Vet Tech Resume Sample & Writing Guide

vet tech resume sample
Created by CakeResume

Veterinary technicians work in private clinics, animal hospitals, or research facilities to assist vets (animal doctors) in diagnosing, treating, and taking care of animals.  

It's required for veterinary technicians to attend specific training and obtain a license, as opposed to veterinary assistants who are not able to perform tests or administer medications. 

Veterinarian technician job responsibilities:

  • Provide animal care by determining animal needs.
  • Complete laboratory tests and studies and diagnostic imaging.
  • Administer medications, drugs, and vaccines.
  • Performs hydrotherapy and physical and inhalation therapies.
  • Conduct examinations and diagnostic procedures. 

If you ever dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, don't miss this article to learn how to land your job with a great vet technician resume. 

Adopt a well-fitted vet tech resume format

1. Which type of resume format should you select?

Commonly, you can choose among three types of resume format, which may vary depending on your professional level. 

  • Chronological resume format: 
    You need to list your work history in a timely-reversed order. Therefore, a chronological vet tech resume format would be great for professionals who have been in the field for a while. Both recruiters and job seekers prefer this format and find it easy to follow. 
    
  • Functional resume format:
    Another name for this format is a skill-based resume, which means your skills are emphasized rather than work experience. It is suitable for those with large job gaps or career changes, and/or fresh graduates working on a vet tech resume with no experience.  
    
  • Combinational resume format: 
    Both your skills and work experience are presented in this type of resume format. Hence, if you want to cover a lot of content in your vet technician resume at a senior level, or if your work experience isn’t comprehensive enough to make a chronological format, a combinational resume format is highly recommended. 

2. In which format should a vet tech resume be sent?

Many of you may wonder whether to submit your vet tech resume in Word or PDF.

Here's the answer!

If you're required to send a Word doc file, go ahead. If not, go for a vet tech resume in pdf format, for the following reasons:

  • The original format of your file can remain unchanged (e.g., margins, letter font, and size).
  • The file can be opened on any device and/or operating system.
  • Nobody can edit your veterinary tech resume.

3. Tips to write a vet tech resume for freshers

  • Advice 1:
    
    Use skill-based (functional) resume format to draw the employer's attention towards your skills instead of work experience. In your vet tech resume with no experience or entry-level vet tech resume, the education section should be placed before work experience with extra details such as academic awards and GPA. 
    
  • Advice 2:
    Adopt an impressive objective statement to state your career goals, passion for work, promoting yourself as a potential candidate.
    For example:
    Seeking a veterinary technician position to utilize knowledge in a variety of medical and behavior techniques in animal treatment.
    
  • Advice 3:
    Refer to online veterinary technician resume examples to learn about the writing resume guidelines and critical mistakes to avoid.  

8 key sections to include in a veterinary tech resume

1. Resume Profile (Personal Information)

Personal information in a veterinary technician resume should provide your full name, email, phone number, and address (home or desired work location).

As the first introduction that you present to the hiring manager, make sure you write it accurately and professionally. 

However, avoid these details that are not helpful and might lead to discrimination. 

2. Resume Headline

A resume headline is one short statement that labels yourself.

A well-phrased vet tech resume headline can demonstrate your expertise and briefly present your key skills, from which the reader can evaluate you at first glance.

Example:
Compassionate Veterinary Technician with 10+ years of experience working in public animal hospitals. 

3. Resume Summary

A vet technician resume summary is commonly placed at the top of the resume, summarizing your career experience with the most outstanding achievements and key skills needed for the vet tech job.

Don't stuff too much information in this part - keep it within 3-4 sentences.

Example:

Caring and patient Veterinary Technician offering 5 years working in a high-tensioned and busy veterinary clinic in NYC. Key skills include administered critical care, animal vaccinations, preventative animal care, and lab tests. Proven track record for assistance in 350+ spay and neuter surgeries, and the re-operate of care rooms to boost customer satisfaction. 

4. Resume Objective

A vet tech resume objective demonstrates your career goals and the value you want to contribute to the organization.

It is especially suitable for entry-level vet technicians who are looking to land their first job.

An outdated objective statement goes like this:

  • “Seeking the ABC position at company XYZ.” 

 Example of a professional veterinary technician resume objective: 

  • “ Eager to work as a veterinary technician at Houston Pet Hospital to provide the best care for dogs and cats". 

Further reading: How to write a good objective statement for a resume?

5. Skills

Key qualifications seen on most vet tech resume examples should consist of both hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are teachable abilities or techniques that you can learn through training materials or on the job. Soft skills are harder to quantify, relating to how you act and behave at the workplace. 

Example skills to put on a vet tech resume:

Soft skills
Compassion
Highly engaging 
Teamwork
Patience
Communication skills
Hard skills
Administered critical care
Taking and developing x-rays 
Animal vaccinations
Preventative animal care
Record keeping

6. Work Experience

Now let's move to the most important part of a veterinary tech resume - work experience!

