I have said is from my practical experience of working for a Humane Society and then get hired into vet assistant position due to that experience (and other job skills). So being qualified, positive and willing to learn makes for a great candidate other than someone who gets CatFancy and DogFancy every month so that means they love pets.

[Helenor]

It makes sense. I do love animals, but I am also interested in their health and care. The reason why I’m interested in getting a position there is because I’m thinking about vet school. I know it will take a lot of work and it’ll be hard to get into a vet school. My university’s vet school is rated 2nd in the country I believe. I just think that I need to get some experience to make sure that this is what I really want.

I’ve had my second rabbit Bear euthanized before. I had him for a week and he had liver torsion and it bled out into his abdomen. It was a hard thing to go through and I cried like a baby in front of the vet, who was pretty sympathetic. I know I will have to deal with hard situations if I do volunteer.

I guess I’ll have to just try to promote myself as best I can and see how it goes. If I don’t get it, I’ll try some other places too.

Thanks!

[Author]

Messages