Episode #285 – The Core Value of Hard Work in Your Animal Health or Veterinary Career
Caleb: 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’ll be talking about the core value of hard work in a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Caleb. As always, I’m glad to be here with you today.
Caleb: Stacy, I’m intrigued by today’s core value.
Stacy: Tell me why you are intrigued Caleb.
Caleb: Well, I had always assumed that working hard was a prerequisite for success. I think it would almost go without saying that hard work is a core value. But when I see core values on the websites of companies, I don’t usually see that listed.
Stacy: I understand what you mean. I’ve seen the same thing. That’s one of the reasons why hard work is one of the core values of The VET Recruiter and why we’re talking about it on the podcast.
Caleb: Stacy, is hard work a moral value? I know that we’re discussing it within the context of core values, specifically the core values of The VET Recruiter and the core values that a person has for their Animal Health or Veterinary career. But is it also a moral value?
Stacy: Hard work is morally good in the same way that many other virtues are: it makes our lives and the lives of others around us better in some way.
Caleb: Forgive me, Stacy, but I’m going to play “devil’s advocate” right out of the gate. There might be some people who say that hard work is overrated, that it’s old-fashioned and out-of-date in today’s modern job market. What would you say to that?
Stacy: Oh, the contrary! I would say that hard work really does matter! I know that from my own experience as an executive recruiter for the past 25 years.
Hard work matters because it’s the way that a person can reach their full professional potential. Hard work matters because it’s one of the best ways to build good habits, and good habits form the foundation of success.
Caleb: That leads me to another question. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “Work smarter, not harder.” How does this phrase fit into our discussion today?
Stacy: I don’t believe that it’s an either/or proposition. I believe that a person can work both smarter and harder. That’s how you make sure that you’re outworking and outperforming the competition. It’s like the saying, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” I also believe that it’s both what you know AND who you know.
Hard work is the first step towards smart work. Through hard work, we gain experience, which helps us discover many new things. This experience enables us to think more intelligently to solve a critical problem and achieve success. Experience boosts the problem-solving nature in a person.
Caleb: So working smart is not a substitute for working hard?
Stacy: Viewed within this context, I would say no. A person trains themselves with everything they do. If they decide that they’re not going to work hard anymore, then they’re creating a habit of not working hard. And habits are difficult to break, especially if it’s a bad habit, and I would consider not working hard to be a bad habit.
When you’re not working hard, it becomes easier to procrastinate and not be proactive. Consistently working hard means that you’ve able to develop self-discipline over time. On the other hand, Hard work means that you are able to develop your self-discipline over time. Procrastination can set you up for failure when trying to achieve the simplest tasks. Yes, we sometimes still sabotage ourselves and we’re not even sure why we do it. But when you are focused on hard work, self-discipline will follow and you can reap the benefits of that self-discipline.
Caleb: Stacy, we’ve examined the definitions of the core values we’ve discussed on the podcast previously. Might we do the same today?
Stacy: Yes. I know that everyone in the listening audience knows what hard work is, but there is still value in looking at the definition of the word. According to the dictionary, hard work is “a great deal of effort or endurance” and “constantly, regularly, or habitually engaged in earnest and energetic work.”
Caleb: I noticed the word “habitually” is in the definition. That goes back to what you said about forming habits a minute ago.
Stacy: Yes, habits are very important to a person’s Animal Health career or Veterinary career. Forming the right ones is critical to success.
Caleb: I also noticed the word “endurance” in the definition. Is that also indicative of hard work as a habit?
Stacy: Absolutely! Hard work rarely brings optimum results if you only work hard some of the time. You must be consistent and maintain a certain work level over an extended period of time. This is how you become consistent and form the right habits. Consistently working hard also helps you to become persistent and resilient, and resilience is one of the most important types of value that you can offer to an employer in your Animal Health career or Veterinary career.
Caleb: So hard work teaches us the right habits. What are some of those habits Stacy?
Stacy: I’m glad you asked, because I have a list of them Caleb!
Hard work teaches us multiple things, including discipline, dedication, and determination. When you make those three things a habit through hard work, you will experience success because they lead to other positive traits and characteristics. When you consistently work hard, you become more punctual and dependable, which means you’re seen as trustworthy both others. You show more initiative, but you’re also flexible when you need to be and when it makes sense. You become more self-reliant and you’re open to learning and continuous education. And finally, you become more motivated and you set goals based upon your priorities.
Caleb: Wow, that’s a lot of good stuff!
Stacy: It is good stuff. There is a host of other positive things that happen when you work hard and form these habits.
Caleb: Like what Stacy? Tell us more.
Stacy: Working hard promotes your personal and professional development. Working hard earns you respect, since you set an example for others to follow. Working hard gives you a sense of achievement, fulfilment and self-satisfaction, and it helps you to stay positive and confident.
