Veterinary Assistant Resume Sample
Milton F. Schwartzman
Address: 3467 Nashville Avenue; Orlando, FL.
Phone: (321) 779 6417
Email: [email protected]
Current Job: Veterinary Assistant; Orville Pet Clinic; Orlando, FL
Objective Statement
Veterinary Assistant with 1 year of work experience is desirous of becoming the new Veterinary Assistant at Lakeshore Polo Club. In addition to my experience in assisting the Veterinarian in treating animals, I can provide administrative support for your office.
Strengths/Special Skills
- Associate Degree in Office Administration
- Knowledgeable of Computers – MS Office, email, Internet search, and operating popular office apps such as Asana and Dropbox.
- Physically-fit
- High level of comprehension.
- Detail-oriented.
- Passionate about animals.
Certifications/Professional Licenses
- Certification in Animal Grooming and Cleaning.
Work Experience
Veterinary Assistant; 2019 to Present
Orville Pet Clinic; Orlando, FL
Responsibilities:
- Schedule appointments at the clinic.
- Assist clients with filling out paperwork.
- Collect key information from the clients about their pets such as medical history, types of medications taken, symptoms the last few days, behavioural changes, and the identity of the previous Veterinarian, if any.
- Convey information to the Veterinarian.
- Discuss the proposed treatment with the pet owner.
- Answer all questions that are asked by the pet owner.
- Assist the Veterinarian when carrying out treatments and procedures including surgery.
- Assist in transporting the animal from the treatment room to the recovery room.
- Attend to all incoming phone calls.
- Arrange the clinic’s appointments for the week.
- Update the patient’s record.
Administrative Assistant; 2017 to 2019
McCray Pet Supplies; Orlando, FL
Responsibilities
- Oversee the inventory of the store.
- Receive all deliveries from suppliers.
- Inspect the quality of all deliveries.
- Filter the company email.
- Manage the calendar for the week; keep track of delivery schedules and dates of purchase by long-time clients.
- Manage the company’s social media pages.
- Attend to all incoming calls.
- Perform customer service duties via phone, chat support, and email.
Education
Associate Degree
Office Administration
Valencia College
Orlando, FL
2014 to 2017
High School
Lake Nona High School
Orlando, FL
2010 to 2014
How To Write A Good Veterinary Assistant Resume
Animals can be a handful even for the most experienced Veterinarians. Having an assistant will go a long way in making sure the animal is treated properly. Likewise, the Veterinarian needs an assistant who can manage the day-to-day operations of the clinic. You need a good Veterinary Assistant resume to win the confidence of the Veterinarian.
Before writing yours, read our 4 helpful tips on how to prepare a resume that gets results.
Choose the Right Format
You have 3 types of resume formats to choose from. Your choice of resume format would depend on your work history, skill level, and objective.
- Reverse-chronological – Ideal format if you have at least one-year work experience or an unemployment gap of no more than 4 months.
- Functional – If you have little or no experience but have acquired the necessary hard skills for the position, the functional is the best format for your resume.
- Combination – If you’re planning to change careers and have the requisite hard skills or if you’re applying for a high position, then the combination could work for your resume.
With the reverse-chronological, the information detailed in the work experience and education sections are presented starting from the current or latest date then moving back to the earliest experience.
The reverse-chronological shines the spotlight on your work experience and allows the recruiter to assess your current level of qualifications. The sections of the resume are arranged in this manner:
- Contact Information
- Objective Statement
- Strengths
- Work Experience
- Education
- Certifications/Licenses
- Seminars Attended
The functional and the combination share the same resume structure:
- Contact Information
- Objective Statement
- Strengths
- Certifications/Licenses
- Seminars Attended
- Education
- Work Experience
The only differences are that the work experience section of the combination is more extensive and uses the reverse-chronological approach of presenting the employment history.
Correct Errors in Grammar and Spelling
As a Veterinary Assistant, you have to be detail-oriented because the Veterinarian will depend on you during delicate procedures.
If the Veterinarian or the recruiter sees errors in spelling and grammar, these mistakes will be seen as signs of irresponsibility and lack of attention to detail.
Before submitting your resume, review it carefully, and correct these types of errors. To be sure, run your resume through a spelling and grammar checking software.
Make it an Easy Read
Recruiters scan resumes – they don’t read every word and sentence that you’ve written. An experienced recruiter looks for keywords and bits of information that pertain to the needs of the position.
A recruiter will appreciate you by making the resume an easy read. How do you do this?
- Present your key information in bullet point format.
- Use a professional-looking font style – Arial, Calibri, and Helvetica.
- Keep your resume justified or left-aligned.
- Keep your sentences short.
- Write in a conversational tone.
Customize Your Resume
A good resume is one that answers the needs of the employer. Review the job ad and take note of the scope of work and the duties and responsibilities for the position.
From there, review your own work history. Identify the duties and responsibilities you managed and pinpoint those that are similar to the ones indicated in the job ad.
