Stand Out, Get Shortlisted and Land Your Ideal Veterinary Role
Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned veteran of the veterinary industry, having an up-to-date, ATS-optimised resume is essential.
Veterinary employers are looking for more than technical ability. They want excellent communicators, problem solvers and people who genuinely care about their patients, clients and colleagues.
To help you put your best foot forward, we’ve put together a practical resume guide and interview tips, plus a free veterinarian resume template you can download and customise to help make your job search easier.
What is an ATS-Optimised Resume?
Your resume is your first impression for potential employers; it needs to capture their attention in the first 6-10 seconds. But before your resume lands in front of human eyes, it needs to make it through the filtering processes that many clinics, recruiters and companies use to manage applications, known as Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS.
An ATS-optimised resume is designed so that it can be accurately scanned, read and ranked by an Applicant Tracking System.
These systems digitally parse a resume, identifying the content, so it’s important to follow these tips so your resume can be read by ATS systems;
- Follow a clear structure: Use standard headings like “work experience” and “education”.
- Simplify your layout: Making multiple text boxes, tables and columns can confuse the ATS system, making it more likely that some of your experience or skills could be missed.
- Standardise your format: Stick with basic fonts like Arial or Calibri, avoid custom or graphic fonts, and keep your file format simple, like a .docx or a PDF.
- Match the job ad: Include keywords from the job ad in your resume, but don’t sacrifice natural sentence structure and flow.
How to Build a Resume That Gets Noticed
Once you’ve passed the first test and gotten your resume shortlisted by the algorithm, it’s time to stand out from the pack, which is no easy feat. Recruiters and hiring managers often spend less than a minute reviewing each application. A clear, professional resume makes it easy for them to quickly understand your experience and why you’re a good fit.
Include these sections:
Professional Summary
Write 3–4 sentences that summarise:
- Years of experience
- Areas of interest
- Clinical strengths
- What you’re looking for next
Example:
“Compassionate small animal veterinarian with five years of experience in general practice. Passionate about preventative medicine, surgery and client education. Known for building strong client relationships and working collaboratively within busy clinical teams.”
Work Experience
For your work experience section, remember to list out your roles from newest to oldest. Depending on your years of experience and how long you stayed in each role, you may decide to omit earlier jobs. They really don’t need to know about the first clinic you worked in fresh out of university if you’ve been practising for 10+ years. Likewise, for irrelevant experience, if you worked your way through high school at the counter of a KFC, it’s not a highlight you need to include.
For each position, include:
- Practice name
- Location
- Employment dates
- Position title
- Key responsibilities
- Achievements
Rather than simply listing duties, include measurable accomplishments where possible.
Tips & Tricks
Instead of:
- Consultations and surgeries
Try:
- Performed an average of 30 consultations per week while maintaining high client satisfaction and contributing to improved preventative healthcare compliance.
Education
Front and centre for this section is your veterinary degree. Some people make the mistake of listing their educational achievements in chronological order, but here we want to include them in order of relevance and importance. And don’t forget to include any professional development or short training courses you’ve completed since commencing your career.
Include:
- Veterinary degree
- University
- Graduation year
- Relevant certifications
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Skills
In the skills section, make sure you’re including any specialist or specific care you can offer in your role at the clinic, add in relevant software you’ve had experience with such as EzyVet or INDEXX.
Consider including:
- Companion animal medicine
- Emergency medicine
- Surgery
- Dentistry
- Diagnostic imaging
- Anaesthesia
- Client communication
- Leadership
- Practice management software
Professional Memberships
Showcase your commitment to the industry and professionalism with your professional memberships.
Examples include:
- Australian Veterinary Association (AVA)
- Special interest groups
- Board certifications
- Memberships relevant to your career
Need help writing your Resume?
Tailor Your Resume for Every Job
One of the biggest mistakes applicants make is sending exactly the same resume to every employer. Take a few minutes to review the job ad against your resume and highlight your most relevant experience. Try to reflect the language you see in the job ad, this can help you to get prioritised to the top of the pile.
- Read the job advertisement carefully.
- Match your experience to what they’re looking for.
- Use similar terminology where appropriate.
- Highlight the skills most relevant to that particular clinic.
A mixed animal clinic will value different experience than a specialist referral hospital or emergency centre.
Common Resume Mistakes
There is no worse feeling than hitting send and seeing a spelling error 2 seconds too late. Don’t let these common resume mistakes keep you from the shortlist.
Before submitting your application, double-check.
