By Greg Doss, Senior Director of Recruiting, AmeriVet Veterinary Partners

As the demand for veterinary care continues to grow, so does the need for qualified, professional, and passionate veterinarians. With the number of new graduates increasing each year, it's more important now than ever for veterinary practices to have an effective recruitment strategy for hiring top talent. There are several ways to recruit, but not all methods are equal. Skills are important, but candidates who demonstrate a genuine passion for animals and the animal care industry are critical to the continued success of your practice. Outlined below are a few tips to consider when recruiting for your veterinary practice. 

How to Get Started: The Initial Recruiting Process 

Hiring teams should note that candidates are researching your practice just as much as you are researching them. Many candidates have a vision of their career, and your digital brand can attract or repel candidates. When recruiting, the first order of business is to make sure your digital paw-print is buttoned up and accurately and attractively represents your practice. Much like new clients, candidates will also flock to caring and sincere practices demonstrating the highest ethical standards in veterinary care.  

Your ads and overall online presence (website, social media, reputation scores) should be as unique as the personality of your practice. For example, one veterinary practice asked candidates about their sense of humor to capture attention in their job posting. This was a unique approach as the staff wanted to hire someone with the right skills and a personality aligned with their culture. 

Industry-related job boards are a great place to start. If your hiring team feels they aren’t receiving a volume of responses or reaching quality candidates, you can broaden the search scope to include other platforms. 

Make the Application Process Seamless and Efficient 

Many online recruitment programs can be redundant, so you want to make the application process as simple and effective as possible. Not only does redundancy show disorganization, but it also demonstrates that your practice didn’t conduct its due diligence. The application process shouldn’t take more than five minutes; it should be quick and easy, yet informative and meaningful. If your application in-take system asks for an applicant to upload a resume, then requires them to fill out the same information regarding things like work history, you may dissuade qualified candidates from submitting their applications for the open position. At AmeriVet, I challenge my recruitment team to walk through the process for themselves and always look for ways to strengthen it.  

The Dream Recruiting Scenario is Achievable 

One of the best scenarios when recruiting for your practice is working with a veterinary partner. A veterinary partner like AmeriVet provides best-in-class resources to help grow your veterinary practice in all practice management areas, including recruitment.  

Working with a team of experts will help you identify top talent for your veterinary practice, so you as the veterinarian can focus on caring for the animals. A true veterinary partner will consider the needs of your unique practice and the type of role you are looking to fill when making their recommendations. They will also take into account the types of personalities that would be the best fit for your practice’s dynamic workforce. At AmeriVet, we also help with the entire onboarding process, ensuring that new hires are set up for success in their new roles.  

If you are fed up with recruiting efforts that fall short, it may be time to consider connecting with a veterinary partner who can help you achieve your hiring goals. 

Greg Doss, SHRM-SCP, serves as Senior Director of Recruiting at AmeriVet Veterinary Partners. He joined the company in 2020, bringing with him over 20 years of recruitment experience. Greg leads a team of 14 full time recruiters, who work tirelessly to ensure consistent support for AmeriVet’s partner practices.