When writing your work experience section, prioritize the ones that show the employer you are qualified to do the job now.
Veterinary Assistant Skills List
Contrary to what you may have been told, becoming a Veterinary Assistant does not require formal training. Some become Veterinary Assistants with high school education.
So what should be on your Veterinary Assistant skills list?
Administrative Skills
In addition to assisting the Veterinarian while performing procedures on animals, you will also be tasked to oversee the day-to-day operations of the clinic. Thus, you must have the following administrative skills:
- Phone Handling
- Appointment Setting
- Calendar Management
- Email Filtering
- Basic Accounting
You should also have a firm commitment to providing excellent customer service. Some pet owners may not be in the best emotional state. They could be moody, angry, frustrated, sad, irritable but throughout it all, you have to remain professional in your interactions with them.
Keen Observation
Having keen observation means having the ability to notice changes in the behavior and condition of the animals. This may take some time to develop but by consistently monitoring the activities of the animals, you will be able to have this skill.
Identifying changes in behavioral patterns will help you take the necessary action before the condition worsens.
Effective Communication
The Veterinarian will be giving you instructions throughout the day. From instructions during the procedure and on particular clinic matters. Excellent communication means having the ability to listen intently and articulate ideas.
If you don’t fully understand the instructions, don’t hesitate to seek clarification from the Veterinarian.
Likewise, communication includes written communication as well. If you receive email or messages that are for the Veterinarian’s attention and are urgent in nature, you should make sure these are received immediately.
Get all the details from the caller – name, phone number, office address, and other key information.
High Level of Concentration
A Veterinarian’s clinic can be chaotic. Pets could be making a lot of noise, people are coming in and out of the office, the phones are ringing off the hook, and pet owners are asking for assistance.
Throughout all the chaos, you have to remain focused and calm while assisting the Veterinarian. When performing delicate procedures on pets, the steps you need to do might be intricate. Don’t let your level of concentration drop!
Physically Fit
Veterinarians just don’t have house cats and chihuahuas as patients. You might be asked to assist in carrying a 70-pound Pitbull or a 198-pound Great Dane.
And these animals – even the cute and cuddly 20-pound tabby – can get frisky when being treated. You have to know how to handle the animals without getting them hurt.
As a Veterinary Assistant, you will be on your feet most of the time. For this job, being physically fit is very important.
Veterinary Assistant Duties And Responsibilities For The Work Experience Section
The duties and responsibilities of a Veterinary Assistant are similar. This doesn’t mean that you won’t put thought and effort into writing the job descriptions in your Work Experience section.
Here are 3 tips on how to make your work experience section stand out from the other job applicants:
- Include as many tasks as possible. There are no menial jobs as a Veterinary Assistant. If you’ve been employed by another clinic, differentiate the tasks you managed by giving more detail.
- Keep your job descriptions short. Having more details doesn’t mean writing long job descriptions. Go straight to the point but don’t leave out the key details.
- Make your job descriptions unique. Recruiters don’t like it if an applicant submits a resume whereby the work experience section reads like it was just copied and pasted from the Internet. Focus on the key functions you managed as a Veterinary Assistant.
We put out a good example of an effective work experience section in our sample resume for a Veterinary Assistant.
To show you that it’s possible to make another one unique, review the work experience section we provided below:
- Attend to clients who bring their pets into the clinic.
- Get important information from the pet owners including medical history, medications and treatments taken, and the timeline of the pet’s condition.
- Discuss the preliminary findings with the Veterinarian.
- Administer medications and procedures upon advice by the Veterinarian.
- Provide assistance to the Veterinarian during treatments.
- Record the history and progress of the animal.
- Monitor the progress of the animal’s condition.
- Inform the pet’s owner about the status of the animal.
- Attend inbound telephone calls.
- Schedule the appointments every week.
Entry Level Veterinary Assistant Resume
Level up your entry-level Veterinary Assistant resume by following our useful tips below:
- Use the Functional Format -If you don’t have work experience, the functional format is the ideal format to use for your entry-level Veterinary Assistant resume because it will highlight your skills and abilities.
- Highlight Your Special Skills – Do you have skills that will differentiate you from other candidates? Examples include:
- Proficiency in a second language.
- Knowledge of computers.
- Certification in relevant skills such as customer service, pet grooming, and dog walking.
- Include Informal Work Experience – Volunteer work in an animal shelter, freelance work as a pet groomer and dog walker, and participating in a Veterinary Clinic On-The-Job training are good examples of relevant informal work experience.
Don’t be discouraged if the response to your resume is slow. There could be a lot of applicants and it’s taking the recruiter time to select the best candidates for the job.
Keep applying! You can find job opportunities for Veterinary Assistants in many online job platforms. Getting employed is a numbers game. The more applications you send out, the better the chances of getting invited for an interview.
In the meantime, if you have acquired new skills that are relevant to the position of Veterinary Assistant, make sure the information is included in your resume.