Caleb: We’ve talked before on the podcast about the importance of confidence and self-confidence. So you’re saying that hard work can help to build up your confidence?
Stacy: Absolutely Caleb!
Caleb: Stacy, it could be argued that some people are just naturally hard workers than other people. Do you think that’s the case?
Stacy: I do think that the way people are wired is a factor in whether or not they’re predisposed to hard work. But I think that taking that to the extreme could be dangerous thinking.
Caleb: What do you mean by that Stacy?
Stacy: Caleb, If a person thinks that they’re not “wired” for hard work, they might believe there’s nothing they can do about it and just accept that they’re not hard-working. If they do that, then they won’t be able to gain all the benefits of hard work and they certainly won’t reach their full potential.
Caleb: What can a person do to work harder then, especially, if they’re not “wired” for it?
Stacy: First, to work hard, you must be motivated to do it. You must have a desire for working hard. If you’re “wired” to be a hard worker, then that motivation comes from within. You’re intrinsically motivated. However, if you’re not “wired” for it, then the motivation must be external.
Having a sense of duty, a place to go, and things to accomplish and achieve is great motivation. Having a sense of duty is necessary for the development of a strong identity. Building a successful Animal Health career or Veterinary career requires all of these things, and they should provide enough motivation to do what is necessary.
Caleb: Stacy, I’d like to get down to specifics. How can a person stay motivated to work hard every day and carry out their motivation by actually working hard? Are there steps involved?
Stacy: That’s a great question, and I’m glad you asked it. There are multiple things that a person can do.
First, remember your “Why.” Your “Why” is the motivation for your hard work. Whatever that is, try to think of it throughout the day. It could be to make a difference in the lives of others. It could be to reach your full professional potential. It could be to earn enough money to help your friends and family. Or it could be all of those things.
Second, set goals, review those goals on a regular basis, and continue to set new goals. Ideally, you’ll have a combination of both short-term goals and long-term goals. In addition, break the goals into smaller tasks. That will help you to see your progress, which will contribute to your motivation.
Third, start your day with your most important task. Not only does this ensure that you’ll complete what is most important, but it will also help give you a sense of accomplishment and boost your confidence.
Fourth, give yourself breaks and reward yourself. There are two parts to this. First, when you give yourself breaks, you don’t get overwhelmed. You’re able to maintain better focus, which will help you be more productive. Second, when you reward yourself, those rewards will feed your motivation, even if the rewards are small.
Fifth, stay focused and maintain momentum throughout the day. It’s easy to get sidetracked and discouraged when unexpected things happen. Momentum tends to feed upon itself. The more momentum you have, the more likely it is that you’ll continue to have it. Unfortunately, the same applies to not having momentum.
And sixth, take care of yourself physically. This can mean using exercise as one of your daily goals to improve your mental health. When you feel good physically, there’s a greater chance that you will feel good mentally.
If you do all of these things, especially on a daily basis, then you set yourself up for success and put yourself in a position to work hard and achieve your goals.
Caleb: Stacy, we’re just about out of time, so is there anything else that you’d like to add before we wrap up today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: Yes, I would like to mention one final thing about the core value of hard work in a person’s Animal Health career or Veterinary career, and this is something that should not come as a surprise to anyone in our listening audience who is hearing me say this.
Working hard and experiencing success is not easy. It requires a strong self-belief and self-confidence, and that’s why it’s especially important to surround yourself with successful people who work hard. A person’s thoughts and belief system are affected by the people they surround themselves with and connect with. If you spend most of your time with people who don’t work hard and are not successful, then you reduce the chances that you will work hard and be successful. Iron sharpens iron.
Caleb: Stacy, what kind of people should you surround yourself with?
Stacy: You should surround yourself with people who are motivated and who are positive. These are also two characteristics that feed off each other. The more positive you are, the more motivated you become. The more motivated you are, the more positive you continue to be.
When you’re surrounded by people who are motivated and positive, you almost can’t help but be affected by them in a positive way. The same goes for the inverse of this. When you surround yourself with people who are NOT motivated and are NOT positive, you can’t help but be affected by them in a negative way.
This is another reason why it’s important to find a mentor, someone who is experienced in the habits that you want to form. A mentorship can be especially valuable for a Veterinary graduate or someone who is just about to start their Animal Health or Veterinary career. In fact, a student or graduate should be seeking an employment opportunity that includes a mentorship opportunity.
Talent, skills, and experience can take a person a long way. However, they won’t take that person all the way. In other words, you can’t reach your full potential unless you have a desire to work hard, you’re motivated to work hard, and you actually work hard.
And yes, working smarter is part of the process, but you can’t rely on that alone. Ultimately, there is no substitute for hard work.
Caleb: Stacy, thank you so much for joining us today and for all of this great information about the core value of hard work and a person’s Animal Health or Veterinary career.
Stacy:. It’s been my pleasure, Caleb. I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!