Increasing Your Employment Prospects

Partners for Healthy Pets is an alliance of more than 20 leading veterinary associations and animal health companies committed to a vision of improved overall health for pets. As SAVMA is an associate member, The Vet Gazette will be regularly posting updates. Visit thier website to learn more!

Part 1: Internet Marketing and Social Media Skills

You’ve read the reports: more and more colleges of veterinary medicine are increasing class size, more schools have recently been accredited by AVMA, there is excess capacity in the veterinary care delivery system, and pet owner visits are declining. There are still good job opportunities available but let’s face it – each year approximately 1,500 veterinarians, comprised of new graduates and recent graduates completing a one year internship, are entering the companion animal private practice job market. Approximately 500 more seek positions in other types of private practice. The bottom line is that there is a lot of competition for the best jobs, especially if you are limited in geographic locations.

Employers are looking for good clinical skills along with good communications and interpersonal skills. With the quality of education in veterinary colleges today, most of the 1,500 new entrants to the market have these skills. Given that, what else can you bring to a practice that will differentiate yourself from other applicants?

This article, from the Partners for Healthy Pets, is the first in a three part series aimed at introducing you to the tools and resources available here that you can use to increase your marketable skills and increase your odds of landing that perfect job. All the tools are available at no cost. The first tools we will review relate to internet marketing and social media.

The Practice Website

Most practices today have a website. However, most of them have lots of room for improvement relative to client appeal and effectiveness. In today’s world, the website has become the most important marketing tool available. Pet owners use the internet to find a veterinarian and then use the website to form an impression of the practice and to decide whether or not to call for an appointment. The first two modules in the internet marketing tool chest deal with crafting the message – the importance of the language and approach to use – and creating a website that is truly a “client-attracting machine.” The tools include examples and easy to follow, step by step instructions, on creating an effective website.

Use the tools to educate yourself on these important aspects of the practice website. Do your own evaluation of the website of the practice advertising a position. When you arrive for your interview, after you’ve established your clinical and communication skills, you can offer your services for suggesting improvements to the practice website. Of course, the practice may be proud of its existing website, but there are diplomatic ways of suggesting that you can improve the marketing appeal of the website and bring in new clients.

Search Engine Optimization

When you learn of a practice seeking a new veterinarian, type “veterinarians [name of town]” into a search engine and see if the practice is one of the first 3 that come up in the search. If not, you have just found another opportunity to offer a valuable skill. As you will learn in the SEO module in the tool chest, there are simple steps to ensure that the practice is accurately located on Google Maps. Further, nothing improves search as much as regular content. Think about offering your prospective employer a weekly or twice weekly blog that you write for the practice website. The blogs helps bond existing clients and significantly improve search engine listings.

Social Media

Did you find the familiar logos of Facebook and Twitter on the practices website? If not – or if there are very few Facebook “friends” or Tweets being sent out – you can add another skill set to your application! Many practice owners are perplexed by social media and are not taking advantage of its benefits. Or, they may have Facebook and Twitter accounts but have no idea how to maximize their use.

Reputation Management

Many veterinarians are aware that comments are being posted – both good and bad – about them on various review sites. Based on comments and questions from veterinarians during internet marketing seminars at conferences, most do not know how to track these comments and most seek help in how best to respond. Using the reputation management module, you can learn how to set up tracking mechanisms for the practice, so that as comments are posted they will come to your attention. You can also be the practice “expert” in crafting appropriate replies. This then becomes another skill to add to your application.

Summary

You have worked long and hard for your veterinary degree. It may be discouraging to have to think about learning additional skills to increase your job prospects. When you applied for veterinary school your GPA may have been the primary determinant of your acceptance but it is very likely that your other relevant experiences and your references gave you an additional edge. Similarly, learning new skills now might be just the additional edge that gets you that coveted new position. Use the tools at www.partnersforhealthypets.org to your advantage – and good luck in your search!

Comments

[Elliott Garber]

There's some great advice here. I think that all vet students and new grads should be thinking about how they can best present themselves in an appealing way to future employers. Look forward to hearing more.