Episode #212 – The Central Element to Animal Health and Veterinary Career Success
Julea: Welcome to “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter, Stacy Pursell, of The VET Recruiter provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health and Veterinary industries. The VET Recruiter’s focus is to solve talent-centric problems for the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. In fact, The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary companies 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 discussing the central element for Animal Health and Veterinary success. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Julea. As always, I’m glad to be here with you.
Julea: Stacy, we’ll be continuing our series on success this week, will we not?
Stacy: Yes, absolutely.
Julea: I know that a few weeks ago, we discussed the most underrated aspect of success, and that was the mental aspect. How is this week’s topic different from that or related to that?
Stacy: That’s a good question. This week, we’re still operating within the framework of the mental aspect of success. However, we’re going to focus on a central element or ingredient of that aspect.
Julea: Okay, great. Where would you like to begin?
Stacy: I’d like to begin by a quote by the late Jim Rohn, who was an author and motivational speaker. He is attributed to one of my favorite quotes, which is, “Success isn’t in the having. Success is in the doing.”
Julea: What does that mean, exactly Stacy?
Stacy: Well, that’s what we’re going to unpack today, so to speak. I want to talk about the importance of action in terms of success.
Julea: Stacy, we’ve discussed the importance of having a sense of urgency before on the podcast. Is this a related discussion or part of that discussion?
Stacy: In a sense, yes. When you have a sense of urgency, you are more likely to take action, although it’s not guaranteed that you will. You must remember that acting is a matter of choice. And on the other hand, so is not acting or inaction.
The problem that people run into, including with their Animal Health or Veterinary career, is that they have a “sit back and wait attitude.” For some reason, they think that life is just going to come to them, and I can tell you that after 20 years as Animal Health executive recruiter and veterinary recruiter, that is not the case. Life does not come to anyone. You have to go out and pursue the things that you want, and that includes the things that you want in your professional life and career.
This reminds of something that a client of mine has in their signature file.
Julea: What’s that Stacy?
Stacy: It says, “One day or day one . . . you choose.”
Julea: That does sound rather profound. Can you talk about that means from your point of view?
Stacy: Yes, of course. You can think about being successful and the things that you need to do to be successful all day long. But until you actually make the decision to take the first step toward being successful, then none of that matters. People sometimes say to themselves, and to other people, “Someday, I’m going to do this or someday, I’m going to do that.” And of course, it’s okay to have dreams. It’s more than okay. But eventually, you have to do something about them or that’s all they’re going to be—just dreams.
So instead of saying “One day,” instead say, “Day one.” Essentially, you’re saying, “Today I’m starting. Today is day one of my journey toward achieving my dreams and enjoying more success, including Animal Health or Veterinary career success.
Julea: Stacy, I imagine that you talk about this topic in your newsletter articles and blog posts and also talk about it with job seekers and candidates, is that right?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. One of the reasons is that I am very passionate about this topic and I’m passionate about helping people to succeed. I want people I encounter to succeed, and I have no problem sharing what I have learned with them to help them do so.
Julea: And Stacy, fear is the reason that many people don’t take action and don’t move forward, is that right?
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. Fear is pretty much toxic. Nothing good comes from being fearful and acting in fear. Or for that matter, not acting because of fear. Fear is the opposite of acting with urgency and taking positive and productive action toward reaching your goals. And one of the things that has the greatest impact on fear is that past. That’s because one of the top reasons that people are fearful is because of something that has happened in their past.
Julea: That is unfortunate. If it’s the past, then there’s not much that they can do about it.
Stacy: Exactly! And that’s why I want to talk about the “Precious Present” for a moment.
Julea: The “Precious Present”? Tell us more Stacy. What is that?
Stacy: Basically, it’s the present, the moment in which we’re living right now. It goes like this. You can’t do anything about the past, because it’s already over. And you can’t do anything about the future, because it hasn’t happened yet. However, since you’re living in the present, you can do something about it and that’s why it’s so important. That’s why I’m calling it the “Precious Present.”
Julea: But Stacy, people can plan for the future, don’t you agree?
Stacy: Yes, they can. But planning for the future and living in the future are two different things. It’s a good thing to plan for the future, but not to live in it. Or try to live in it. If you focus too much on the future, you can start worrying to much about the future, and that’s when fear can creep in.
Julea: Fear does have a way of creeping in, doesn’t it?
