Top recruiting strategies for your veterinary clinic

As a veterinary clinic owner, hiring the right staff to care for your clients’ beloved pets is crucial. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the employment of veterinarians to grow 20% from 2022 to 2032¹. With this massive influx of open positions, finding talented employees to run your clinic efficiently can be challenging.

You can find top-notch veterinary professionals by implementing a comprehensive recruiting strategy at your clinic. Whether hiring team members for the first time or filling the gaps after some recent turnover, a recruiting strategy can help you put your best foot forward toward attracting and retaining skilled vets. But what’s the best way to get started?

In this article, we’ll go over a few recruiting strategies you can use to help you hire the best individuals possible at your veterinary practice.

Takeaways from this blog post:

• Highlighting your clinic's mission, values, culture, and benefits package in job listings will help set your practice apart from competitors and appeal to potential hires.
• Using social media and partnering with local schools is an effective strategy for recruiting talented veterinary candidates nearing graduation.
• Internal employee referrals are highly effective in hiring top candidates, as they are more likely to stay with the company longer and can help save you time and money.

1. Write an attractive job description

It’s easy to pull a job description template off the internet and fill it in with details about your open position. But this quick option won’t attract the candidates you want. Whether you’re looking to hire a veterinarian, specialist, technician, or assistant, you must draft a compelling job description to captivate qualified job seekers and make your clinic stand out in a tough labor market.

Your job description should feature the following points:

• Summarize the role and how the perfect candidate can excel in the position.
• List the role’s responsibilities, education and certification requirements, and any previous professional experience the candidate may need to succeed.
• Feature your clinic’s mission, vision, and values to attract applicants with similar principles.
• Highlight achievements that make your clinic more appealing than your competitors, such as your facility’s technology, resources, accreditations, and other unique perks.
• Showcase your company’s culture to exhibit your commitment to patient care, job satisfaction, inclusion, and engagement.
• Link to your clinic’s website and any social media platforms so applicants can learn more about you and determine if they’re a good fit.

Writing a customized job description for each open position and posting it where it will have the greatest visibility may take some time. However, the difference between a quality job listing and a generic one makes all the difference when attracting the right candidate who aligns with your practice’s vision.

2. Highlight your benefits package

It’s not enough to list the minimum requirements in your job listing. To attract highly skilled veterinary professionals, you must also show how you’ll care for them as employees. Everyone appreciates pay transparency regarding their annual salary, but highlighting your clinic's employee benefits is also a vital recruiting strategy.

Most veterinarians work long days and, as medical professionals, are particularly prone to burnout and compassion fatigue². By offering a competitive benefits package, you can help alleviate some of the pressures your veterinary team experiences at work and at home and keep them happy and healthy.

The following are popular employee benefits that promote a healthy work-life balance:

• Health benefits, like health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)
• Retirement benefits
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Flexible work schedules
• Education benefits, like a student loan repayment program
• Career opportunities
• Family benefits, like family planning, child care assistance, and pet insurance
• Employee stipends
• Lifestyle spending accounts
• Commuter benefits
• Bonuses and recognition programs

Our 2024 Employee Benefits Survey Report found that 81% of employees say an employer’s benefits package is an important factor in whether or not they accept a job. So, it’s essential to do your research when designing it. You can survey your current staff to learn what benefits they want most, work with a benefits specialist, or look up your competitors to see what perks they offer. Once you decide, feature your benefits in job posts to help your clinic stand out.

A robust benefits package entices ideal candidates, makes you more competitive, and shows your commitment to your staff’s overall well-being. This makes them more likely to stay at your veterinary practice long-term.

3. Partner with local colleges and high schools

Working with local colleges and high schools is a great way to find talented veterinary candidates. By working directly with these institutions, you can make your clinic visible to students approaching graduation who are almost ready to enter the workforce, potentially saving you time and money in your hiring process.

For example, veterinarians must have a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree. You can partner with one of the 32 accredited veterinary colleges in the U.S. to reach out to their students and make your practice known³.

