There is perhaps nothing more important than having the proper mindset when pursuing new Animal Health jobs.
Having the right technical skills and soft skills is a great place to start. However, if you don’t have the proper mindset, then all the skills in the world won’t do you much good.
You have to ask yourself some questions. What type of attitude do you have about your current job and also about your career? What kind of mindset do you have in regards to career advancement and how you plan to go about pursuing new Animal Health jobs and growing your career?
The big myth about Animal Health jobs
That brings us to a big myth, and the myth is that you can have 100% job security. Yes, the job market is good right now, and yes, there are plenty of opportunities in the marketplace. However, there are no guarantees that the job you have today will be there tomorrow. The fact that there is not 100% job security certainly applies to the Animal Health industry. That’s why, in your quest to find the right job, it’s in your best interests to have as many options as possible.
The current business environment in the Animal Health industry includes mergers, buyouts, acquisitions, and corporate realignments. These have been happening with more frequency, so much so that it’s become a cause for concern for some professionals. That’s because it introduces uncertainty into the lives of these professionals. As soon as the rumors start about a corporate takeover or buyout, uncertainty starts to creep into people’s minds.
When uncertainty sets in, people start to ask themselves a series of questions, such as:
- Will I have a job with this organization?
- Will this organization even be around anymore?
- Do I want to stay here?
- Will I have the opportunity to advance?
- Is the opportunity to advance one I would take, if given?
- What is my partner/spouse/significant other going to say about all of this?
When you’re dealing with what appears to be an uncertain situation, there are positive steps that you can take to deal with it:
- Focusing on what you can control
- Preparing for different possibilities and contingencies
- Being confident in your skills and abilities
- Making a connection with a recruiter or search consultant
Bring prepared, especially mentally, is an important consideration for finding an Animal Health job that’s right for you.
(Check out The VET Recruiter’s interview tips for job seekers and candidates.)
Animal Health jobs: taking risks
Another important aspect in terms of the proper mindset for advancing your career is the willingness to take risks to get to where you want to go.
What are examples of these risks? Here are a few:
- Talking with your boss about what’s making you unhappy in your current job situation.
- Talking with your boss about a promotion.
- Talking with your boss about other positions or growth opportunities within the organization.
Now of course, choosing to grow your career by seeking a job with another organization also involves taking risks. They include the following:
- Accepting a job with another company that involves more responsibility than what you have now
- Moving to another part of the country for a better opportunity
- Moving to another country for a better opportunity
We at The VET Recruiter have seen people take risks and be rewarded for taking those risks. We have also seen people NOT take risks and be penalized for not taking those risks. “No risk, no reward” is not just a saying. It’s very real.
The role of FEAR in taking risks
So what stops people from taking risks? One word: FEAR.
There are a lot of things that people fear, including in the professional realm. These things include:
- Fear of the unknown
- Fear of failure
- Fear of not meeting expectations
- Fear of making the wrong decision
- Fear of stepping out of their comfort zone
There is an acronym for effectively dealing with fear. That acronym is:
Fear = False Evidence Appearing Real
What does this mean? To some degree, fear of change and fear of the unknown are natural emotions. However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind about fear.
Many times in the professional world, people experience the emotion of fear without an actual reason to experience it. As a result, what they fear is the anticipation of an event and not the event itself.
An example that you can relate to
Here is an example that most of you can relate to. When you were a child, the first day of school may have been a frightening experience. If so, you probably remember the bus ride or the drive to school and the questions that were running through your mind. For example: What would school be like? What would the teacher be like? Will I make friends easily?
Then, once you got to school, you discovered that worrying about the first day of school was a lot worse than actually being there. The teacher was nice, and you made friends with some of the other children. Then you had fun at lunch and at recess, and pretty soon, you forgot all about the fact you were scared. Then you got into a routine.
It’s the same with overcoming fear and taking a risk in your career. Instead of looking at a new situation with fear, look at it as an opportunity. It could be an opportunity to do something great that will lead to career growth. No one grows their career by leaps and bounds by playing it safe all the time. Be willing to go after opportunities when they present themselves. If you want to find the right job for you, then you may have to take a risk. In fact, you probably will have to take some sort of risk to have a successful career. You can’t always cling to the status quo to enjoy success.
(Read The VET Recruiter’s 15 tips for working with a recruiter to help you find new Animal Health jobs and grow your career.)
Animal Health jobs: being open to opportunity
During the past two decades, we at The VET Recruiter have spoken with thousands of professionals. We’ve learned that there are two kinds of people:
- Those who are OPEN to opportunity.
- Those who are NOT open to opportunity.
Those people who are open to opportunity are typically more successful in their careers than those who are not open to opportunity.
When we talk to professionals, one of the first questions we ask is, “Are you open to hearing about another opportunity at this time?” Unfortunately, some people are not open. In fact, some are closed and say “No” before they even know what they’re declining.
A very successful person in Animal Health industry told us that early in his career, his mentor instructed him to never say “No” to an opportunity without first knowing about the opportunity.
So when we ask people if they’re open to hearing about an opportunity and they are open, they usually say one of two things:
- “Yes, I’m open to hearing about it.”
- “Yes, what kind of opportunity do you have?” or “Tell me about this opportunity.”
