Veterinarian Resume—Examples and 25+ Writing Tips

You help prevent and alleviate the suffering of animals and reassure the people who care for them. But you’re not alone in being a great vet and you’re certainly not alone in wanting great working conditions.

So, you’ll want to stand out from the crowd and be in a position to choose. Your veterinarian resume is your golden ticket.

In this guide:

• A veterinarian resume sample better than most.
• How to create the perfect veterinarian job descriptions for your resume.
• How to write a resume for veterinarian jobs that stands out.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing your dream job.

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Just getting started in veterinary science or medicine? Looking for work at a vet clinic but not as a vet? We’ve got these cases and more covered:

• Veterinary Technician Resume Examples
• Student Resume Examples
• College Application Resume Examples
• Medical School Resume Examples
• Internship Resume Examples
• Doctor CV Examples
• Resume for Graduate School Application
• Recent College Graduate Resume Examples
• Entry Level Resume Examples
• Resume with No Experience Examples
• Medical Assistant Resume Examples
• Paramedic / EMT Resume Examples
• New Grad Nursing (RN) Resume Examples
• Phlebotomist Resume Examples
• Nurse Resume Examples
• Research Assistant Resume Examples 
• Tutor Resume Examples
• Receptionist Resume Examples
• Office Assistant Resume Examples
• Caregiver Resume Examples
• Career Change Resume Examples 

Veterinarian Resume Sample

Now here’s how to write a veterinarian resume they’ll love:

1. Choose the Right Veterinarian Resume Format

Veterinary medicine is booming, but that doesn’t mean you can sit back and wait for the job offers to come rolling in.

Do your darnedest to get to the head of the pack—Make your resume format as clean and organized as an OR. Here’s how:

Veterinarian Resume Format

• Use the reverse-chronological resume format—it’s what’s expected for a veterinarian resume.
• Choose a professional resume font like a Noto or Arial in 11–12 pt.
• Use one-inch margins in your resumeand leave plenty of white space throughout.
• Stick to a one-page resumeif you can.Try not to go over two resume pages whatever you do.
• Start with these resume sections: Resume Header, Profile, Work Experience, Education, and Skills, and add extra sections to fill in what these don’t cover.

Expert Hint: PDF is far better than Microsoft’s *.docx format for stability and compatibility, no surprises there. Be mindful of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs), though, and always double check what the job ad requires. Since most companies use ATSs now, you should always write an ATS resume.

2. Write an Attention-Grabbing Veterinarian Resume Profile

Start your veterinarian resume with a compelling, nutshell account of your application. Do this with a resume profile.

Been practicing a while? Then a resume summary is what you want for your profile. Use:

1. One adjective (efficient, empathetic, effective)
2. Job title (Veterinarian)
3. Years of experience (5+, 9+)
4. How you’ll benefit your new employer (provide excellent patient care)
5. Two or three of your most impressive achievements (saved over 500 head of cattle through quick quarantine response)

These resume summary examples show how:

Veterinarian Resume Summary

Compassionate veterinarian with 6+ years’ experience, skilled in working with both companion animals and livestock. Seeking opportunity to leverage critical care and surgical experience in helping the Paws/Play Clinic offer the best possible patient outcomes. At the Kenyon Vet Clinic, secured $1,000+ per month in commissions while increasing companion-animal immunization rates by 34%.

Veterinarian with 6 years’ experience. Seeking opportunity to join a tight-knit team in a city-based clinic. At the Kenyon Vet Clinic, secured endorsement deal with pet-food and animal-feed suppliers and significantly increased local companion-animal immunization rates.

The main one is that the first example is focused on quantifying the benefits that were brought to the previous employer.

Still proudly glancing over at your freshly minted DVM? Write a resume objective instead and talk up achievements from your studies and volunteer work.

Veterinarian Resume Objective—Examples

Compassionate DVM graduate with 2+ years’ practical experience working with both companion animals and livestock. Seeking opportunity to leverage critical care specialization in helping the Paws/Play Clinic offer the best possible patient outcomes. Independently anesthetized over 120 animals and administered over 500 IV and IM injections.

Recent DVM graduate, no experience but fast learner. Looking for a clinic that can provide a wide range of experiences to fast-track progress.