“Vocational training partnerships can be a great way to attract newly trained veterinary talent directly from the source,” said Oleg Segal, CEO & Founder of DealA. “By partnering with veterinary schools, clinics can ensure that the newest graduates are aware of their clinic and its opportunities.”

Veterinary technologists need a four-year bachelor's degree, and technicians need at least a two-year associate degree. Therefore, you can work with any college in your area to recruit. A veterinary assistant position only requires a high school diploma or GED. This means you can go to local high schools and speak to seniors interested in working in the vet industry after graduation.

If you’re looking to partner with an institution, you must develop a good relationship with them by attending career fairs, participating in campus networking events, and offering internships at your veterinary hospital.

“Hosting open house events or providing job shadowing opportunities can give potential hires a hands-on experience and a real sense of the clinic’s atmosphere, which can be particularly appealing to many job-seekers interested in the career path,” Segal said.

If you run a small veterinary practice, you may only be able to do some of these activities. So, choose which ones you can participate in based on your time and budget.

4. Leverage social media platforms

In this digital age, social media is an effective tool in your recruiting strategy. About 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media⁴. Of those, 65% of job seekers say they’ve found job opportunities on social platforms, and 63% have applied to jobs they found on them⁵.

With so many individuals turning to social media to find a job, recruiting on social media sites is a vital candidate source.

To attract experienced professionals on social media for your clinic, use these tips:

• Draft short, engaging job listings with images
• Link to your company’s website
• Highlight your company’s brand
• Respond to comments and questions made by potential suitable candidates.
• Advertise on many types of pages like veterinary job boards, groups, and professional networks.
• Ask your current veterinary staff to advocate for your clinic by sharing your posts and job listings on their personal social pages.

To get the greatest visibility, have a presence on various social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and YouTube. Ensure your profile, ads, and listings accurately reflect your clinic’s dedicated passion for animals, mission, and culture so, candidates know who you are and what you stand for when scrolling through their feed.

5. Ask your staff for referrals

The last method you can add to your recruiting strategy is an employee referral program. An employee referral program encourages (and sometimes incentivizes) current staff members to refer top candidates to open job posts. While these programs aren’t new, they’re growing in popularity. As of now, 84% of companies have employee referral programs⁶.

Unlike other recruiting efforts, referred candidates are usually people your employees know personally, like former teammates, friends, or family members. Due to their efficiency, referral programs are one of the most effective recruiting strategies. In fact, referral hires are 40% more likely to remain with a company for longer than one year than non-referral hires⁶.

Asking your employees to help you attract qualified candidates has many benefits. It saves you time and money in your hiring process, introduces you to job seekers you may have yet to encounter using other sources, and increases overall retention and loyalty. In essence, you don’t know who your employees know. So, don’t be afraid to utilize their knowledge to help you grow your business and build the perfect team.

Conclusion

Recruiting qualified veterinary professionals can be challenging and time-consuming. Still, it’s essential to ensure the longevity and success of your clinic. By using effective recruiting strategies, such as drafting a proper job description, leveraging social media, and securing referrals from current staff members, you’ll be on your way to hiring an experienced team with the skills they need to care for their furry patients.

If you want to attract better job candidates with personalized employee benefits, PeopleKeep can help! Our HRA administration software makes it easy for veterinary practice owners to design and manage their health benefits in just a few minutes per month. Contact our benefits advisors today to learn how we can boost your compensation package.

This post was originally published on January 23, 2015. It was last updated on July 15, 2024.

1. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm

2. https://amerivet.com/blog/veterinary-compassion-fatigue/

3. https://www.aavmc.org/about-aavmc/faqs/#media

4. https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/how-many-people-use-social-media

5. https://www.careerarc.com/blog/employee-advocacy-social-media-survey/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=newswire&utm_campaign=employee-advocacy&utm_content=hp-survey-full-report

6. https://erinapp.com/blog/employee-referral-statistics-you-need-to-know-for-2023-infographic/#:~:text=84%25%20of%20companies%20use%20employee,year%20than%20non%2Dreferral%20hires