Tips for Creating a Great Job Posting, Finding and Retaining Associate Veterinarians – Sponsored by Merck Animal Health

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AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Wrenn Calcutt who graduated from Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine in 2021.

This podcast is supported by Merck Animal Health and the Bovilis Vista Once SQ vaccine. To find out more information, visit this page.

Calcutt provides some guidance for veterinarians who are seeking new associates from the perspective of a student and a recent graduate looking for their next job. One thing that she discussed is the desire for millennials to have a job where they can make a difference and that is what she found attractive about food animal medicine. Veterinarians can learn from this and support and encourage students who do not have a farm animal or rural background but want to have a professional career in food animal medicine.

We discuss the job posting and details about what employers should include in a job posting such as where to post your job, what makes a good job description, providing a salary or salary range, and listing the benefits offered. The top three things Calcutt wants to see in a job posting are the species break-down the associate will see and cases seen, the number of doctors in the clinic and on-call schedule, and the salary and benefits spelled out clearly. She also encourages employers to reply promptly to an applicant and send an offer letter with details prior to the in-person interview so the potential associate can review it prior to arriving. We also discuss that after the job is accepted, employers should provide communication and a defined mentorship plan to improve the success of retention of the associate. Making sure that what was offered in the job is actually what the associate is doing on a day-to-day basis is an important part of job satisfaction.

AABP members can post available jobs for free at https://aabp.org/jobs/jobs/default.asp. Listing can be updated to reflect some of the tips available in this podcast!