Veterinary Technician Resume: Examples and Tips
Veterinary technicians assist in providing care to unwell or injured animals, handling routine checkups as well as emergency nursing under a veterinarian’s guidance. Tasks for this job include health checks, laboratory tests, and assisting during surgeries.
To create a resume that tells employers you’re the right choice for a veterinary technician position, use these expert resume tips and examples.
Table of Contents
Featured resume example: veterinary technician
Name: ANDY JONES
Address: City, State, Zip Code
Phone: 000-000-0000
E-Mail: email@email.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Highly successful Veterinary Technician with significant expertise in anesthesia, surgery, and pathology in large animals. Proven history of building strong rapport with owners to provide seamless pet care and foster exceptional service.
WORK HISTORY
Veterinary Technician
08/2016 to Current
Company Name, City, State
- Collected specimens from patients for laboratory analysis for parasites, blood analysis and culture.
- Prepared surgical instrument packs and drapes for use in sterile environments by processing in autoclave under high pressure and high temperature conditions.
- Conducted preliminary patient workups including gathering patient history information, description of symptoms from owner, and documenting presenting condition.
Veterinary Technician
08/2013 to 07/2015
Company Name, City, State
- Triaged incoming patients to determine treatment needs and urgency of care.
- Greeted pet owners and performed intakes to go over array of available services, outline costs and determine special needs of animal while in care.
- Performed dental extractions with no periosteal elevation, no tooth resectioning, and no bone resectioning.
Veterinary Receptionist
03/2008 to 12/2012
Company Name, City, State
- Cleaned and disinfected exam areas, equipment and kennels to prevent spread of disease, control odors and maintain healthy environment.
- Answered owners’ animal health questions and educated on healthy animal care practices.
- Maintained office and waiting room, keeping common areas clean and tidy
SKILLS
- Oral and topical medication administration
- Nail trimming
- Veterinary office administration
- Medication administration
- Lab operations
- Safety and compliance
- Surgical procedures and support
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science : Veterinary Medicine (Pre-Veterinarian)
City, State
Top 4 characteristics of a best-in-class veterinary technician resume
- Summary Use a few short sentences to explain your top experiences and skills, featuring abilities that are key for veterinary work, such as knowledge of animal behavior and physiology, pre- and post-op care, and administrative expertise. For example: “Efficient veterinary technician experienced in performing diagnostic tests and X-rays. Provides compassionate care for pets of all types.”
- Skills Feature skills that fit what the description of your potential job calls for. Your skills can be separated into two categories: professional skills (e.g., “surgical procedures” or “administering medications, vaccines and treatments”) and soft skills, such as “reliability,” “attention to detail,” “team player,” or “excellent communication skills.”
- Work History Put the focus on top work responsibilities and accomplishments, rather than everyday tasks. For example: “Dispensed pharmaceuticals and managed laboratory procedures for 50+ patients a week,” or “Maintained 500+ client records, regularly communicating with clients regarding treatment plans and appointments.”
- Education Include your highest academic credential (e.g., high school diploma or college degree), as well as any advanced training or courses you’ve had in areas such as veterinary technology (e.g., a Veterinary Technology certification or associate degree).
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Find the right template for your resume
Give your resume a polished look to match your polished content by using one of these professionally designed templates:
Original
This four-quadrant design sets your resume apart from more standard black-and-white layouts, while still making it easy for employers to scan your information.
Qualified
This layout has a more streamlined look, conveying a feeling of competence and efficiency. Section headings are placed in the left margin for quick navigation.
Insightful
The large, elegant font for the job seeker’s name makes a strong statement. This template can be easily customized to emphasize your work history or skills.
Choose from even more designs in our resume templates section.
Do’s and don’ts for your resume
- DO feature plenty of soft skills. Though it’s important to feature practical skills, your soft skills — the personal traits that tell employers how well you interact with others and approach work — are just as important. Feature abilities such as time management, ability to learn quickly, a problem-solving approach and attention to detail in your skills section, and show how you use them in your work accomplishments. For more in-demand soft skills, see our Top Resume Skills page.
- DO make sure your resume isn’t too long. On average, employers take less than 10 seconds to skim a resume. Follow these tips to create a concise, to-the-point resume:
• Highlight only your last 10 years of work history.
• Avoid trying to cram text in by reducing your font size or margins — instead, use punchy bullet points and phrases that aren’t more than one-line long.
• Eliminate all information that doesn’t directly relate to the position you want — don’t go into all your tasks from previous jobs. - DO review your resume before sending it in. Veterinary work requires precision — make sure your resume is also precise. Re-read your document a few times before you send it in, and confirm that it’s clear of spelling or grammatical errors. Double-check your skills and work history sections, making sure they fit with the job you’re applying to. If you use our Resume Builder, our built-in tools can review your resume for you.
- DON’T use passive language to describe your achievements. When writing your resume, avoid using wishy-washy phrases like “was responsible for” and “tasked with” to describe your work achievements. Instead, use energetic action verbs such as “managed,” “oversaw,” “implemented,” “coordinated,” or “performed.” It’s better to write “Performed diagnostic tests on 20 animals per day” than “Tasked with running diagnostic tests on 20 animals per day.”
- DON’T forget to use the right keywords. Employers will give a thumbs-up to resumes that have the right keywords. Take note of terms and phrases used in the job description that describe prime requirements for the role, such as “triage urgent cases” or “self-starter qualities.” Come up with skills and experiences of your own that fit these keywords, and use them throughout your resume. For example, you could list “self-starter” as a soft skill, or feature a previous work responsibility involving triage care. Visit our page How to Use Keywords Effectively for more tips.
- DON’T forget to quantify your accomplishments and achievements. Saying you’re good at something is one thing — showing just how well you’re good at it is better. Apply numbers to your work experiences and accomplishments, to give them the right context. For instance, instead of saying “Tended to medical care of large dogs and feral cats,” quantify the statement: “Tended to medical care of 30+ large dogs and feral cats each day.”
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