How To Write a Veterinary Assistant Resume (With Example)

A veterinary assistant helps veterinarians and vet techs as they complete their tasks and offer care to animals. This role can involve completing various tasks to make an impact on the health of animals. Learning more about how to apply for this role, including how to write an effective resume, can help you prepare to begin an impactful career in animal health. In this article, we define the position of a veterinary assistant, describe how to write a veterinary assistant resume in seven steps and provide a resume template and example to help you enhance your application for a meaningful role. Key takeaways:

To create an effective veterinary assistant resume, start with a header that details your contact information, then write a professional summary that outlines your qualifications.
When listing work experience, list two or three relevant roles using strong, actionable verbs and specific quantifiable information to describe your duties.
Highlight three to four key skills, include education credentials and additional qualifications and proofread the resume so that it is professionally written and error-free.

What is a veterinary assistant?

Veterinary assistants are animal care professionals who help veterinarians or veterinary techs complete their work to ensure proper animal health. A vet assistant can restrain and monitor animals during procedures, give medications or first aid, clean cages and bathe or exercise animals when necessary. In some cases, vet assistants may also complete basic lab procedures like drawing blood or collecting urine samples under supervision. These professionals often work in a veterinary office setting. Related: Learn About Being a Veterinary Assistant

How to write a veterinary assistant resume

Here are seven steps you can follow to create an effective veterinary assistant resume:

1. Create an effective header

At the top of your resume, you can include a header that details your contact information. Consider using your full name, phone number, professional email address, location and professional website. By placing this section at the top of your document, you can make it easier for a hiring manager to contact you with questions or an interview request. This can demonstrate your respect for their time and resources. Related: Salary and Responsibilities of a Vet Assistant

2. Write a professional summary

After your header, you can include a professional summary. This one-to-three sentence statement can briefly describe the qualifications that you feel are most impressive and relevant to your new role. This can include information about your skills, education and professional experience or achievements. You can also mention what you're looking for in a new role. Related: How To Become a Vet Assistant

3. Include work experience

Next, you can describe your work experience. Consider listing two or three relevant positions you've held. When you do, you can begin with your most recent role and work backward. Each entry can also include your position title, start and end dates, company name and location. If you're just beginning your career, you can include any volunteer roles or internships. For each entry, you can also include a few brief bullet points that describe your duties and the impacts you made. As you add this information, consider using strong, actionable verbs like "assisted" or "operated." You can also include specific, quantifiable information about your roles like the number of animals you cared for per week. Before writing this section, you can look over the job description and try to reflect the most relevant requirements within your experience descriptions. Related: Vet Tech vs. Vet Assistant: What's the Difference?

4. List skills

You can also briefly list some relevant skills. Consider including three or four skills that you've gained throughout your career and training. This can include hard, industry-specific skills like blood drawing or soft, general skills like collaboration and patience. If there are any job requirements you haven't yet mentioned in your resume, you can include them in your skills section.

5. Add your education credentials

With your education section, you can describe any formal training or degrees you've received. Many vet assistants may hold at least an associate's degree in a field like veterinary science or biology. If you've met or exceeded this requirement, you can include your qualification. As you list your degrees, you can add the degree name, institution and graduation year if you finished your degree within the last three years. Like with your professional experience section, you can begin with your most recent degree and work backward if you have more than one. Related: How Long Does It Take To Become a Veterinary Assistant?

6. Employ a section for additional information

Near the end of your resume, you can include an optional section that details any additional qualifications you have. This can include relevant certifications or volunteer experiences, if relevant. As you complete this section, you can include bullet points listing the names of your certifications or experiences and the dates you completed them.

7. Proofread

Before sending your resume, consider proofreading it to ensure that your document is professional and error-free. Some methods you can use to proofread include printing it out and marking any errors, reading it out loud to hear how it sounds or asking a friend or family member for feedback. Checking your resume before sending can also help you accurately and effectively portray your qualifications. Related: 27 Proofreading Tips That Will Improve Your Resume

Veterinary assistant resume template

Here's a template you can use as you write a veterinary assistant resume: [Full Name]
[Phone number] | [Professional email address] | [City, State] | [Professional website] Professional Summary [Brief summary that mentions your most relevant skills, work experiences and career achievements] Work Experience [Job Title], [Start date–End date]
[Company Name], [Location]

[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]
[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]
[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]

[Job Title], [Start date–End date]
[Company Name], [Location]

[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]
[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]
[Strong verb] + [job duty] + [impact]

Skills [Relevant skill] | [Relevant skill] | [Relevant skill] | [Relevant skill] Education [Degree earned]
[Institution name], [Graduation year if you graduated within the past three years] Certifications

[Certification, with date received/renewed]
[Certification, with date received/renewed]

Veterinary assistant resume example

Look over this sample veterinary assistant resume before creating your own: Susie Jacobs
123-555-7826 | sjacobs@gmail.com | New Orleans, LA | sjacobs@profile.jobsite.com Professional Summary Certified veterinary assistant with over three years of experience. Passionate about providing quality assistance during operations and procedures in emergency and non-emergency settings. Skilled in animal care and comfort. Work Experience Veterinary Assistant, March 2021–March 2022
Lincoln Veterinary Services, New Orleans, LA

Assisted veterinarians in up to five procedures per day
Performed surgical operations like drawing blood and taking urine samples
Comforted and cared for animals before, during and after procedures

Veterinary Assistant, January 2019–March 2021
Lake Street Pet Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA

Provided assistance during emergency veterinary procedures
Cleaned and prepared surgery stations to allow for safe, efficient and delay-free operations.
Worked with and assisted animal care teams of up to eight doctors, techs and assistants.

Skills Procedural operations | Hygiene and safety | Teamwork | Problem-solving Education Bachelor's of Science in biology
State University of Louisiana Certifications

Veterinary Assistant Certification, 2020
Certified Animal Welfare Provider, 2019