Careers in CVM

April Careers in CVM 

Hello! Welcome to the fourth installment of the Careers in CVM newsletter, dedicated to inform internal stakeholders in UF CVM about trends in the veterinary career fields, opportunities for events and workshops, and resources available to our UF CVM students, faculty, and staff.

Employer's Corner

This month we have Ms. Nikki Harris describing her interview tips to get that dream job!

As the Senior Director for Operations for the Jacksonville Humane Society, I interview for a considerable number of positions, including potential veterinarians. Graduation is quickly approaching for many schools in and near northeast Florida, so I have had the opportunity to interview many applicants for our open veterinarian position. Based on my recent interviewing experiences, I would like to offer some suggestions for any job-seekers:

•  List on your resume an objective that matches the institution, shelter or practice to which you are applying.
  •  For example, if you are applying at a small animal private practice, do not state that a research position is your professional objective.
  •  Do not list personal goals which are not associated with veterinary medicine within your objective.On your application or resume, list relevant information to your potential employer.
• On your application or resume, list relevant information to your potential employer.
  • If you are applying at a large shelter or high-volume spay/neuter clinic, provide the number of surgeries you have performed, any specialty training (Humane Alliance), and/or relevant experience of any kind (Operation Catnip, Shelter Assessments).
• During the interview process, be available and check your e-mail and telephone messages frequently.
  • Respond promptly to any potential employer’s inquiries.
• During interviews, have questions prepared to keep the conversation flowing.
  • Employers want to discuss: benefits, schedules, typical work days, drug protocols, census numbers, staffing descriptions and most important—mission.
  • Refrain from discussions about personal topics: neighborhoods, restaurants and school recommendations until later in the interview process.
• For in-person interviews, concentrate on professionalism.
  • Clarify if you are going to a working interview or a face-to-face interview.
    • For a working interview, ask what attire is expected.
    • For a face-to-face interview, dress in business professional, not business casual attire.
  • Do not bring your significant other or pet into an interview.
  • Arrive early and be friendly to the front-line staff (we ask them about you!).
  •  Remember that you are a guest when interviewing in-person.
• Send a thank you e-mail after the interview.

Student Tip - Through the Recruiter's Lens

When crafting your application documents and especially your resume/CV it is very helpful to take a look through the recruiter's lens.  TheLadders researched recruiter's eye movements and determined the recruiter's only looked at a resume for a mere 6 seconds before making a decision (Source).  Check out the pattern of these recruiter's eye movements in the picture below.

In order to make your resume stand out, here are some tips on what to include on your resumes top half of the first page:

-Name & Contact Information - Keep it simple, correct, and short.  Use an appropriate email address, one phone number, and just your city and state instead of a full mailing address.  Trends show recruiters now prefer just City, State on resumes. If a recruiter needs to contact you they will use email or phone and you will typically provide a full mailing address in the application.  

-Education - This is your current 'job' and will qualify you for a lot of the positions you apply to.  Once you get your first job after being awarded your degree, this section will often drop down to the bottom of the document.  

-Aesthetic - Organize your resume consistently and in a pleasing format.  It draws the eye to your high points (roles, organizations, dates) and reduces the chance of a recruiter losing interest or time sifting through text.

-List the most relevant experiences first - Highlight what qualifies you for the position by including your most relevant experiences in the top half of the page. Hiding important experiences further down the page or even on a second page can run you the risk of a recruiter not seeing how qualified you are for the position. In order to still follow reverse chronological order in your resume, consider re-working some of your category titles and moving less relevant experiences into other categories.  

Looking Ahead to Events

White Coat Ceremony - May 12th, Friday

Graduation -  May 27th, Saturday

Highlighted Gator CareerLink Job Postings: Out of State

VETERINARIAN Full-Time
Palm Beach County(West Palm Beach, Florida)
Posting Date: Apr 10, 2017

Veterinarian Full-Time
McD Veterinary Group dba Weems Road Animal Hosp.(Columbus, Georgia)
Posting Date: Apr 03, 2017

Veterinarian Full-Time
Sequoyah Animal Hospital(Soddy Daisy, Tennessee)
Posting Date: Mar 22, 2017

For the full list of all current job postings, please click the link below

UF CVM Careers Facebook Page

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For requests to receive this newsletter or include information or events in this newsletter please contact KatelynJ@crc.ufl.edu