Episode #252 – The Benefits of Exploring Animal Health or Veterinary Jobs in 2022
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.
Today, we will be talking with Stacy about the benefits of exploring an Animal Health or Veterinary job in 2022. Stacy is a workplace/workforce expert for the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession and a key opinion leader when it comes to hiring or looking for a new position. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Julea. As always, I am glad to be here with you. Happy New Year!
Julea: Happy New Year! Stacy, this is our first podcast episode of the New Year, and I know that in the past, we have talked about career tips and advice, including about a person’s resume and their job search. What are we talking about today?
Stacy: Today, Julea, we are discussing a broader topic that pertains to a person’s career. We will not have a numbered list of things to do or steps to accomplish, but that does not mean our topic is any less important. In fact, it might be even more important.
Julea: How is that Stacy?
Stacy: Because today’s topic deals with a person’s attitude or their mindset toward their career. We have talked in the past about the growth mindset vs. the fixed mindset.
Julea: Yes, we have mentioned that a couple of times on the show. The growth mindset is preferable to the fixed one.
Stacy: That is absolutely right. If a person is interested in growing their career in the right way, then they must have the growth mindset. And when you have such a mindset, then you are more open to exploring Animal Health and Veterinary jobs in 2022—and being open to opportunities in the future throughout your career.
Julea: That sounds good. Where would you like to start?
Stacy: I would like to start by reiterating something that I have said before, both on this podcast and also in the articles and blog posts that I write. That something is that a person should not be closed minded and say “No” to an opportunity without first knowing what that opportunity is. I know it may sound elementary, but I have seen it happen throughout the years.
Julea: Tell use more about that Stacy. What have you seen?
Stacy: I have seen some professionals at times during my career say “No” to an opportunity before they even know what the opportunity is.
Julea: Why is that? Why would someone say no to an opportunity before they know what the opportunity is?
Stacy: There are multiple reasons. First, the person may be comfortable in their current position, which I certainly understand. However, being comfortable and being satisfied with the status quo is a slippery slope to being complacent. And when you are complacent, you don’t grow.
Second, the person may be afraid that their current employer will find out that they are exploring other Animal Health or Veterinary jobs, and that if their employer found out, then they would be trouble.
Julea: But that is an unfounded fear, isn’t it?
Stacy: Yes, that is right, especially if you are a top candidate in the marketplace. Top candidates should expect to be approached by recruiters and others with job opportunities. Not only that, but organizations should expect their top employees to be contacted about other employment opportunities, especially in this competitive job market.
Julea: Yes, the market is still very tight for talent coming into 2022 isn’t it, Stacy?
Stacy: It is. In fact, last year was the tightest job market that I have ever witnessed throughout my almost 25 years as an executive recruiter. As of right now, I expect market conditions to be the same in 2022 as they were in 2021. In fact, top candidates might become even more scarce, and the market may become even tighter this year.
Julea: Really? That is hard to imagine Stacy with the market already being so tight.
Stacy: Yes, based on everything that I have seen and read, including projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for Animal Health and Veterinary talent could be even greater in 2022. So, no one should be surprised if the top candidates in the market are contacted about job opportunities, especially the candidates themselves. It has been commonplace, and it will continue to be so.
However, there is one important thing that candidates should keep in mind, aside from not being surprised if they are presented with other Animal Health or Veterinary jobs.
Julea: What is that one important thing Stacy?
Stacy: They should keep in mind that just because you listen to an opportunity or even explore it, that does not mean you are saying “Yes” to it. All it means is that you are exploring it, and there is no harm in exploring it. In fact, even if you decided not to pursue an opportunity after hearing about it, there are benefits to hearing about it.
Julea: Tell us more about those benefits Stacy of hearing about an opportunity.
Stacy: There are five of them, and I would like to discuss them one at a time. The first one is more important than people might think, and that is the fact you can benchmark your worth in the marketplace.
Julea: Does that mean a person can find out if the salaries associated with other Animal Health and Veterinary jobs are in line with what they are earning in a similar position?
Stacy: Yes, that is right. And I can say from personal experience that there some people who do not realize that they are being underpaid. Even more than that, there are some who do not realize the degree to which they are being underpaid.
Julea: That is right! We talked about a case last year where a person was being underpaid by a crazy amount of money.
Stacy: Yes, we did. That was the most extreme example of my career. A candidate whom our firm worked with received an offer that was 79% more in base salary than what he was earning from his current employer.
Julea: And that person was shocked, wasn’t he?
Stacy: He was. He did not realize he was being underpaid by that much, but he was also pleased to discover that his services and value were worth much more than he thought they were. Of course, not everyone is going to discover that they are being underpaid by that much, but it is common for people to find out that they’re being underpaid by 10%, 15%, 20%, or more.
And in this current market, it is critical to point out that organizations have to offer more in salary and other compensation in order to effectively recruit and hire top candidates. I have also seen this happen many times. Because of these market conditions, what a person is earning with their current employer is more than likely less than what an employer is willing to pay to convince that person to work for their organization instead.
Julea: That makes sense. What is another benefit of exploring Animal Health and Veterinary jobs?
Stacy: Our second benefit is the fact you might learn something you did not know.
Julea: You mean other than you might be getting underpaid in your current position?
Stacy: Yes, other than that. This could include information about a particular employer, about trends in the marketplace, or about your area of specialty and other professionals who work in your field.