All these people are agreeing to is hearing about the opportunity and then deciding whether or not they are interested. What they are NOT doing is committing themselves to the opportunity. They are also NOT saying, “Yes, I will resign from my current company and leave tomorrow to take another position.”
More opportunities, more options, more growth
What they’re really doing is creating options for themselves. More options are good, and you are free to choose whichever option is best for you. When you’re trying to find the right job for you, more options is always better!
People who are open to opportunity have created the following options for themselves:
- They can listen to the opportunity and decide that they do not want to move forward.
- They can listen to the opportunity and decide that they do want to move forward.
If they choose option #2, then they still have options they can choose from.
- They can decide later that they’re no longer interested in the opportunity if they believe it’s not better than the position they have now.
- They can decide later that they’re still interested in the opportunity if they believe that it is, in fact, better than the position they have now.
People who are open to hearing about a new opportunity give themselves more options, and as a result often enjoy more success in their career. This means they give themselves a better chance to find the right job for them.
It’s also one way to be proactive. And when it comes to your career, it’s far better to be proactive than it is to be reactive.
(Find out how working with a recruiter provides more value than simply posting your resumes on job boards.)
The importance of being proactive
And being proactive is the theme of the book Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by bestselling author Harvey Mackay. This is a book I recommend all professionals read.
By most estimates, you can only live three days without water. So in a literal sense, you’d have to dig your well before you were thirsty or you’d run the risk of death, and I know that’s extreme.
However, just like digging a well, it takes time to find a better job or the right job for you. A job like that rarely just falls into your lap. The best time to look for an opportunity is when you already have a job and you can strategically advance your career. That’s because you have more options and more leverage.
Where to look for Animal Health jobs
And now, we’re going to address where you can look for great new Animal Health jobs. And there are a number of different avenues from which you can choose, including the following five:
#1—Job boards
There are many different job boards on the Internet. You’re certainly familiar with some of the bigger job boards, such as CareerBuilder, Monster, and Indeed. However, there are also industry-specific and niche-specific job boards available, like the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA).
#2—Company websites
Nearly all companies post employment opportunities on their website. This is why it’s important to know the top employers within the industry. That way, you can visit their website, learn more about them, keep tables on what they are doing and also find out about available job opportunities.
Keep in mind, though, that organizations typically don’t post ALL of their jobs on their websites. In addition to monitoring these websites, you can also connect and follow them on the major social media channels, including LinkedIn, which is next on our list.
#3—LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with millions of members. LinkedIn is a good way to get found by employers and also by recruiters. That’s because it’s used by 98% of recruiters, and 48% of them use LinkedIn exclusively.
With LinkedIn, you can build both your credibility and your personal brand. One way to do that is by getting recommendations from current and former colleagues. Be sure to keep your profile updated. A good rule of thumb is anytime you update your resume, then update your LinkedIn profile at the same time.
Now LinkedIn is a great tool, but you should not rely on it exclusively. In fact, you shouldn’t rely on any of these Internet-based sites exclusively when it comes to searching for new opportunities. That’s because nothing can replace the value of face-to-face networking, which I’d like to address next.
#4—Conferences and trade shows
There are a number of conferences and trade shows every year. There are the big ones like VMX, WVC and AVMA, but there are also regional and local ones, too. These events are great opportunities for not only training and education, but also for networking. You never know what another person knows or who they know.
#5—Search consultants/recruiters
Search consultants, or recruiters, are a great place where you can gain access to opportunities. A few minutes ago, I stated that employers typically do not post all of their open positions on their website. That’s because they often use recruiters to conduct covert searches when filling their most important positions. Recruiters have access to what is referred to as the “hidden job market, “which is a good reason to get on the radars of the top recruiters in the industry. The right job for you could be part of the “hidden job market.”
Animal Health jobs: working with a recruiter
Your relationship with a recruiter can be one of the most important professional relationships you can have. There are two really good reasons why you should build a relationship with a good recruiter:
- They have more contacts with hiring managers than you do. They spend their days and weeks building networks and cultivating relationships with top employers and hiring managers in the industry. In fact, they’ve probably worked with some of these hiring managers for years and already have good working relationships with them. This means having a recruiter recommend you to a hiring manager they already have a relationship with could a better strategy than applying to a job posting and hoping you get a call back.
- Once again, some of the best Animal Health jobs are not always posted online or anywhere else. Sometimes the only way to find out about them and apply for them is through recruiter.
When it comes to finding new Animal Health jobs, you must expand your network. You’ve probably heard the saying that it’s not what you know, but who you know. It’s actually BOTH what you know and who you know. If you want to find the right job for you, then you must expand your network.
The trajectory of a person’s career is not necessarily a straight line. In fact, there’s a good chance your career will NOT be a straight line, so be prepared for that. You need to know what your strengths are in your quest to find the right job. When you know your strengths, you know the value that you can provide. Then you can match your value with an employer and an open position that has the type of value that YOU want.
How The VET Recruiter can help you
The VET Recruiter has helped job seekers and candidates find and explore great new Animal Health jobs for more than 20 years. We are one of the most trusted, reputable, and experienced executive search and recruiting firms in the Animal Health industry. We have access to the “hidden job market,” and we can use that access to help you find the Animal Health jobs you want and that you need to grow your career.
Check out The VET Recruiter’s successes working with job seekers and candidates. We also invite you to submit your resume and create a profile on our website.
You can also call (918) 488-3901 or (800) 436-0490 or send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.