The results of The VET Recruiter’s 2026 Workforce/Workplace Survey reveal an Animal Health and Veterinary workforce that is generally satisfied with its current employment, but also highly receptive to other career opportunities.
Perhaps the most important candidate-related takeaway is that job satisfaction does not necessarily translate into long-term loyalty. When respondents rated their happiness with their current position on a scale from zero to 10, the average was 6.9. In addition, 66.5% rated their position between seven and 10, while only 16.5% gave their position a score of four or lower.
However, only 36.5% agreed or strongly agreed that they plan to retire with their current employer. Another 34.1% were neutral, while 29.3% disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Even more revealing, 76.3% said they look for jobs at least occasionally. Nearly half, 45.8%, occasionally look, while 12% search daily, 10.5% weekly, and 8.1% monthly. Only 23.7% said they never look for jobs.
These findings challenge the traditional distinction between active and passive candidates. A professional may not be applying to jobs or planning to leave their employer, but that does not mean they are ignoring the employment market. Many are watching job postings, comparing opportunities, communicating with colleagues or recruiters, and evaluating what other employers offer.
At the same time, candidates appear selective. Although more than three-quarters look for jobs at least occasionally, 58.7% participated in no job interviews during the previous 12 months. Another 27.8% had between one and three interviews during the previous 12 months.
This suggests that many professionals are open to changing jobs without feeling compelled to do so. To persuade them to act, an employer must present an opportunity compelling enough to justify leaving an acceptable current situation.
Candidates Want More Than Compensation
Compensation remains the leading consideration when candidates evaluate opportunities. When respondents were asked which elements of a job posting influence their decision to apply, compensation and pay transparency was the most frequently identified theme, appearing in 52% of responses.
However, candidates clearly consider much more than salary.
Schedule, flexibility, and work-life balance appeared in 33.2% of responses. Location and commute appeared in 19.7%; benefits in 18.5%; role fit and duties in 17.2%; and culture, leadership, and team in 16.3%. Growth, advancement, and organizational stability were also mentioned.
These results show that candidates increasingly evaluate the total employment experience.
They want competitive compensation, but they also want to know what their schedule will be, whether flexibility is available, what kind of leadership they will experience, whether adequate support exists, what benefits are offered, and whether the organization can provide career growth.
This becomes especially important when recruiting people who are already relatively satisfied. An unhappy employee may need only a reason to leave. A satisfied employee needs a compelling reason to move toward something better.
Compensation Satisfaction Does Not Guarantee Retention
Overall, respondents were relatively positive about their current compensation.
A total of 71.9% said they were at least somewhat satisfied with their compensation. That included 10.5% who were very satisfied, 34.1% who were satisfied, and 27.2% who were somewhat satisfied. Only 21.3% expressed some degree of dissatisfaction.
However, 56% of respondents had not received a pay raise during the previous 12 months. Only 44% had received a pay raise during the previous 12 months. This matters because candidates do not evaluate compensation in isolation. They see salary ranges in job postings, communicate with colleagues, receive recruiter outreach, and learn what competing employers are willing to pay.
As a result, an employee who believes their current compensation is acceptable could change their perspective after discovering that another employer offers significantly more. This validates what we have been seeing in the job market.
Workplace Problems Can Motivate a Career Move
The survey also identified several workplace concerns that could eventually cause employees to consider leaving. Only 21% of respondents selected “No Concerns.”
Understaffing was the most frequently selected concern at 36.9%, followed closely by poor management or leadership at 35.1%. Being overworked was selected by 29.4%, poor communication by 28.2%, being underpaid by 27%, poor culture by 20.7%, poor work-life balance by 18.9%, instability by 17.1%, and financial health of the company by 11.4%.
These concerns demonstrate that compensation is not the only factor that pushes people toward new opportunities. An employee might enjoy their profession but become frustrated with poor management. Someone else may like their organization but become exhausted because of chronic understaffing. Another employee might receive competitive compensation but decide that their schedule and workload are negatively affecting their quality of life.
These issues can also compound one another. Understaffing creates additional workload, which can hurt work-life balance. Poor leadership can produce communication problems, which can negatively affect workplace culture. Eventually, an employee who was not considering leaving may become receptive to another opportunity.