Note the following to write this part professionally:

  • Stick to the standard format:
    • Job title
    • Employer name
    • Employment date
    • Job responsibilities and quantifiable achievements
  • Utilize bullet points to make it easy-to-read
  • Use short statements with action verbs, especially keywords from the job description.

Example of work experience in a vet tech resume:

Veterinary Technician
MedVet Columbus, OH
10/2013 - 2/2016

  • Handled the surgery and any other major care needed for animals. 
  • Communicated with clients for the vets on care regarding the conditions and treatment plans.
  • Performed necessary receptionist work, including obtaining animals’ health histories and records, updating client information, and organizing files. 


7. Education

To obtain employment as a veterinary technician, you need to complete a two-year Veterinary Medical Association (VMA) accredited program from a community college, college, or university. 

Make sure to list this section in the necessary information to show the employer that you have a relevant educational background: 

  • School name
  • Type of degree 
  • Year of graduation

Example of education on a vet tech resume: 

Associates Degree in Veterinary Science
Texas A&M, TX
9/2019 - 2/2012

8. Additional Information 

It would be an extra point if you can showcase additional information in your vet technician resume such as:

  • Lab and clinical work with live animals
  • Volunteer work at a rescue shelter

📝  In particular, you will need a license or certification to work as a veterinary technician, so don't forget to include your certificates in the resume!

5 tips for a job-winning vet technician resume

Tailor the vet tech resume to the job.

This way you can optimize your vet tech resume for the ATS (Applicant Tracking Software)—la tool used to automatically review and scan application documents before forwarding them to employers.

Also, the recruiters can see whether you pass the job requirements and fit the vacancy.

Quantify your achievements.

When it comes to resumes, numbers can speak louder than text. Hence, try to quantify what you've achieved in the past jobs to make your vet tech resume more compelling and stand out among other applicants.

Example for an emergency veterinary technician resume

“Conducted daily rounds to observe and report the condition of animals to vets, dealing with an average of 15 emergency cases on a weekly basis.”

Show your love for animals.

For the jobs involving animal care, the hiring manager expects to see your love and compassion for animals. Don't hesitate to express that in your vet tech resume.

Proofread your veterinary tech resume

Last but not least, spend just a few minutes proofreading your vet tech resume for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and proper word usage. Typos, bad grammar, or even incorrect punctuation can all sink your chance of landing your dream job.

Create your own vet tech resume template

Unless you're working in the creative industries, it's recommended that you use pre-made resume templates to create your own one.

Vet tech resume templates offer you a “no-clutter” approach to resume writing. You don't need to worry about formatting, layout, ATS optimization, etc. 

For both fresh graduates and experienced professionals, you can easily find great vet tech resume samples and templates on Microsoft Word and online resume builders like CakeResume. These tools are free and user-friendly. All you need to do is select the template you prefer and then simply fill in the text.

Let's put what you've learned from the article into practice and start making an attractive vet tech resume! You can share your resume online or download it as a PDF file for free.

Veterinary technician resume sample 

Hale Whiskey

Licensed Veterinary Technician with 7 years of experience working in animal hospital

Phone: (+860)-119-1265
Address: Caldwell, NJ

Summary

Professional and dedicated Veterinary Technician with a proven track record for calm and gentle handling of 20+ pets on a daily basis. Adept at providing effective care at small-animal and large-animals hospitals, including diagnosing medical issues, assisting with operations, and safely administering vaccinations. 


Work Experience

Veterinary Technician
Perishing Animal Hospital, IL

5/2018 - 2/2021

  • Performed physical examinations for small to medium-sized animals like rabbits, cats, fishes, and dogs. 
  • Provided daily care to all animals when assigned, including calculating drug doses, collecting lab samples, and reviewing the results.
  • Proposed a plan to redesign the examination room to improve client and animal care, obtaining 100% approval from the hospital leaderboard.

Veterinary Technician
MedVet Chicago, IL

11/2014 - 3/2017

  • Took care of large animals such as horses, cows, and sheep.
  • Worked closely with supervising veterinarians to identify nutrient needs of animals, diagnose medical issues, and then develop treatment plans. 
  • Communicated with animal owners regarding medical issues and proper treatment plans. 
  • Assisted with surgical procedures in 300+ spay and neuter surgeries.

Skills

Soft skills
Teamwork
Patience
Communication skills
Organization skills
Attention to detail
Hard skills
Anesthetics
Grooming
Laboratory assessment
Surgical assistance
Pet owner education 

Education

  • Associates Degree in Veterinary Science
    New Jersey City University, NJ

Class of 2014

Certification

New Jersey State Veterinary Technician License


--- Originally written by May Luong ---

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