Veterinary Assistant Resume: Step by Step Guide & Free Sample

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As a Veterinary Assistant, you love to help animals and make sure they make a proper recovery. Now it’s time to let us help you get your resume where it needs to be to impress anyone at a veterinary clinic. Use our resume templates and get hired in no time.

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As a vet assistant, one plays a crucial role in ensuring people’s pets are as healthy as can be, and that the veterinary’s job has been conducted to perfection.

The first step to becoming a vet’s assistant is writing a stellar resume. 

Writing your first veterinary assistant resume will probably seem complex at first.

Luckily, you’ve landed in the right place. Read on to learn how to write a resume for a veterinary assistant position and nail your job application process.    

A resume needs to combine the key aspects that present you as an ideal candidate for the position you applied for.

Here are the key things every great resume should include: 

• Contact details
• Summary /  Objective
• Past work experience
• Education
• Skills
• Additional achievements and qualifications 

To get an overall idea of what a veterinary assistant resume should look like, here is an example. 

Resume Example

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Suzanne Davis

[Veterinary Assistant]

[Los Angeles, California, 90001 | 323-635-8155 | davis.suzanne@randomemail.com]

>> Summary <<

Calm and experienced veterinary assistant with a vet assistant certification. Knowledge of animal pathology that includes immunology, surgical procedures, and disease surveillance. Looking forward to joining the team at Long Beach Animal Emergency to help save animal lives and provide the best possible care. 

>> Experience <<

Animal Care Assistant, Carson Animal Shelter

2017 – 2019

• Cleaning, exercising, and feeding animals
• Taking care of sick animals
• Checking for diseases and signs of injury
• Communication with veterinarians and visitors

Veterinary Assistant, Bloomfield Animal Hospital

2020 – 2022

• Provided routine, emergency, and preventative care
• Assisted veterinarians and lab work technicians
• Administered medication and vaccines
• Communicated with guardians and caregivers 

>> Education <<

Bloomington High School

Bloomington, California

Graduated in 2015

>> Skills <<

•  Animal pathology
•  Animal restrain
•  Lab work
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Attention to detail

>> Languages<<

• English – Native
• Spanish – Native

>> Certifications<<

Veterinary Assistant Program

California Healing Arts College | Carson, CA

2016

We recommend you pay attention to making your resume well-organized – easy to navigate and read. You don’t have to be a graphic designer to do this, you only need to see through the eyes of your potential employer.

Given the astounding number of resumes they receive, to catch the employer’s attention, you should simultaneously make an impression and provide them with a better reading experience.

Some ways to do this on your vet assistant resume are to have an easy-to-read font, a simple design, and a little bit of color.

If you are short on ideas, feel free to check out some of these resume templates to get inspired.

The resume format you choose needs to keep all information in a given order and consistent. The most popular resume formats you can choose from include:

• Reverse Chronological – Recommended for mid-level positions and higher, the reverse chronological format lists work experience from the latest position to the most recent one. It’s the most common format used and is a great option for emphasizing your experience. 
• Functional – Contrary to reverse chronological, a functional resume format highlights your skills instead of the job positions you held. It’s a great option for an entry-level vet assistant, especially if you have more experience volunteering than working. Think of it as the ideal resume for veterinary assistants with no experience.
• Combination – If you want to emphasize both your skills and your experience, a combination resume is a great choice. Also known as hybrid, this resume is a mix of the two formats we mentioned above. It is highly recommended for candidates who don’t have a rich education section but have hands-on experience and knowledge. 

While a resume summary is a brief description of your work experience, education, and skills, a resume objective is a short description of your ambitions. Think of the summary as answering the question of “Why are you qualified for this job?” and the objective as an answer to “Why do you want to work here?”

A good resume summary is key to winning the hearts of your potential employers. The formula for a perfect summary is keeping the content short, concise, and keyword-rich.  

We recommend writing a resume objective in cases where you want to expand your experience, learn from a team of experts, and contribute to the position with your own set of skills, although sometimes a limited experience. 

Veterinary Assistant Resume Objective Example

To create a resume objective, highlight the most important aspects of your knowledge and what makes you qualified for the job. List your academic qualifications, mention any relevant internships you’ve had, and outline your professional skills. Also, briefly explain your ambitions and list some of the key skills that make you competent for the job.  

It’s also helpful to keep the job listing in mind and adjust your text based on the criteria mentioned in the job description.

All in all, an objective should be no longer than 4-5 lines. 

Below is an example of what an objective should look like.

The objective above is concise, impersonal, and brief. It also has a professional tone. Contrary to that, the example below is too informal.

So, read on to discover what a veterinary assistant objective should not look like.

We hope you can see how enormously different these two examples of vet assistant objectives are. To summarize – your objective should be impersonal, professional, passionate, and provide relevant information.

Some employers, if looking for junior assistants, won’t look for too much relevant experience on your resume, they might be happy to show you the ropes. While others will emphasize its importance in the job posting.