Relationships Remain Important to Career Opportunities
Candidates use multiple channels when looking for jobs. Job boards remain the most common, with 60.4% of respondents selecting them. However, social media and word of mouth were each selected by 53.4%. External recruiters were selected by 26.8%, while conferences and tradeshows were selected by 24.4%. (Please note that survey respondents were able to choose more than one answer for this question.)
However, where candidates search for opportunities and how they actually find jobs are not necessarily the same. .
Word of mouth, including both external and internal recruiters, was the largest named source of respondents’ current jobs at 47.6%. Internal referrals accounted for 11.4% of their current jobs, job boards for 11.1%, social media for 4.8%, and employer websites for 4.5%.
These findings reinforce the importance of professional relationships. Candidates may search online, but career opportunities are frequently created through colleagues, referrals, recruiters, and other professional connections.
Recruiters Are Reaching a Large Portion of the Workforce
Despite the large percentage of respondents who have never formally worked with a recruiter, recruiter outreach is a regular part of the employment landscape. During the previous 12 months, 30.2% said a recruiter initiated a conversation with them and they responded. Another 9.3% took the initiative themselves and started a conversation with a recruiter.
The frequency of recruiter outreach further demonstrates the important role that search professionals play in connecting talent with career opportunities. Overall, 66.2% of respondents reported being contacted by recruiters at least monthly. That included 36.8% reporting monthly contact, 23.7% weekly contact, and 5.7% daily contact.
The fact that 31.4% of respondents did not respond when a recruiter initiated a conversation also highlights why the quality of recruiter outreach matters. Experienced recruiters do more than simply send messages about open positions. They invest time in understanding a candidate’s background, career goals, motivations, and priorities before presenting an opportunity that could make sense.
This is especially valuable in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession, where specialized knowledge and relationships can make a meaningful difference. Recruiters who understand the market can identify opportunities that align with a candidate’s experience and aspirations, including positions the candidate might never discover independently. Even when someone is not actively looking for a new job, a conversation with an experienced recruiter can provide valuable insight into the market, compensation, career possibilities, and opportunities for professional growth.
As a result, recruiter outreach should not necessarily be viewed as simply another message competing for a candidate’s attention. When it comes from an experienced and knowledgeable search professional, it can be the beginning of a valuable professional relationship and potentially an important next step in a candidate’s career.
Candidates Should Manage Their Careers Proactively
The survey also offers an important lesson for candidates themselves. Animal Health and Veterinary professionals do not have to be unhappy to evaluate their careers. Proactive career management means understanding your value in the employment marketplace, knowing whether your compensation is competitive, maintaining professional relationships, and determining what you want from future opportunities before you need to make a change.
The fact that 58.7% of respondents had no interviews despite widespread job monitoring demonstrates the difference between considering opportunities and making a career move. Candidates should not change jobs simply because another position becomes available. Instead, they should understand what constitutes a genuinely better opportunity for them.
That could mean compensation, flexibility, leadership, culture, career advancement, benefits, location, stability, work-life balance, or some combination of these factors.
An Animal Health and Veterinary Workforce Open to Opportunity
Ultimately, the candidate-related findings reveal a workforce that is neither deeply dissatisfied nor firmly settled. Most respondents report relatively positive job happiness and compensation satisfaction. Yet more than three-quarters look for jobs at least occasionally, and only 36.5% say they plan to retire with their current employer.
Candidates are watching the employment market and comparing their current situations with what other organizations might offer. At the same time, most are not rushing to leave, meaning employers and recruiters must provide compelling reasons for them to make a change.
Competitive compensation matters, but candidates also value flexibility, work-life balance, effective leadership, adequate staffing, communication, culture, benefits, career growth, and organizational stability.
For Animal Health and Veterinary professionals, the larger lesson is to remain aware of the marketplace even when they are happy in their current jobs. The best career opportunity does not always appear when someone is actively searching.
Sometimes, it appears when they are simply willing to listen.
If you’re looking to make a change or explore your employment options, then we want to talk with you. I encourage you to contact us or you can also create a profile and/or submit your resume for consideration.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.