Writing a CV can be hard and it’s important to know the specifics that employers in your sector will be looking for. We look at how to write a successful veterinary CV, including the different sections you need and some tips and tricks to make it stand out.
What is included in a veterinary CV?
Name and contact information
It’s important to include your contact details at the top of your CV, including name, address, phone number and email address. This is standard practice.
A personal profile
Your personal profile should be a brief summary of you as a professional. This should only be one paragraph but outline where you are in your career, your key skills and areas of expertise and what you are currently looking for. You can think of it as being the highlights of your CV, so it’s best to write this last.
Your previous work experience
Underneath your personal profile, you need a section outlining your work experience. The length of this will vary depending on your years in the veterinary industry but should be accurate and specific. Outline the key responsibilities and achievements for each role.
This is an important section for potential employers as it helps them understand your experience in key areas of veterinary medicine. However, if you are a recent graduate, you can go into more detail in your volunteering section.
Any relevant volunteering experience
If you are a recent graduate or fairly early on in your career, your volunteering and unpaid work experience will be an instrumental part of your veterinary CV to demonstrate your suitability for the role.
As veterinary medicine is a competitive industry, it will be important to highlight your experience as much as you can to show that you are a hard worker and dedicated to animal care.
Your education
Every CV needs to include an overview of your formal education – this is particularly true of a veterinary surgeon job as you will need a degree in veterinary science.
Any other relevant qualifications or courses
As well as your formal education at school, college and university, you can also include a section to outline any other relevant qualifications or courses. This will demonstrate your self-directed study and passion for learning.
You key skills
You will also need a section in your veterinary CV to highlight key skills. These will be any technical skills relevant to being a veterinarian, as well as computer skills, language skills and soft skills.
Your hobbies and interests
As well as showing your professionalism in your veterinarian CV, it’s also important to demonstrate your personality. This is where your hobbies and interests section comes in! Be honest here and don’t include too many – just your main ones. Relevant interests are also welcome, such as an interest in animal welfare groups.
Your references
The final section in your CV will be your references – these are the people your prospective employer can contact to testify about your character, skills and abilities.
How to make your veterinary CV stand out
The above is what the outline of your CV will look like, but we’ve also put together some tips and tricks to make sure you come across as a strong candidate:
- Tailor your CV to each role you apply for – employers will receive many generic CVs so make sure that you tell them why you specifically want to work for them.
- Demonstrate your love for animals – this is a key part of the job, so your passion for animals should come across, as well as your professionalism.
- Show you understand the commercial side of veterinary medicine – a veterinary practice is a business, so a CV that discusses client relationships and how you helped a business grow or evolve previously will be beneficial.
- Stay in tune with industry updates – it’s important to demonstrate you are knowledgable and engaged in personal development, so read journals and news updates and mention anything relevant that interests you.
We hope this blog on how to write a veterinary CV has been useful. If you have any further questions, you can view our services, get in touch with our friendly team of veterinary recruiters or feel free to browse our available job listings.