All segments of the Pet Care industry have been growing rapidly during the past several year. These segments deal primarily with the production, consumption, and recreational activities associated with pets and companion animals. According to numbers released recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), animal care and Pet Care jobs are projected to grow by 33% between the years 2020 and 2030. That’s an average of 66,200 open jobs each and every year.
Below are some of the specific segments that constitute the Pet Care industry:
- Pet food and treats
- Veterinarian care and supplies
- Pet insurance
- Pet technology
Americans are spending more money on their pets, and this spending spree is what is driving the growth of these segments and the Pet Care industry overall. According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), more than 67% of American households own at least one pet. And of course, the more pets they have, the more money they spend.
According to data supplied by the APPA, the amount of money that Americans spend on their pets grew from $90.5 billion in 2018 to $103.6 billion in 2020. The breakdown of the amount of money spent is as follows:
- Pet food and treats—$42.0 billion
- Vet care and product sales—$31.4 billion
- Supplies and over the counter (OTC) medications—$30.2 billion
The BLS numbers and the APPA numbers are evidence that employers need to engage the services of a Pet Care executive search firm to help them fill their open positions. Not only is demand for products and services surging, but there is also a lack of qualified candidates in the job market. These converging trends have made it difficult for organizations to keep up with demand by hiring top talent.
The value of a Pet Care executive search firm
Unfortunately, there are misnomers and misconceptions surrounding a Pet Care executive search firm and what it does. Specifically, these misnomers and misconceptions revolve around the value that such a firm provides to employers in the job market. Essentially, it boils down to answering this question: “Why would anyone want you to find people for them who are not looking for a job?”
This question may not make sense to those who have not dealt with recruiters or have no knowledge of the value that a Pet Care executive search firm can provide. From that person’s point of view, if they had an open position, why would they hire someone to find candidates for that position if those candidates aren’t even looking for a new job? Why wouldn’t they want to find and hire someone who is actually looking for a job? With this line of thinking, they would rather hire someone who is motivated. After all, this candidate would automatically be interested in the job and want to see what it had to offer.
On the one hand, this does make sense. Why wouldn’t an organization want to hire a candidate who is looking for a new job and would be automatically interested in their open position? Unfortunately, there is a problem with this line of thinking. That problem can be summed up as follows: Job seekers who are looking for a new job and are motivated to find a new employment opportunity are not always the best candidates available in the job market.
And ultimately, that’s what organizations want. They want the best candidates available in the job market, not the best candidates who are actively looking for a new job. The best candidates typically represent the top 5% to 10% of candidates in the employment marketplace. These are passive candidates. They’re called this because they are not actively seeking a new opportunity. However, if an opportunity was presented to them that was clearly better than their current job, they would likely consider it and explore it. This is how a Pet Care executive search firm can provide value. Recruiters can identify, engage, and recruit the top 5% to 10% of candidates.
Hiring someone on a full-time basis is a tremendous investment, and companies want a return on that investment. In fact, they want the best return they can possibly get. Since that’s the case, it makes sense to hire the best candidate for the position. Theoretically, if you hire the best candidate, then you will receive the best return on your investment. However, if you only consider those job seekers who are actively looking for a new job, then they might be automatically interested in your position, but hiring them does not necessarily mean that you’ll receive the best return.
Options outside of Pet Care executive search
This is where a Pet Care executive search firm enters the picture. This is because while organizations can usually handle active job seekers, they experience difficulty when attempting to identify top passive candidates. One reason for this is tied to the fact they don’t have the time, energy, and resources necessary to proactively recruit top talent. In light of this, what options do employers have, outside of engaging the services of a Pet Care executive search firm? Those options include the following:
#1—Being satisfied with whoever applies
You could, of course, forget about top passive candidates and just be content with whoever applies for your online job postings. As discussed above, this will decrease both the size and the quality of your job pool. You will almost certainly be eliminating the top 5% to 10% of candidates from the pool, since they those candidates are not looking for a new job, and therefore, not looking at job ads.
#2—Try to hire the best candidates on their own
This is also an option, but perhaps the most difficult one, since so much time and energy is required to do it correctly. There are multiple problems with this option, in addition to the aforementioned one. It could become time consuming and ultimately fruitless, which can lead to frustration, not to mention wasted time and resources. To hire consistently well in this current market, you need a streamlined recruiting and hiring process that keeps candidates fully engaged. Anything less will hamper your efforts and will negatively affect your results.
#3—Hiring additional personnel
With this option, you could hire additional full-time personnel for the expressed purpose of identifying, recruiting, and hiring the best candidates. However, this can be costly since you’re adding overhead. Employees represent a fixed cost, as opposed to a variable one. Not only that, but it does not guarantee that if you’re able to identify the best candidates, you’ll also be able to hire them.
The best option: Pet Care executive search services
As you can see, the best option for those organizations that want to hire top talent is to enlist the services of a Pet Care executive search firm. And even though ample evidence has been presented thus far, below are three more reasons why this is the case:
#1—More qualified candidates
An experienced recruiter already knows the identity of the top candidates in the job market. In addition, they also usually know what these candidates are looking for in a new opportunity and what it would take for them to pursue that opportunity. Armed with this information, a recruiter can move more quickly, presenting high-quality candidates and saving time in the process.
#2—More effective recruiting measures
The most important part of recruiting is . . . recruiting. This is the actual convincing of a candidate that an employment opportunity is not only worth their consideration, but it’s also worth exploring. This is a proactive approach, as opposed to a reactive one in which you simply wait for applicants to arrive in your email inbox. A Pet Care executive search firm has the expertise required to effectively recruit top candidates to consider joining your organization.
#3—Expertise and market intelligence
Recruiters possess a tremendous amount of information regarding a great many things, including candidates; employers; and the state of the industry, the job market, and even the economy. This is information that not many people outside of the recruiting profession possess. This is important because even if you do hire additional employees to recruit for your organization, there’s no guarantee that the people you hire will have the same level of knowledge or expertise as a Pet Care recruiter.
So to summarize, organizations engage the services of recruiters with experience in the industry to find candidates who are not actively looking for a job. There are two main reasons for this:
- These candidates are almost always among the best candidates available in the employment marketplace.
- The organizations do not have the resources necessary to identify, recruit, and hire these top candidates on their own.
This represents what a Pet Care executive search firm does and the value that it offers to employers. And this is exactly the value that The Vet Recruiter has provided to its clients for more than 25 years.
That’s because at The VET Recruiter, our passion is to solve problems and help others succeed. We are confident that we can help your organization with its Pet Care hiring and retention needs, and we have a track record of success to back us up!
Click HERE to learn more about why you should consider using The VET Recruiter for your Pet Care employment and hiring needs.
Click HERE to see our recruiting process for Pet Care employers.
Click HERE to see examples of The VET Recruiter’s placements. These are all examples of real positions we have filled in the Pet Care industry.
Contact us today for more information about The VET Recruiter’s services for employers by calling (918) 488-3901 or (800) 436-0490 or by sending an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.