Stacy: It does, and it doesn’t take much for it happen. In many cases, it happens without the person even being aware that it’s happening.
Julea: I can see why so much of this is part of the mental aspect of success.
Stacy: Yes, this is just more evidence of how important the mental aspect is.
Julea: Stacy, what can our listeners do to take more action in their professional life and their Animal Health and Veterinary career?
Stacy: That is a great question, and I’m glad that you asked it. There are a number of things that they can do.
The first thing is to prioritize your success. That means understanding that it is going to take a certain amount of time, energy, and effort to do the things that are necessary to be successful. This includes things like keeping your resume and your LinkedIn profile as up to date as possible and engaging in ongoing training and education. If you don’t make something important to you, then it’s not going to happen. This is the difference between “One day” vs. “Day one.”
And that leads us to our next tip.
Julea: Which tip is that?
Stacy: To be 100% committed to doing what is necessary to be successful. In other words, following through on your priorities. The first step is to recognize that your success and your career are important. The next step is to follow through on what you need to do. This is why you must hold yourself accountable for doing these things. Or enlist the help of somebody else to hold you accountable.
Julea: You mean like an accountability partner?
Stacy: Exactly! If you have trouble holding yourself accountable, then find an accountability partner. It could be a co-worker or a friend. But whoever it is, they must be able to actually hold you accountable, and it can’t be someone whom you’re going to be angry with when they do hold you accountable. That would defeat the purpose of the whole thing.
Julea: That makes sense. Stacy, what’s our next step?
Stacy: The next step is to allow yourself to be vulnerable.
Julea: Be vulnerable? What do you mean?
Stacy: We’ve already discussed the role that fear plays in a person’s career and how it can wreck their success. One of the reasons that people are often fearful is because they don’t want to be vulnerable. Once again, it could be because of something that happened in their past, something they don’t want to happen again. But when you act and live without fear or at the very least, you don’t allow it to affect your decisions, you’re going to have to be vulnerable. And you’re going to have be okay with being vulnerable and feeling vulnerable.
Julea: It doesn’t sound easy to do.
Stacy: It’s not easy to do! But these are the things that are necessary if you want to take action and take the steps necessary toward more success in your Animal Health or Veterinary career.
Julea: Stacy, are there any more steps?
Stacy: Yes, I’d like to mention one more. That would be to use the success stories of other people as motivation. This is because motivation is very important in terms of success, especially when it comes to taking action. As we’ve discussed, making the decision to take action is not easy. You need a tremendous amount of motivation, and using the success stories of others can help to give you the motivation you need.
There is a word of caution, though.
Julea: What’s that?
Stacy: It’s okay to use other people as motivation, but you want to be careful not to compare yourself to others. There is a saying: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I believe that saying, because when you start comparing yourself to other people all the time, you rarely have satisfaction and you rarely have rest.
To wrap things up, success is not in the things that you have, and that includes your possessions. I truly believe it’s in the things that you do, and the good news is that you make the decision to take action every day to be successful.
Julea: Stacy, thank you so much for all of this great information. And before we end today’s episode, I know that The VET Recruiter website offers a lot to professionals in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. Can you describe for the listening audience what is available to them on the site?
Stacy: Yes, absolutely. We have a blog for both employers and job seekers, and we also have career resources for job seekers. These include interview tips, relocation information, and best practices for working with a recruiter.
Julea: There are also Animal Health jobs and Veterinary jobs on The VET Recruiter website, too, as well, and new ones going up on the site on a regular basis.
Stacy: Yes, that is true, and I want to mention our jobs today. We have Animal Health industry jobs, Veterinary practice jobs, and jobs categorized by geographic location. You can also search through our jobs by title or any other term that you would like to search on.
Julea: But Stacy, not all of the jobs you have are on The VET Recruiter website, are they?
Stacy: No, they’re not. Some of the jobs that The VET Recruiter has are part of what is known as the “hidden job market.” This means the organization with the job opening wants us to conduct a confidential search and that the job is not being advertised through traditional means. That’s why I recommend not only checking out our jobs on a regular basis, but also submitting your resume so that you can be considered for positions that are part of this “hidden job market.”
Julea: Once again, the website address for The VET Recruiter is www.thevetrecruiter.com. Stacy, as always, thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: You’re very welcome, Julea, and thank you. It’s been my pleasure, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!