Concrete, quantified, and focused on what you can do for your new employer, not the other way around.

Feel like a sheep on a cattle grate? Leave writing your resume profile until last: It’s much easier when you have your job descriptions and skills all written out in front of you. 

3. Create Winning Veterinarian Job Description and Skills Sections

You’ve probably already noticed, but nothing is as convincing as being able to say: “I’ve done this before, and it was a roaring success.” Make your resume work history a catalog of such successes.

How to write resume job descriptions for a veterinarian:

1. Go back over the job ad.
2. Zero in on any skills and duties mentioned there.
3. Think of times you’ve demonstrated those skills and floored employers.
4. Write resume bullet points that showcase and quantify these achievements.

These veterinarian resume examples show how:

Veterinarian Resume Job Description

Veterinarian

Kenyon Vet Clinic, MN

December 2018–present

• Increased immunization rates for companion animals by 34% through an informal information campaign.
• Maintained high customer satisfaction rates leading to a 17% increase in revenue for the clinic.
• Performed 6–8 minor surgeries per day with fewer than five cases of serious complications over a 20-month period.
• Negotiated contract with three local pet-food and animal-feed producers, bringing in $1,000+ per month in commissions.

Veterinarian

Kenyon Vet Clinic, MN

2018–present

• Increased immunization rates for companion animals through local information campaign.
• Maintained high customer satisfaction rates.
• Performed many minor surgeries each day with very few cases of serious complications.
• Negotiated endorsement contract with local pet-food and animal-feed producers.

Both examples manage to get the use of resume power words right, but the second one is vague and a little “meh” all round.

There’s something else you’ll need: A resume skills section. However, you’ll need to be very selective when adding skills here. It’s neither a free-for-all nor a test of your online search skills. Cover what the job ad requires and not much more besides. This is one way to target your resume.

Veterinarian Resume Skills List

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4. Turn Education From Just a Formality into a Reason to Hire You

Becoming a vet wasn’t easy. Do all that effort justice by attending to your resume education section. List degrees (with majors), schools, and years attended.

Then add bullet points that point to an amazing vet in the making. This veterinarian resume example shows how:

Veterinarian Resume Example—Education Section

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

Missouri University, St Louis, MO

2011–2015

• Specialized in critical care.
• Won the Dr Alfred Langer Volunteerism Award, 2015

BS in Animal Sciences

Missouri University, St Louis, MO

2008–2011

• Pursued a passion for behavioral science coursework.
• Maintained a 3.96 GPA.

Short on work experience?  Add bullet points with projects, courses, and accomplishments. As long as it demonstrates veterinary skills, it’s fair game.

5. Inject Your Veterinarian Resume With Added Sections

There’s a lot to being a vet and a lot that doesn’t fit into categories like experience, education, and skills. So take the bull by the horns, and add one or two extra resume sections:

• Additional Activities
• Publications
• Foreign Languages
• Courses
• Awards
• List of Hobbies and Interests
• Volunteering
• Certifications
• Professional References

These two veterinarian resume examples show yes vs no:

Veterinarian Resume Examples—Added Sections

Certifications

• Licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Missouri and Minnesota
• First Aid, CPR, and AED, American Red Cross

Professional Affiliations

• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association
• International Association of Equine Dentistry (IAED)

Certifications

• Licensure MN & MO
• First Aid, etc.

Hobbies

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV series, not the movie)
• Deer hunting
• Building scale (1:1.1) models of vintage radios

There’s one golden rule at play here: Everything you add has to be directly and obviously relevant to the job ad at hand.

Nearly there—You just need to write a cover letter to go with your veterinarian resume. Not doing so can and often does lead to resumes being turfed unread.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

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Key Points

For a veterinarian resume that gets interviews:

• Use the veterinarian resume template up top—it represents an evidence-based approach to resume-writing.
• Put veterinarian achievementsin your resume profile, work experience, and education sections to back up your claims.
• Be selective when it comes to adding veterinary skills. The job ad will let you know what’s relevant.
• Write a veterinarian cover letter. It’s not just an opportunity to make your case, it’s more often than not a requirement.

Still got some questions scratching at the back door to your mind? Writing a veterinarian resume isn’t easy—drop us a line down below and we’ll see what we can do to help.

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