Episode #136 – Valuable Work Habits for Animal Health and Veterinary Professionals
Yvette: Welcome to “The Animal Health Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, executive recruiter Stacy Pursell, founder and CEO of The VET Recruiter, provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary employers hire top talent, while helping animal health and veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
In today’s podcast episode, we’ll be talking about valuable work habits for Animal Health and Veterinary professionals. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello,Yvette. As always, I’m glad to be here.
Yvette: Stacy, where would you like to start with today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: I’d like to start by saying this is an important topic because everyone in the marketplace is looking for an edge. I’ve said this before, but even though the economy is good and we’re in a candidates’ job market, that does not mean there is no competition for the employment opportunities that exist. It doesn’t matter how good the economy is or how much of a candidates’ job market it is. There will always be competition, and since there will always be competition, job seekers and candidates will always look for some kind of an edge.
Yvette: And the work habits that we’re going to discuss today, those represent one such edge?
Stacy: Yes, that’s correct. Experience is one thing and skills are one thing, but work habits are another. Yes, employers want to hire people with the right experience and the right skills. However, they do not want to hire people who have the right experience and skills, but the wrong work habits or work ethic.
Yvette: So if a hiring manager at an animal health company or a veterinary practice owner or manager thinks that you have poor work habits or a poor work ethic, they won’t hire you, no matter how much experience or how many skills you have. Is that right Stacy?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. Work habits are highly important to employers, and that’s why we’re talking about them today. And the first habit I want to discuss is being able to manage yourself.
Yvette: You mean manage yourself and not manage other people?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right.
Yvette: What do you mean by that?
Stacy: I mean someone who is able to manage themselves and their daily responsibilities without a lot of supervision. If a manager has to be hands-on all the time, then that means they can’t devote a lot of time and energy to other, more important tasks like strategy for example. Employees who manage themselves well are not only more productive, but they also help their managers and supervisors be more productive. And that is definitely a valuable work habit in the eyes of Animal Health and Veterinary employers.
Yvette: Stacy, can you give some examples of how professionals can manage themselves well within the work setting?
Stacy: Of course. One way is through time management. This means working in such a way as to correctly prioritize tasks and projects so that you consistently meet deadlines and produce high-quality work. There are a few ways that professionals can accomplish this.
First, they identify the times of the day during which they’re the most productive. Then they make sure to tackle their most important tasks during that time, so they do their best work when it matters the most.
Second, they protect their time. That means they’re mindful of how they’re spending their time. When you’re mindful of how you’re spending your time, you’re more likely to maximize your time and be more productive.
Third, they avoid time-wasting activities. For example, they don’t make personal calls during company time or play games on their smartphone and they avoid gossiping with other employees. Sure, it’s a good idea to build some camaraderie with your co-workers, but you shouldn’t let that interfere with your job or your productivity. When you let something interfere with your productivity, you’re letting something interfere with the value that you bring to your employer.
Yvette: Stacy, how else can Animal Health and Veterinary professionals manage themselves well?
Stacy: Another way is by managing your wellness during work hours. This means taking short breaks when and where it makes sense so that you don’t burn yourself out on a particular task. That way, you will be more productive and creative when you return to that same task. This is not a form of laziness. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of taking these short breaks, even during work hours. Ultimately, the employer benefits the most.
A third way is being able to manage one’s emotions. This is important in many different ways and in a variety of settings, especially when working within a group setting. It’s very important for professionals to be able to manage their emotions. This helps to avoid conflicts in the workplace, which can be damaging to the group’s efforts and to productivity overall. There is an inverse relationship when it comes drama and productivity within the workplace. When drama is high, productivity is low. When drama is low, productivity is high. When employees are able to manage their emotions in a positive way, then drama is low and productivity is high.
Yvette: Stacy, are those professionals who are able to manage their emotions have the potential to be good leaders? Are they management material?
Stacy: Yes, they are. These are the types of characteristics that Animal Health Companies and Veterinary practices look for in their candidates and in their employees. And it’s important to note that those people who can manage their emotions are also more likely to be people who possess emotional intelligence.
Yvette: That makes sense. Can you elaborate on that?
Stacy: Certainly. When a person can manage their own emotions, it means they’re in a position to manage the emotions of others. That’s what emotional intelligence is all about. Part of managing emotions is influencing emotions. When a person can manage their own emotions, it means they can first identify their emotions and what factors are contributing to those emotions. Once they figure that out, they can then do what is necessary to change their emotions.
Emotional intelligence works much the same way. Someone who has emotional intelligence can identify another person’s emotions and the driving factors behind those emotions. Then, once they do that, they can influence that person’s emotions in a positive way, both for the person and also for others who are working with them in the professional setting.
Yvette: I can see why an employer would be interested in someone who could do that.
Stacy: Yes, the managing of emotions and emotional intelligence is definitely a valuable work habit. And one of the main reasons is something that we mentioned a few minutes ago, drama vs. productivity. A person who has emotional intelligence and can use it in the workplace can reduce the amount of drama in that workplace. And when they reduce the amount of drama . . .
Yvette: Then they increase the amount of productivity!
Stacy: That’s right.
Yvette: What’s another valuable work habit for Animal Health and Veterinary professionals?
Stacy: Another valuable work habit is one that I’ve mentioned before on this podcast. I’ve also written and spoke about it numerous times. That habit is active listening. I feel very strongly about this habit because I’ve witnessed first-hand how not practicing active listening can hurt a professional. For example, I’ve seen job seekers derail their candidacy during the interview process, all because they weren’t able to listen well.
What will happen is that a candidate will interview with one of my clients. I’ll call the candidate after the interview is over, and they’ll tell me that the interview went great. They’ll say that they believe they have an excellent chance to get an offer. So then I call the hiring manager, and they say the candidate interviewed poorly. Specifically, the hiring manager will say that the candidate did not listen well and instead, they interrupted the people conducting the interview. We recently had a candidate who dominated the conversation during the interview so the hiring manager took him out of consideration.
Active listening is not simply tolerating the other person and waiting for your turn to talk during the conversation. It actually involves listening and thinking about what the other person is saying. I’ve even had candidates do this to me, where they don’t listen to the advice that I’m giving them and instead they interrupt me or talk over me. They tell me that they’ll be fine and they have everything covered.
Yvette: But it turns out they’re not fine, are they?
Stacy: That’s right, they’re not fine. This happens more than you would think and I can not emphasize enough the importance of active listening skills. Professionals in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession should be intent on listening. They should make it a priority in every aspect of their job and also their career.
Yvette: Stacy, thank you so much for all of this great information. And for those people who are considering a job change, there are plenty of employment opportunities on The VET Recruiter website, aren’t there?
Stacy: Yes, there are. For those listeners who want to change their current situation and are interested in exploring Animal Health jobs or Veterinary jobs, I invite them to visit our website at www.thevetrecruiter.com. We have a number of employment opportunities available on our site, and new ones are posted all the time.
Yvette: Once again, the website address for The VET Recruiter is www.thevetrecruiter.com. Stacy, as always, thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: My pleasure Yvette and thank you. Once again, it’s been my pleasure, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health Employment Insider!