By Stacy Pursell, CPC/CERS
The VET Recruiter®
There have been and unfortunately continue to be misnomers and misunderstandings in the job market about Animal Health and Veterinary recruiters. (Actually, about all recruiters in general, but we’re dealing specifically in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession.) As we head into 2022, I thought this would be a good time to clear up any confusion about the value that an experienced and reputable recruiter can provide for you and your career.
At the same time, I want to tackle this question: “How and why can an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter help make you more money?”
The role of an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter
Let’s start at a logical place: the beginning. First and foremost, there is no charge to a job seeker or candidate who uses a recruiter to secure a better employment situation. The cost is to the employer that is looking to fill their open position with the best candidate available and has hired the recruiter to find them the best candidates for their most critical positions. With that being said, if you ever encounter someone who claims that they are an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter and they say that you must pay them for their services, I recommend that you run in the other direction!
So just partnering with a recruiter is not going to cost you any money as a candidate. In fact, partnering with one can help make you more money.
That is because recruiters help top talented professionals explore employment opportunities, specifically opportunities that are better than the job they currently have. In many cases, the job represents a better opportunity, and one of the reasons that it may be considered better is because it offers more in the way of salary and other compensation (including bonuses). You might think that I am saying this because I am an Animal Health and Veterinary recruiter, and as a result, I’m biased in my thinking.
However, recruiters are not the only people who feel this way, and here is proof of that:
- According to an article in Forbes magazine, staying employed at the same company for over two years on average is going to make you earn less over your lifetime by about 50% or more. The article goes on to say that’s “a conservative number at the lowest end of the spectrum. This is assuming that your career is only going to last 10 years. The longer you work, the greater the difference will become over your lifetime.”
- According to a recent online survey by MagnifyMoney of nearly 1,000 working adults, almost a quarter of Americans (24%) said that changing jobs is the best way to get a pay boost. Not only that, but Millennials are also more likely than their older coworkers to say that jumping to a new position is the best way to increase pay. (And since Millennials are more likely to change jobs than their older coworkers, they would be in the best position to know whether or not it is, in fact, the best way to get a pay boost.)
When you change jobs, that job often comes with a boost in pay. An experienced Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter can help you explore and land employment opportunities that are better than the job you have right now. That is how, simply by working with a recruiter, that recruiter can help you make more money in your career.
What would be YOUR salary at +20% . . . or more?
The second way that an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter can help you make more money is that they negotiate on your behalf during the hiring process. Specifically, they negotiate during the offer stage of the process, when the employer wants to hire you. While you might bring limited knowledge to the situation, the recruiter knows about the following:
- The organization, the culture, and the company officials
- What the employer has offered to candidates in the past and what kind of negotiation is possible once they make their initial offer
- What other candidates are earning in the marketplace and what would be considered a fair and equitable offer for the value that you would provide as a new employee
I have met a countless number of professionals during my time as an Animal Health and Veterinary recruiter who did not realize the degree to which they were being underpaid at their current employer. One of the best examples of this happened earlier this year, and I relayed this story in a previous article. To recap, because of his qualifications, this person became a top candidate for one of my client’s job openings. Ultimately, my client made him an offer that included a base salary of $150K, which represented a 79% increase over what he was earning at the time. Not only that, but my client also offered him a signing bonus of $50K.
Think about the salary that you’re earning at your current job. What would that salary be if you increased it by 79%? Now of course, not every person receives an increase of 79% when they change jobs. But what about 10%? Or 15%? Or even 20%?
Because of the lack of candidates in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession, increases in compensation for changing jobs are commonplace. The demand for talent is high right now, and there’s a chance that it might be even higher in the New Year. The Law of Supply & Demand dictates that when demand is high, the price is high, too—in this case, the price to secure the services of top talent.
This is how and why changing jobs can help you make more money in your career, and a recruiter can help. They do NOT cost you money; they help you make money. Anyone who tells you differently does not truly know how experienced recruiters work and how they can help the professionals with whom they work with in the employment marketplace.
If you’re looking to make a change or explore your employment options, then we want to talk with you. I encourage you to contact us or you can also create a profile and/or submit your resume for consideration.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.