Believe it or not, now is the time of year when a lot of soon-to-be-graduated vets will start looking around for what’s available in terms of job prospects.
Graduation may not occur until early summer, but many keen beans like to feel organised and get hunting already.
The veterinary recruitment crisis is ever-present and, in desperate times, practices who have not employed new grads or aren’t really suitable for them may resort to taking one on anyway, because experienced vets are seemingly like gold dust. This doesn’t do anyone any favours.
Not always the answer
If you already have gaps in the rota, or are struggling to cover on call, don’t be tempted to take on a new grad to boost your numbers. The new grad in question may be really confident and happy to jump right into out-of-hours work from the off, but is that going to benefit both parties?
In an ideal world, new grads should not be expected to immediately be on-call alone with no back up. Even with all the knowledge in the world, the lack of experience could land them in situations that would be avoidable if they had a bit of guidance, be that in person or by phone.
Don’t just expect your staff to provide backup without consulting them first. In a practice where staff are already stretched, asking them to do additional on-call backup is not going to improve the situation. Likewise, expecting a new grad to “just get on with it” is not fair on them either.
Guidance and support
On the flip side, new grads are a massive asset – they will have the most up-to-date knowledge, but just lack the experience to apply it, which is where they need guidance. They learn quickly and, with the right support, will very soon be up to speed with the rest of the team.
However, every new grad will need a different amount of support, and they may not even know what kind of support they require to begin with. With this in mind, it is paramount you maintain a constant dialogue, with regular check ins, to allow altering support needed for the individual.
This doesn’t mean hand-holding; some new grads may want close supervision in some surgeries, for others it means having another vet in the building to call on, if needed.
Be organised
Ultimately, not everyone can take on a new grad as an “extra” and provide all the support in the world, but you can strive to be as organised as possible.
While the recruitment problem has many sides to it, one of the contributory factors is organisation. Practices should not wait until a member of staff leaves before replacing them. Notice periods are there for a reason – if someone gives notice, the role needs to be advertised immediately, to give you the best chance of minimising a period of staff shortage.
At best, you should aim to replace staff even before they’ve left, to allow a handover or induction period whereby you have an extra pair of hands.
No surprises
It shouldn’t come a massive shock in September when you’re in a position to recruit that, yet again, you’ve missed the boat on new grads.
New vets qualify every year, at the same time, and practices should be optimising the time frame. There will be a variation of course, but many new grads will be starting to test the water now. So, if you know you’ve got a vet retiring later in the year, going on maternity, or if you are, in theory, fully staffed, but getting busier, advertise for a new grad now.
If you’ve decided to advertise for a new grad, bear in mind they aren’t likely to be available to work until July at the earliest – so while you may seal the deal early on, you could also be advertising for a long time, which makes it essential to be cost effective.
Targeting new grads
There are also many free ways to advertise your practice:
- Make use of social media – your own and veterinary job groups/pages.
- Consider filming a short video to give applicants a taste of your practice.
- If you want to target new grads in particular, email your advert to all universities.
- Host a CPD event and advertise your vacancies there.
Above all, the best way to advertise is through inviting students to see EMS at your practice. EMS is the best way for students to get a real feel for what it’s like to work for a practice. By investing time in students, you will effectively produce potential new graduate vets that will want to work for you.
Don’t wait until the practice is so short-staffed the notice ball starts rolling, if you think you can provide a good environment for a new grad to learn in, start looking for them now, because they’re already looking for you.
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