In the second case, your employer will want to know which specific parts of the jobs you are ready to do – animal restraint, surgery prep, exams, etc.

If you already have experience in such specific areas, always mention them in your resume.
You can try the functional resume format and highlight your skills, but you can also include them as part of your work experience section in the reverse chronological format. 

In many job ads for junior positions, no experience is required. For these positions, candidates can use a functional resume format as they put an emphasis on skills and education. 

In addition, you can include other experience that is related to a vet assistant’s duties. This includes experience at rescue centers, farms, horse riding schools, etc.

It’s important to avoid mentioning experiences that are not relevant to the position you are applying for.  So, you don’t have to mention that you once worked as a waiter. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

For instance, if the vet assistant job listing describes that they are looking for people with great communication skills, you can list a work experience in customer service or a similar position. It’s a way of letting the employers know that you have relevant experience in one of their desired areas.

Veterinary Assistant Resume Examples: Experience

For describing your previous work positions, make sure to include the skills you learned there and the job tasks you performed. This is going to inform your potential employers about your range of knowledge and skill set.

However, don’t look at it as writing an essay. Instead, stay concise and brief. use industry terminology and active language to describe your experience. You can even use bullet points to make a better visual impact. Here is a good example:

Below is an example of how a veterinary assistant job description resume should not look like: 

The comparison of these two examples shows that words matter! Even though both talk about the same things, the first gives a much more professional and serious impression. It’s what employers are looking for because for them your approach to the job matters just as much as your experience.

Even though the position of a veterinary assistant doesn’t require a college diploma or certification in most states, you will have better chances with formal education listed in your education section.

However, this doesn’t mean that people won’t hire you if you don’t. At the end of the day, it’s all about presentation and what the employer is looking for in their future veterinary assistant. 

For instance, if you don’t have a college degree, you can always include a training program you have participated in or a related subject you have listened to in high school, like a dog breeding or animal farming course. 

You should also focus on your previous work experience and skill section. In this case, we recommend using the combination resume format. 

On the other hand, if you don’t have experience, boost your education section with things like projects, relevant coursework you completed, or awards you received.

Veterinary Assistant Resume Education Section

Whatever your background is, the education section should be just as professional as the rest. Add information that is relevant to employers. For instance, avoid listing your GPA if it is not impressive and mention the courses you participated in instead.

To give you a better idea below is an example of what a vet assistant education section should not look like.

The example above is unprofessional and basic. If you already have a strong education, make the most of it instead of skipping the college name, the degree obtained and the years of study – like seen here. 

To learn how to do it right, read the education part of this veterinary assistant resume sample.

Every job position requires certain skills and levels of knowledge. Because you are working with animals and people, as well as providing technical tasks, you need both hard and soft skills. Of course, not all vet assistants have all the required skills. But the more of them you have, the better chances you have at finding a job.

It’s important to avoid lying or overexaggerating your skills on your resume, as employers will quickly see how much you really know after hiring you. 

If you lack certain skills, you can always take on a few courses to develop further. This especially applies to applicants with no relevant work experience or education. 

Read on to discover the key veterinary assistant skills resumes should have:

The people who succeed are those who push the limits! Don’t be satisfied with a simple resume that contains only information about your education and experience – but aim for more details, information, and relevance. 

Use other sections to include all the things that make you special and truly stand out. This can be anything, from relevant hobbies and interests (horse riding) to an online course you completed about dog breeds and their needs.

Furthermore, internships at professional practices and volunteering with relevant organizations are also important aspects as they show you are ambitious and dedicated to your development, whether it’s personal or professional.

Veterinary Assistant Resume Sample Extra Sections

Take a piece of paper and write down all the things that added to your professional and personal development. This can also include courses on improving your time management skills, communication, MS Office, and so on. 

Then, add the institutions that organized the courses or the internships, alongside the program names and dates you participated.

To gain a better perspective, look at this example of an extra section on a vet assistant resume.

To know which mistakes to avoid, compare it to this vet assistant resume example:

Even though the candidate might have relevant knowledge and experience, the bullet points don’t align with that message. What they do is undermine the candidate’s qualities, making them look shallow and uninterested.

Writing a veterinary assistant resume can seem like a daunting task when you begin.
But everything becomes easier as you progress and figure out the concept.

To summarize:

• You should keep your resume impersonal and precise. But you can also include some information that represents your character (ex. Passionate for animal care, likes horse riding, with an interest in animal nutrition, etc.)
• In addition, adjust your resume to the job posting’s description. If the job is looking for a communicative vet assistant, mention experiences that have improved your communication skills (an online course, a customer service job position, volunteering, etc.).
• If you find constructing a resume from scratch daunting, you can always turn to a premade professional resume template.

As long as all relevant information is gathered in one place and showcased accordingly – based on your skills, experience, education, or all three combined – you will have a solid chance of earning a great position as a veterinary assistant!