Keep your resume to two or three pages where possible.
Spelling and grammar
Try Grammarly or ask a friend to read over it.
Dense blocks of text
We’re looking for sentences and dot points, not paragraphs.
Generic career summaries
Make it unique to you.
Listing every job you've ever had
Try keep it relevant.
Missing employment dates
It can look suspicious.
Using an unprofessional email address
Aim to use your full name @gmail or similar.
Forgetting to include continuing education
Your professional development is important, it shows your commitment to ongoing improvement.
Interview Tips That Help You Shine
So, you put together a stellar resume, and you’ve booked the interview- congratulations! This means they already think you’re qualified to handle the job based on your experience and skills. But now comes the trickier part, assessing your compatibility with the clinic and other staff.
The interview is about determining whether you’re the right fit for the team and whether the clinic is the right fit for you. Keep in mind that the interview goes both ways, use it as an opportunity to ask questions and assess whether this clinic is a good fit for you.
Before the Interview
Research:
- The clinic
- Their services
- Their values
- Their veterinarians
- Any recent news or achievements
Review the job description so you can confidently explain how your experience aligns with the role.
Prepare Real Examples
The best interview we can offer is preparing your real-world examples. The interview process often includes a combination of behavioural and situational questions. Behavioural questions center around past experiences, and for these, they will want real-world examples. Situational questions are hypothetical; they will want you to assess the proposed situation and make a decision.
Behavioural interview questions begin with:
- Tell me about a time when…
- Describe a situation where…
- Give an example of…
Prepare examples covering:
- Difficult client interactions
- Teamwork
- Clinical decision making
- Surgical cases
- Handling emergencies
- Conflict resolution
- Time management
Using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) can help keep your answers clear and structured.
Situational interview questions begin with:
- What would you do…
- How would you handle…
- Imagine you are…
Situational interview questions are designed to test specific skills relevant to the role, such as ethics, leadership, customer service and time management. Think through your answer and explain why you chose the course of action.
Be Honest About Your Strengths and Development Areas
No veterinarian knows everything. Don’t take a guess; be honest if you have some knowledge or skills gaps you want to address.
Focus on what you’re actively learning and how you’re continuing to develop professionally.
Questions To Ask The Employer
Remember, this is your chance to raise any questions or concerns you might have about their practice. Certain questions can help you assess an employer to see if you will align with their management style and values.
Consider asking:
- What does success look like in this role?
- What mentoring is available?
- How are new graduates or new team members supported?
- What continuing education opportunities are provided?
- What does the typical caseload look like?
- How is work-life balance supported?
- What opportunities exist for career progression?
Final Resume & Interview Checklist
Before you apply:
- Tailor your resume to the role
- Update your professional summary
- Check spelling and grammar
- Include measurable achievements
- Review the clinic's website
- Prepare examples of your experience
- Practise answering common interview questions
- Prepare questions to ask the interviewer
- Bring enthusiasm, professionalism and authenticity
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Our editable veterinarian resume template has been designed specifically for veterinary professionals and includes:
- A modern, recruiter-friendly layout
- Suggested resume sections
- Professional summary example
- Skills prompts
- Easy-to-edit formatting
Download your FREE Veterinary Resume Template today and start building a resume that showcases your experience with confidence.
Not your typical veterinary group
Industry Leading Benefits
Our remuneration packages for Veterinarians are industry-leading. We also offer career pathways, unique benefits, flexibility and equity opportunities to our vets.
Extensive Network
We have clinics across Australia and New Zealand, comprising small and mixed animal practices. Veterinarians can explore opportunities in rural, coastal, or city clinics to suit their lifestyle.
Care Through Collaboration
Our practices are backed by expert clinic teams and a national support office. We provide opportunities to collaborate with clinic leaders at our annual conference.
Our Clinics
Ready to start your next career chapter? We have over clinics across Australia and New Zealand to enable you to thrive in your veterinary career.
Each clinic has its own unique specialties, environment and culture, but they all share one thing in common – excellence in veterinary care and a passion for what they do.
We're a great place to work (officially!)
Australian Owned
Mental Health First Aid
Great Place to Work
We embrace diversity
Let's get tails wagging together
We’re here to assist you in taking the lead and thriving in your career.
Start the conversation with our furiendly Careers team who can help you find the purrfect fit for your personal, clinical and professional aspirations.
Call our Careers team today on 1300 838 236 (AUS) or 0800 838 236 (NZ), or register your interest here
