So you’re looking for Locums to match the skill gap you have and you’re consistently reviewing CVs to ensure you get the best match for your practice; what should you look for?
First things first, look for a CV to be written, grammatically correct and, above all, a concise display of the applicant’s skills. If an applicant can’t take the time to proof read their own CV, what are the chances that they’ll take more care over less personal work? It is important to emphasise that this is just as important for the Locum market as for Permanent Veterinary Jobs.
The basics:
• The first page should display all of the information relevant to the applicant’s current situation – their contact details, any qualification(s) with their respective dates and their most recent employment. Whilst their contact details will give their current location, check if they’ve specified a willingness to relocate or if they are available to work in a new place. They may even state how far they would be happy to commute.
• An introductory profile paragraph is a good start to a CV, but make sure they’ve kept it relevant – what type of vet/vet nurse are they? Do they have any clinical interests or special expertise that will benefit your practice in particular?
• Read carefully through their list of previous employments. Employment information is the part of the CV on which you should spend the most time. Try to track how each role has expanded their expertise and skills and, however impressive their list of previous employments may be, make sure they’re a good fit for your vacancy. Do their profile and employment history give a positive initial impression of what they could bring to your practice?
• After their employment history, search their additional information for any relevant CPD. Check that the most recent couple of years illustrate compliance with the minimums required as part of RCVS membership, as more and more clinics are asking to see recent CPD record.
And, finally, a few specifics:
If you’re looking to fill a vet job vacancy – are they a GP/first opinion vet? Do they have valuable referral experience? Check their medical or surgical bias and also their experience with ultrasound and X-ray technology, medical procedures like endoscopy, basic or more advanced orthopaedics or emergency work.
Nurses – check their experience in areas such as nurse consults, inpatient care, emergency work, dentals, specialist clinics, practice marketing, community visits, first opinion and/or referral work, roadshows, insurance work, lab work and theatre work. Quite often, you’ll read a lot of CVs with very similar work experience and past employment record. The things that should set people apart in these cases are the ideas the CV creates about the applicant’s professionalism, passion for the industry and ambition to move up through the vocation. These are the applicants that you should take to interview, to assess their personality, communication skills and can-do attitude.