Julea: Stacy, is this kind of information also known as “market intelligence”?
Stacy: Yes, that is right, and this type of “market intelligence” could prove to be very valuable in the future. There is a simple rule when it comes to information. That simple rule is that having too much information is always better than not having enough information.
The third benefit of exploring other Animal Health and Veterinary jobs is related to networking, of which I am a big proponent.
Julea: Tell us more about that Stacy.
Stacy: When you explore these opportunities, you could be “planting the seeds” for future career growth.
Julea: In what ways can a person do that Stacy; plant the seeds for future career growth?
Stacy: One of the great things about the future is that you never know what can or will happen. Let’s say that you explore an opportunity, but then you decided not to pursue it. Or you explore an opportunity all the way to the end of the process, and you receive an offer of employment, but you turn it down. Even if you turn it down, the same employer might have an even better job—with a better offer—in the future.
Or if you are working with a recruiter, then perhaps the recruiter will serve up your dream job to you. But it is not just about another job offer down the road.
Julea: What else is it about?
Stacy: A new piece of information could help you chart a better career course for yourself or take advantage of a future situation in the future, not necessarily one that involves a new job. This is why networking is so important. It can help you in multiple ways and can pay off in ways that you can’t even envision. It is something that I recommend everyone invest in when it comes to their career. Networking is essential because the bigger your network, the more opportunities you will have.
Julea: What is next on our list?
Stacy: The next benefit of exploring other Animal Health and Veterinary jobs is that it is not a good idea to make a habit of turning down opportunities.
Obviously, there good habits and there are bad habits. Everything that you do and do not do eventually becomes a habit, even if you do not realize that is the case. Once you get into the habit of doing something or not doing something, it becomes more difficult to break the habit. This is when a person gets into a “rut.” It becomes more difficult if the person is clinging to the status quo and does not want to make a change in their life.
In this case, if you make a habit of turning down an offer or an opportunity, especially if you don’t know what that offer or opportunity is, then it will be easier to do so again when another opportunity comes along.
And that brings us to our fifth and final benefit.
Julea: What is that, Stacy?
Stacy: The offer might be better than you think. As we discussed earlier, because of market conditions and how scarce top talent is, there is a good chance that an offer of employment could be better than a person thinks it would be. This is especially the case in the Veterinary profession, where there is a serious lack of candidates and employers are being forced to offer much more in the way of compensation to attract these candidates.
Julea: That, all by itself, seems to be the best reason to consider and explore other Animal Health and Veterinary jobs.
Stacy: That’s exactly right! If you don’t know what an opportunity it, why would you say “No” to it? If you don’t know what kind of job offer comes with the opportunity, then how do you know how good it is? You don’t. So what’s the harm in find out these things first?
Julea: I wouldn’t think there would be any harm is finding those things out.
Stacy: You are right. There is no harm. In actuality, there is no good reason not to at least hear about an opportunity before saying “No” to it. As we just discussed, there are multiple benefits to doing so, and that’s even if you decide not to pursue it or decide to drop out of the process after you enter it.
At the other end of the spectrum, there really aren’t any good reasons to say “No” to an opportunity before hearing about it. And if there aren’t any good reasons, then why would you do it?
Julea: Stacy, we are just about out of time for today. Is there anything else that you would like to add before we end today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: Yes, I would like to say that fear is usually the culprit in situations like these, namely fear of the unknown. And, of course, there is the fear that your current employer will find out that you are talking with a recruiter or considering other opportunities. Once again, these are typically unfounded fears and concerns. Considering the tremendous amount of leverage that top professionals currently hold in the marketplace, this should not be much of a concern.
On the other hand, what should be of concern to professionals are the number of opportunities that they’ve passed up because of these unfounded fears. The bottom line is that fear is the enemy. Among other things, it convinces you that the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t” and it also convinces you to cling to the status quo, even if you are not satisfied with the status quo and you feel stagnant and unfulfilled in your current position.
So do not say “No” to an opportunity before first hearing about it, so that you can gain the benefits of doing so and position yourself for more career satisfaction and success in the New Year.
Julea: Stacy, thank you for all of this great information. Stacy, if a member of the listening audience wanted to reach out to you, what would be the best way to do that?
Stacy: There are a number of ways that someone can reach out to me. They can send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com and they can also visit The VET Recruiter at www.thevetrecruiter.com. Once on the site, they can register their profile and also upload their resume. And I would also recommend that people connect with me on LinkedIn and also follow The VET Recruiter on LinkedIn and the other social media channels.
One of the major points of this podcast episode is that Animal Health and Veterinary professionals need to network enough to help grow their career, and networking with an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter is one way to do that. And keep in mind that this is typically a no-risk proposition for professionals. There is no cost for a recruiter to place you in a position that could potentially bring more job satisfaction. Remember, it is the employers who pay the recruiter to help them find qualified candidates for their open positions. So, building a relationship with a recruiter is something that successful people do, because it can have a profound impact on their career.
Julea: Once again, for more information about The VET Recruiter and the executive recruiting services that it provides to both Animal Health and Veterinary employers and professionals, we invite everyone listening to visit www.thevetrecruiter.com. Stacy, as always, thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: It has been my pleasure, Julea, and I look forward to our next episode of the “Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider”!